Rosa x persica Cyrus

The Cyrus Rose is a small shrub that exudes the joy of living. Not very tall but very floriferous, it produces clusters of single flowers from late spring until the first frost, speckled with red-orange in the centre, whose colour evolves from canary yellow to very pale yellow. This wonderful descendant of the Persian rose also offers good hardiness, it withstands summer drought and its dark green foliage is resistant to diseases. With its compact and bushy habit, it can be grown in a large pot or in the ground, bringing a touch of exoticism to even the most modest decor.

The Rosa x persica 'Cyrus' (Chewbullseye) descends from a wild rose named Rosa persica, discovered in 1784 by botanist André Michaux in the Zagros Mountains, straddling Iran and Iraq. The unique feature of its bicoloured flowers with a highly contrasting centre has since encouraged rose breeders to attempt hybridisation with other cosmopolitan species and varieties. After years of research and selection, new and very interesting cultivars have emerged, all over Europe.

'Cyrus', bred by Chris Warner in England and introduced in 2015, is one of these recent varieties with exotic charm, beautiful like hibiscus, still little known in our gardens. It is a shrub with an upright and bushy habit, rarely exceeding 80 cm (32in) in height and 70 cm (28in) in spread. Its branches are moderately thorny, and adorned with small but abundant foliage, a slightly shiny dark green, very healthy. The flowering occurs quite early, in June, and regularly renews until October. The single flowers with 5 petals, in flat cups, measure about 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) in diameter. The changing colours of the flowers make this wonderful bush a bouquet where different shades of yellow to cream or even white-pink, are highlighted by the central macules of a vibrant red-orange turning to dark pink at maturity.

'Cyrus', with its contagious good mood, is also a rose full of goodwill, which will seduce gardeners deprived of gardens or those who struggle with dry soil in summer, or frozen in winter. It will be adopted more than any other in a southern garden, on sandy or rocky soil, or on a slope, in a large rockery, wherever many other 'classic' roses would sulk. It is also hardy enough to withstand our normal winters, which allows it to be adopted almost everywhere. Hybrid Persian roses can be paired with many other plants such as garden irises, lavenders, rockroses, rosemarys, escallonias, oreganos, teucriums, sedums in dry soil. In cooler soil, it can be accompanied, for example, by yellow, pink or white foxgloves, white small star asters (Aster dumosus 'Schneekissen', Aster dumosus 'Kristina', Aster ericoides f. prostratus 'Snow Flurry') or the Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander's Great', with its very silvery foliage. On the terrace or balcony, it can be surrounded, for example, by seaside cineraria, alstroemerias, white agapanthus or white sweet williams (Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins').