Bobbie James
Hybrid
Multiflora, Rambler
Origin -
Sunningdale Nursery (England), 1961
Parentage - Unknown
Color - White, yellow stamens
Foliage - Glossy green
Thorns - Extreme
Size - 8' - 25' h. x 10' w.
Fragrance - Light
Repeat bloom - No
Disease resistance - Good
Hardiness - Zone 6
The
Name of the Rose - Named after the Hon. Robert James, in
whose garden the rose was discovered.
Graham
Thomas, then working for Sunningdale Nurseries, discovered this
rose as a seedling in the garden of the Hon. Robert James (who had
died a year earlier) and his wife, Lady Serena James, near Richmond,
Yokshire.
The
rose resembles a wild rose except that the flowers are much larger
and have a musk fragrance. Blooming occurs only once in mid-spring
but it is a profuse blooming and nearly obscures the foliage. The
flowers begin to open slowly and it takes about two weeks for all
the buds to open. This is an incredible sight! My rose did not bloom
for several years so it might take a while to get established.
Many
books recommend that you grow this rose in a tree and I initially
planted mine with that purpose in mind. However, I decided later
to buy an iron gazebo and train the rose over that. The thorns are
pretty vicious so this wasn't a fun task but they are extremely
long and not too difficult to train.
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