Rose Heathcliff

Among the darker English shrub roses, ‘Heathcliff’ is one of the most atmospheric: richly colored with large, very full rosettes that combine old-rose romance with modern repeat flowering. Its blooms are deep crimson, sometimes with purplish undertones or highlights, and are set off by glossy, dark green foliage on an upright, bushy plant. The scent is absolutely stunning and heady, combining Tea rose with Old Rose and a dry cedarwood note. For gardeners who want an English shrub of literary character, dark color, and refined fragrance, ‘Heathcliff’ remains a perfect choice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

What makes ‘Heathcliff’ especially interesting is that it belongs to a color range David Austin himself repeatedly described as difficult to achieve well. At launch it was presented as an important contribution to the deep crimson group of English roses, a color family associated in the Austin canon with such cultivars as ‘Falstaff’, ‘Munstead Wood’, ‘Darcey Bussell’, and earlier darker reds, yet ‘Heathcliff’ does not merely repeat them. Its very full rosette shaped flowers with a certain softness to the crimson tone that recalls some red Gallicas more than the heavier purple cast of some other dark Austins. That combination of fullness, true crimson depth, and a fragrance with Old rose and Tea character and woody notes gives it a personality that feels more restrained and shadowed.

FLOWERING

Rose variety ‘Heathcliff’ is a repeat-flowering, it blooms in flushes through the season, from late spring or early summer into autumn, with the exact length of the display depending on climate, pruning, feeding, and deadheading. In established plants the general effect is of recurrent, substantial flowers and to the overall deep crimson rhythm they create across the shrub. In good conditions, the repeat is considered one of the cultivar’s strengths; nevertheless, the first flush is usually the most dramatic, and later flushes benefit from prompt removal of spent blooms and steady watering.

Flower bud:

The flower buds are large, very rounded, broadly ovoid, with a pointed apex. The sepals have medium green colour sometimes with purple red shades on the upper surface, especially on the side well lit by the sun; there are 3 lightly appendaged sepals with gray purplish red hairy edges and 2 unappendaged sepals with gray purplish red hairy edges. When the sepals starts to open the buds start to show lighter crimson petals with strong silvery white shades. As the flower bud progresses to open the colour of the petals becomes darker, showing more deep red to crimson tones, opening deliberately into a deep cupped quartered rosette.

The peduncle is medium sized and strong, capable of holding large and heavy blooms well. The peduncle is medium green in colour and well armed with smaller prickles of same medium green colour, sometimes with purplish tint.

Bloom:

The opened flowers of the rose ‘Heathcliff’ are stunning in effect, they are large, the average flower diameter is about 9 cm (approximately 3.5 in.) when fully open. The form is usually cup-shaped at first, then developing into a fuller quartered rosette, and the flower form holds well, remaining cupped until the end. The flowers are very full, the petals count is normally 105 petals and more, creating very much Old styled, densely petalled and substantial flowers. They appear often singly or in small clusters of 3 to 5 blooms together on strong flowering stems, which are also suitable for cutting and flower arrangements, despite being very prickly.

‘Heathcliff’ particularly stands out due its colour: the dominant impression is deep crimson, but not a flat, enamelled crimson, instead it incorporated purple highlights, Gallica-like softness, and plum-toned inflection. This is why the blooms can look very differently according to weather and stage: in cooler climate and less light they may seem velvety and sombre, while in stronger sun the red can brighten, become very pinkish. The overall effect remains distinctly old-fashioned, with densely packed petals giving the flower weight and depth, and this contributes greatly to its value in a collector’s garden where bloom form is examined at close quarters.

Petals:

The petals are numerous, closely arranged, and generally have silky and soft texture, creating the lush, almost upholstered look associated with the best English rosettes. The inner petals interfold and crowd together while outer petals hold the bloom in a rounded cupped quartered rosette. Margins are not prominently frilled, they are normally slightly waved, with outer petals having pointed tips and the inner petals having more rounded, slightly notched in the center shape. As the flower ages, the color may soften slightly and show more purplish nuance, but the rose generally retains deep crimson shades.

The flowers last on a plant fairly long for such old-fashioned deep crimson flowers, for about 3 to 5 days under normal growing conditions. After the flowering it is recommended to timely deadheat the spent flowers as some most inner petals tend to hang on and dry, but generally the variety has good self cleaning quality.

Fragrance:

The fragrance has one of the most interesting aspects of this cultivar because generally it is strong to very strong,having a light Tea fragrance notes with strong Old Rose character and prominent woody undertone, reminiscent of cedar wood. Its aroma in a garden is more layered, and its intensity may vary with weather, maturity of the bloom, and local growing conditions.

Reproductive parts:

Because the flowers are so full, the reproductive structures are not a chief ornamental feature of this rose and are only slightly visible in some flowers. When visible, the flowers show some quantity of bright yellow stamens and pistils. If blooms are not deadheaded, some orange hips may form, but fruiting does not appear to be a defining garden characteristic of the cultivar.

PLANT

As a plant, rose variety ‘Heathcliff’ is classified as a Shrub rose and being the part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection is best regarded as a medium to large English shrub rose. Usually it is a vigorous and deciduous, bushy, and generally upright plant in habit. The mature and well established plants of this rose typically reach about 120 - 150 cm in height (4 - 5 ft) and about 50 - 100 cm (1.6 - 3.2 ft) in spread, although in spread it can grow up to 120 cm (4 ft). This range is not unusual in English shrub roses, whose final habit responds strongly to climate, pruning style, rootstock, and soil fertility. What remains constant is the impression of this rose which is upright, substantial enough for border use, yet not so coarse or gigantic as to be difficult in a home garden.

Cultivation is straightforward by the standards of repeat-flowering shrub roses. The plant is happiest in fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil in full sun, though some continental specialists also admit light partial shade. Like many English shrubs, it benefits from annual mulching, balanced feeding in late winter or early spring, and deadheading through the season to encourage the later flushes. Pruning should generally be moderate, not severe: repeat-flowering shrub roses produce their display on reasonably mature framework wood, so the aim is to maintain shape, remove weak or dead growth, and renew the shrub gradually instead of cutting it hard. In colder gardens, spring pruning should be delayed until the worst frosts have passed, and new plantings profit from winter protection at the crown in their first years.

It is not a bedding rose, nor a formal exhibition hybrid tear, rather, it is a medium sized English shrub suited to mixed borders, rose borders, and intimate plantings where scent and close viewing matter. Gardeners tend to value it for the tonal richness of the flowers, the old-fashioned bloom form, and the way the dark blossoms sit against polished foliage. Where space is limited, it can still serve as a specimen shrub or be incorporated into a refined, small-scale rose planting, especially in temperate gardens where repeat flowering and fragrance are prized as highly as continuous mass effect.

Foliage:

There is a normal quantity of the foliage on the plant of this rose variety. The foliage is dark green, glossy, and one of the plant’s ornamental assets. It gives the shrub a polished, modern look that supports the ‘Old rose’ style flowers particularly well, and generally the foliage remains healthy through the season. The young foliage has medium green colour, sometimes tinted with purple red and matures to dark green later on. Visually the foliage is not merely a background but part of the contrast that makes the deep crimson flowers displayed more clearly and luxuriously. This sheen and depth of green also help explain why ‘Heathcliff’ can look pretty even between flushes.

Leaflets:

The normal leaf in the middle of the flowering stem typically has 5 leaflets, with variations from 3 to 7 on some, including the terminal leaflet. The leaflets have a rather coarse and dense texture, glossy and dark green, with prominent veining. The edges of the leaflets are serrated, the type of serration is medium sized and single. The leaflet presentation is typical of a modern English shrub rose in style: neat, well-furnished, and sufficiently glossy to enhance the richness of the flowers.

Wood:

The wood of the rose variety ‘Heathcliff’ is upright, bushy, and vigorous enough to carry the large blooms well. It forms medium in height plants with a slight spread. In garden effect this means that ‘Heathcliff’ is useful where a dark-flowered rose is wanted with a reasonably vertical display rather than a broad, lounging mound. The young canes of this rose have medium green colour and smooth bars, as the wood matures the colour changes to brown greens and the bark shows more rough patches.

Prickles:

The main canes and the laterals from the main canes of the rose variety ‘Heathcliff’ bear a large quantity of prickles. The prickles are medium sized, straight in shape, somewhere in between of the Gallicas and Rugosas in general appearance. The young prickles are medium green in colour with sometimes purplish tint, and they mature to brownish-gray. In practical terms, that means it is sensible to place this rose where the flowers can be approached for scent and cutting without forcing repeated contact with passing paths or narrow doorways.

Small prickles:

There is a large to normal quantity of the small prickles present on the main canes and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose variety. The smaller prickles have the same appearance as the larger prickles, but smaller in size.

Disease resistance and stress tolerance:

Rose variety ‘Heathcliff’ is considered to be healthy but does not have immunity to most common rose pathogens. It may be susceptible to black spot, rust, and powdery mildew in climates or in growing conditions with favorable conditions for spreading those pathogens.Good air circulation, base watering rather than overhead irrigation, removal of infected leaves, and careful sanitation remain important, especially in warm humid districts where black spot pressure can be severe. The pest resistance has not been tested yet.

With regard to cold and stress tolerance, the cultivar is reliably recommended for growing in climates similar to USDA zones 5 to 11, while RHS rates it H6, meaning hardy through all of the UK and much of northern Europe, where the temperatures can drop to about -23.5°C (-10.3°F), which broadly accords with those ratings when the plant is established. In colder temperate climates, crown protection during the first winters is wise, and in exposed continental gardens a sheltered, sunny site is preferable. Drought tolerance likewise appears moderate and prolonged dryness will generally reduce flower size and repeat. Also important to note that the flowers of this rose do not tolerate extreme heat and sun well, which is not unusual for English roses with dark and very full blooms - in such climates the place in partial shade is highly desirable, though it will reduce the number of flowers.

The name ‘Heathcliff’ comes from the central male character in Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights. The literary choice fits the rose well: dark, dramatic, romantic, and somewhat magnetic in mood.

Rose ‘Heathcliff’ has not achieved any verified award, trial certificate, ADR status, RHS Award of Garden Merit, AARS recognition, or equivalent international rose-trial honor to this date.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Ausnipper ’ / 'Heathcliff' originated by David C. H. Austin by crossing two unnamed rose seedlings.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

‘Ausnipper ’ / 'Heathcliff' entered a notable cohort of 2012 introductions shown at Chelsea, alongside ‘Boscobel’, ‘Royal Jubilee’, ‘The Lark Ascending’, and ‘Tranquillity’. In that group it represented the dark crimson register, bringing a more shadowed, literary, Old rose character than the brighter or softer companions. In the wider Austin sequence it sits comfortably among the breeder’s pursuit of rich reds and crimsons, yet its tone is gentler and more Gallica-inflected than some roses that age decisively into purple. For collectors, that makes it interesting not only as a garden rose but as a chapter in Austin’s long effort to resolve the difficult problem of deep red English shrubs without sacrificing repeat bloom or refined form.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

Rose ‘Ausnipper ’ / 'Heathcliff' is a dark-flowered English shrub rose of real charm and considerable sophistication. It offers gardeners large, deeply nostalgic rosettes in a rich crimson range, a fragrance that moves beyond a single Old rose scent, and a polished foliage backdrop that gives the plant substance, is distinctly and memorably itself and incorporated the following unique combination of characteristics:

  large, very full, deep-crimson quartered rosette blooms with approximately 105 petals that recalls old red Gallica roses more than a pure purple-red modern shrub;

  distinctive fragrance blending Tea rose and Old rose, with a dry woody, cedarwood note;

  repeat flowering through the season, upright, bushy English shrub habit with glossy dark green foliage.

The propagation methods suitable for the rose ‘Heathcliff’ include: commercial propagation by T-budding in summer; while semi-ripe cuttings in late summer and hardwood cuttings in autumn are also cited as suitable methods.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

Precise seed and pollen parent documentation for this cultivar was never officially published, therefore a formal parent-by-parent comparison cannot be made.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

The closest commercially available comparison is probably ‘Falstaff’, not because the two are identical, but because both remain recognized dark English shrub roses and appeal to gardeners looking for richly petalled crimson blooms with old-rose character. ‘Falstaff’ bears large, shallowly cupped flowers of dark crimson that turn rich purple and carries a powerful to medium Old Rose fragrance; it generally forms broader plants. By contrast, ‘Heathcliff’ usually presents a more settled deep-crimson tone, often with softer Gallica-like depth rather than obvious purple aging, and its bloom is fuller and deep-rosetted. The scent of ‘Heathcliff’ is also more mixed in profile, moving through Tea and Old Rose with a woody base note. In garden use, ‘Falstaff’ can create a more dramatic, velvety, almost theatrical dark-red-to-purple effect, whereas ‘Heathcliff’ is the more sombrely romantic shrub, especially appropriate where one wants dark crimson rosettes in a compact literary border rather than a rose that evolves strongly toward purple.

USDA 5

USDA Zone 5 - hardiness guide