Rosa Eriko Takeda - Shrub Rose

The 'Eriko Takeda' bush rose, dedicated to the eponymous Japanese actress, is a recent modern tea hybrid, still rare in the horticultural trade. Its roses are radiant, slightly fragrant, large and beautifully turbinated: around a tightly packed apricot-toned heart, unfold petals of warm pink. They bloom from late spring to autumn, enhanced by a superb thick, dark green and shiny foliage. This excellent variety is as beautiful in flower beds as in bouquets.

'Eriko Takeda' is part of the modern bush roses with large flowers or hybrid teas. Sturdy bush with a bushy habit reaches about 70 cm (28in) in height and 50 cm (20in) in width at maturity, with rapid growth. It produces strong, thorny branches that bear dense foliage cut into large, toothed leaflets of a shiny dark green, very ornamental. From late spring to October, if faded flowers are removed, the plant produces in successive and close waves buds of apricot-orange edged with vivid carmine that opens into solitary flowers of beautiful size, very double, with the typical shape of hybrid teas. Each one is carried at the end of a long, sturdy, thorny stem ideal for cut flowers. The colour of the petals evolves from apricot to orange-pink, with the outer part of the flower being a softer pink.

'Eriko Takeda' is a bright, warm rose that is sturdy and generous, requiring only fertile and moist soil to thrive fully. A bush can be placed on its own in a small garden, integrated into a small flowered hedge, or planted in groups of 3 plants among low perennials such as violets, carnations, dwarf asters or aubrietas. Its moderate size makes it well suited for cultivation in a large pot, provided with regular watering and fertilizing. It blends well in low shrub beds with flowering summer or autumn, mixed with light perennials and annuals such as sea kale, paniculate phlox or tall foxgloves. It can be showcased in front of a boxwood or yew screen or, conversely, surrounded by a miniature hedge or a meticulously organized maze, as in Italian or French gardens. Its roses in flower beds or bouquets go well with white, soft yellow or pink flowers.