Rose Cymbeline

Few roses share ‘Cymbeline’s’ elusive palette: an ashen, grey-pink wash that can hint at lilac, buff, or even a breath of brown depending on light and temperature. Rounded pink buds open wide and almost flat, revealing loosely semi-double to lightly filled blooms whose outer petals fade to blush-white while inner petals deepen toward the centre. The effect of the flowers is soft, dusty, subtly antique, when planted next to mauves, silvers or cool pastels coloured flowers makes an unforgettable impression. Though not packed with petals like many English roses, the relaxed form and the unusual colour makes this rose stand out from the collection.

FLOWERING

This rose variety has a recurrent flowering habit. Blooms in flushes with short breaks from summer until frosts. The number of blooms per plant during the growing season is profuse, but there are too many to count.

The blooms are large and full, loosely filled with elegantly reflexed petals, the diameter of the open flower is about 12 cm (5”). They have shallowly cupped and slightly flat shape, in a way more reminiscent of antique China or Gallica roses than of modern hybrids. The coloration is striking: a dusty, gray-pink with ashen undertones, tinges of lilac, buff, and blush brown, and a near-white edge, a tone described as moody and ethereal, and ideal for muted or romantic planting schemes.

The flowers are borne mostly at the ends of long, arching stems, often in loose clusters of 3 to 7 blooms together. They open from broad and rounded buds and exhibit a mesmerizing grayish-pink hue that intensifies toward the center. Though not typically symmetrical or densely petalled like many Old or English roses, they have a haunting beauty that sets them apart. The fragrance is strong, myrrh, tinged with fruit.

PLANT

The rose variety 'Cymbeline' is classified as a Shrub rose and is part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. The growth character is vigorous with spreading, arching branches. It grows wider than tall, producing long, elegant canes that arch gracefully to ground level. In hotter regions those canes can reach 250 cm in height, and if left unpruned, carry most flowers at their tips. Peg the shoots or train them over a low fence, and they will break along their length with additional flowering laterals, this will create a small “living wave” or informal hedge. A mature and well-established plant has a height of about 120 - 250 cm and the width of about 125 - 150 cm.

This graceful rose variety will look impeccable when grown as a shrub at the front of a wide border, where the arching habit can spill forward. It is also really suitable for training as a medium sized climbing rose when tied to a pillar, obelisk or trellis. Basically this is a very universal rose suitable for planting in mixed borders and hedges, it is not ideal for tightly clipped borders but wonderful for naturalistic settings, mixed borders, or romantic garden compositions. Can be used as a cut flower in old fashioned flower arrangements, especially when half-open.

The foliage is healthy, dark green and glossy, with reddish-bronze new growth and reddish prickles on smooth canes. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves varies from 5 and occasionally to 7, including the terminal leaflet.

Disease resistance is relatively good, though some susceptibility to mildew may occur in damp conditions. Proper air circulation and spacing help maintain its health.

Rose variety is recommended for growing in climate conditions similar to USDA 6 and requires winter protection in more colder climates.

Named after the king in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. The play follows the adventures of King Cymbeline of Britain, his daughter Imogen, and a series of events involving secret marriages, mistaken identities, and a pursuit of justice.

English Shrub Roses

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Auslean’ / 'Cymbeline' originated by David Austin by an unnamed and unpatented rose seedling with the pollen parent - English shrub rose ’Ausli’ / ‘Lilian Austin’.

USDA 6