Rose Fab at 70

'Fab at 70' is a compact, repeat-flowering Floribunda bush rose marketed by Harkness Roses as a living gift for a seventieth birthday. Its main charm is the contrast of deep pink, double flowers with dark, glossy foliage, combined with a strong fragrance and a manageable garden size. The plant is compact, making it suitable for a border, a rose bed, or a generous patio container. It is intended to flower from early summer until the first frosts, giving the commemorative name a practical, long-lived expression in the garden.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

Floribunda rose 'Fab at 70' represents a modern garden-rose, combining the recurrent flowering and clustered display with the larger, more substantial flowers associated with Hybrid Teas. It displays an abundance of richer, double, deep-pink flowers with notable perfume, qualities that make the rose more decorative at close range than many purely bedding Floribundas. The rose has the proportions of a small to medium bush rose rather than a low patio miniature or a large shrub. It can be incorporated into mixed planting without overwhelming neighbouring perennials, yet is tall enough to be read as a distinct flowering shrub. Its dark, lustrous foliage is an important part of the display: the saturated pink flowers are set against a deep background, giving the plant a crisp and emphatic colour contrast. Rose 'Fab at 70' is presented through Harkness’s gift-rose catalogue rather than through a full public registration record.

FLOWERING

The flowering character is recurrent and its flowering starts in the early weeks of summer, continuing through summer and autumn, and lasting until the first frosts in a favourable season. Like many modern Floribundas, it blooms in successive flushes in identical intensity throughout the season. Regular removal of spent blooms and clusters will help the plant to direct its energy into renewed flowering, maintain a neat appearance, and extend the decorative season. The overall flowering effect is one of deep pink flowers held above or among polished dark leaves, a colour combination that is particularly effective when several plants are repeated along a path, in a small formal bed, or in a sunny mixed border.

Flower bud:

The flower buds of this rose have a broad and rounded shape with slightly acute tips. The sepals have a broadly lanceolate shape with acute tip, fully covering the petals and just slightly longer than enclosed petals. There are 3 lightly appendaged sepals and 2 unappendaged sepals with white hairy edges. The upper surface of the sepals have medium green colour and suffused red purple anthocyanin and have smooth and glandular surface.

When the sepals start to open the darker deep-pink petals with deep magenta pink, dark raspberry pink and cherry pink shades become visible. As the petals progress to unfurl in the bud the bud broadens, petals start to open in a high-centered manner at first, more typical for Hybrid Teas, and the colour becomes slightly lighter, but still darker than the future flower. The most satisfactory opening happens in warm, bright conditions with steady soil moisture. In prolonged cold rain, very double flowers of this rose may open more slowly.

The peduncle is medium in length, thick and strong, carrying buds and flowers upright. The colour of the peduncle is medium green suffused with purple red tint and has some glandular hairs and few small prickles on the surface. The receptacle is small, chalice shaped and has medium yellow-green in colour, sometimes with light purple-red tint, and has smooth surface.

Bloom:

The flowers of 'Fab at 70' are medium sized, double flowers that start high-centered at first when the petals start to unfurl and form a broader cup with neatly arranged petals and the edges of petals recurving outwardly slightly. Their colour is strong enough to “pop” against the dark glossy foliage. Upon opening the colour is very dark raspberry pink to magenta pink, and as the flower ages the colour becomes slightly lighter but remains intense, deep pink or raspberry pink depending on climate. This makes the rose suitable both as a present and as an ornamental plant: it can be appreciated in passing at a distance, but its perfume and layered flowers also reward closer inspection. Flowers may be cut for small informal arrangements, although the variety is primarily marketed for garden and container display rather than as a specialist florist’s cutting rose

Petals:

The flowers of this rose are double, typically having around 25 to 30 petals. The texture of the petals in rather think and smooth, quite substantial to withstand unfavourable climate conditions, especially rain. The texture of the petals is strong enough to produce a visually substantial bloom, and they are able to retain form well or quite long. The colour of the petals become lighter with time, and gardeners should expect the usual modest variation caused by temperature, sunlight and the age of individual flowers: deep pink roses may appear richer in cool weather and a little lighter in strong midsummer sun.

Fragrance:

The rose variety 'Fab at 70' is strongly fragrant, while the fragrance character is not formally published. Such perfume adds particular value to a plant intended for a patio, entrance garden, seating area, or commemorative gift.

PLANT

Rose variety 'Fab at 70' is classified as a Floribunda rose with a compact, upright-to-bushy garden growing habit. The plants of this rose commonly form a dimension of approximately 90 cm (3 ft) in height and about 60 cm (2 ft) in width. These proportions make it a useful intermediate rose: larger and more structurally present than a miniature patio rose, but considerably easier to accommodate than a vigorous shrub or climber.

It should be grown in an open position with at least half a day of direct sun; fuller sun generally encourages stronger growth, better flowering and quicker drying of foliage after rain. It tolerates a range of ordinary garden soils, but performs best in deep, fertile, moisture-retentive yet freely drained loam enriched with well-rotted organic matter. In heavy clay, improve drainage and avoid planting into a permanently wet hollow. In light sandy soil, incorporate compost or well-rotted manure and mulch annually to conserve moisture.

Prune in late winter or early spring after the severest frosts have passed. Remove dead, damaged, weak and crossing wood, then shorten the remaining healthy framework enough to promote strong flowering shoots. A compact Floribunda such as this normally benefits from moderate pruning rather than the severe annual cutting often given to exhibition Hybrid Teas. During the season, remove faded clusters to a healthy outward-facing leaf and keep the base free of weeds and competing grass.

Foliage:

There is a normal quantity of the foliage on the plants of the rose variety 'Fab at 70'. The foliage is very attractive, dark green, very glossy and healthy-looking and medium sized. It provides an attractive evergreen-like visual weight during the growing season, especially when young shoots and leaves emerge, as the young growth demonstrates dark purple red colour.

Leaflets:

The normal medium sized leaves in the middle of the flowering stems have 5 leaflets, including the terminal leaflet. The leaflets are broadly ovate to elliptic with pointed tips and rounded base; the edges of the leaflets are serrated, the type of serration is large and single.

Wood:

The plants of this rose are moderately vigorous and compact in ultimate dimensions. They develop rounded, well branching plants capable of carrying multiple flowering stems. Yong canes of this rose have dark purple red colour and smooth bark and they mature to dark green colour while the bark remains smooth.

Prickles:

There is a normal quantity of prickles on the main canes from the base and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose. The prickles are large, have straight pyramidal shape and when young they have dark purple red colour maturing to gray colour.

Small prickles:

There are few smaller prickles that may appear on the canes of this rose and on the undersides of the petiole. They are the same in colour and shape, but only smaller in size.

Disease resistance and stress tolerance:

The disease resistance data for the rose variety 'Fab at 70' is quite limited. Based on general good disease resistance of roses created by Harkness in the past decade it should be regarded as resistant to most common rose pathogens like black spot, powdery mildew, rust and botrytis. This however should not be regarded as immunity.

This rose is rated as H4 by RHS hardiness indication by Harkness, meaning hardy through much of the United Kingdom, approximately -10 to -5 °C (14 - 23 °F). This roughly corresponds to USDA Zone 7 - 8, meaning that this is not very winter hardy rose and in colder climates should be grown with a great deal of winter protection and care. In hot climates, provide deep soil, organic mulch and consistent irrigation.

'Fab at 70' is an English celebratory phrase meaning "fabulous at seventy". It is used as a gift-rose name for a seventieth birthday, allowing the plant to function as both a present and a perennial reminder of the occasion. Harkness’s cataloguing presents it explicitly as a birthday rose and offers it in gift-wrapped form as well as ordinary nursery stock.

As of the date this rose has no authenticated ADR designation, RHS Award of Garden Merit, major international rose-trial medal, All-America Rose Selections recognition, Australian National Rose Trial award, or comparable formal award.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose 'Fab at 70' is marketed by Harkness Roses in the United Kingdom as a Floribunda birthday rose. The precise seed and pollen parentage, a breeder’s code, the date of breeding, and the identity of the individual breeder have not been publicly disclosed by the company. Harkness’s contemporaneous 2021 Masterpiece Rose Collection catalogue lists it among its “Birthday Roses” as a Floribunda, alongside 'Fab at 30', 'Fab at 40', 'Fab at 50', 'Fab at 60' and 'Fab at 80'.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

Floribunda roses 'Fab at 70' occupies a contemporary gift-rose niche. Its name is occasion-led, but the underlying horticultural idea is sound: a manageable, recurrent, scented pink rose is more enduring than a cut-flower gift and can become part of a garden’s personal history. Its dark glossy foliage and compact proportions align it with the modern preference for roses that remain attractive between flowering flushes and fit easily into smaller gardens or containers. It also belongs to a wider retail practice in which roses are named for birthdays, anniversaries and family milestones.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

'Fab at 70' is a compact deep-pink Floribunda selected and marketed for a warm, celebratory garden presence and is especially suitable for a sunny border, a patio container or a personal gift planting. This rose variety incorporated the following unique combination of characteristics:

  deep pink, double Floribunda flowers set against dark glossy foliage;

  strong fragrance, unusual in many compact Floribunda roses;

  repeat flowering from early summer until the first frosts and compact growth habit.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

Precise seed and pollen parent documentation for this rose was not published therefore, a formal parent-by-parent comparison cannot be made.

USDA 7

USDA Zone 7 - hardiness guide