Rose Maid Marion

The tight buds bloom into rounded cupped shaped flowers at first, with larger outer petals surrounding many smaller inner petals. These blossoms open into clear rose-pink, saucer-shaped rosette flowers, with the outer petals creating a perfectly rounded edge. Initially, the fragrance is a gentle myrrh, but as the flowers mature, it develops a fruity scent with a noticeable clove note. The plant grows into a compact shrub with relatively upright yet quite bushy growth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY
Throughout this description, colour references and/or values are based upon the Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society (2001) except where common terms of color definition are employed. Phenotypic expression may vary with environmental, agricultural and climatic conditions, as well as differences in conditions of light and soil.

FLOWER

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

Flower bud:

The flower buds of ‘Maid Marion’ are about 2 cm long and 1.8 cm in diameter when the petals start to unfurl. The bud form is globular. When sepals first divide, the bud color is pink (Group RHS 39B) with light orange pink (Group 29C). When half blown, the upper sides and the lower sides of the petals are red pink (Group RHS 51A).

The calyx is star-shaped when the flower fully open, with sepals folding back, the length is about 5.5 cm and the diameter is about the same.

The arrangement of the sepals is a regular opening to a star shape. On the upper surface the colour of the sepals is light green (Group RHS 144B) with a whitish down on the surface and on the lower surface is yellow-green (Group RHS 144B) with dark brown green intonations (Group 146A). The length of the sepals is 2.6 cm and the width is about 9 mm. The shape is lanceolate with hoary (downy) upper surface texture and smooth lower surface. There are 3 normally appendaged sepals and there are 2 unappendaged sepals with glandular edges.

The receptacles are medium sized, about 1.1 cm long and about 0.9 cm wide, have medium green colour (Group RHS 143B) with some dark red intonations on some (Group 47A). The receptacles are funnel shaped, and their texture is smooth.

The peduncle is medium sized, strong, averaging to about 8 cm and about 4 mm in diameter, the surface is glandular. The colour of the peduncle is medium brown red ( Group RHS 181B) .

Bloom:

The flowers are medium, the average open diameter is about 9 cm. They are borne mostly in small clusters of 4 - 6 blooms having a rounded shape. The flowering stems are strong. When the flower first open the flower form is cupped. As the flower fully opens the form becomes cupped rosette shaped , the outer petal edges curl back. Flowers are full, the number of petals under normal conditions is 57 on average.

The colour of the upper sides and the lower sides of the petals are light blue pink (Group 63D). The base of the petals is light yellow (Group 9D). Under normal growing conditions no variegation is observed on the flowers.

The general tonality of the flowers at the end of the first day is light blue pink (Group 63D) and at the end of the third day remains the same, light blue pink (Group 63D).

Petals:

The surface and texture of the petals is smooth.The shape of the petals is obovate, their margins are undulating, with some petals notched and some entire. The base of the petals is pointed and the shape of the apex is rounded but undulating, with some petals that are notched. The form of the outer petals is slightly incurved and their arrangement is imbricated. The petals are medium sized, with a width of the outer petals of about 3.0 cm and the length of about 4.5 cm. The inner petals have an average length of about 2.5cm and length of about 1.5cm.

There are few petaloids present on the flowers of this variety, about 3- 5 per flower. The colour of the petaloids is light blue pink (Group RHS 63D). The length of the petaloids is about 12 mm and the width is about 5 mm. The shape of petaloids is elliptic, but curled, their margins are irregular.

The petals usually drop off cleanly before drying. The petals last on a plant for about 8 days under normal growing conditions and about 5 days as a cut flower.

Fragrance:

The fragrance of ‘Maid Marion’ is moderate, of a prominent soft myrrh character, later developing into a fruity with strong clove notes as the flower ages.

Reproductive parts:

The number of stamens per flower is around 80, they have an average length of about 1 cm.

The anthers have length of about 2 mm, their colour is medium yellow orange colour (Group 16B), and they are usually regularly arranged around the styles.

The filaments are predominately dark purple (Group 58A) with a few being medium yellow orange (Group 16B), the length varies within the 9 mm.

The pollen has medium yellow orange colour (Group 16A).

Number of pistils is 40 on average, they are about 7 mm long.

The styles have dark purple colour (Group 58A), their length is about 5 mm.

Stigmas are dark purple (Group 58A) and about 2-3 mm long. In the center of the reddish stigma and style above, and in addition to them, there are some other pistils which are a light green (Group 157C).

The hips of this rose variety are not observed yet.

PLANT

The rose variety ‘Maid Marion’ is classified as a Shrub rose from David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. It has a vigorous, quite upright, but compact and bushy growth character. When mature and well established it forms a plant of about 90 - 125 cm in height and of about 90 - 110 cm in width.

The variety is perfect not only for mix borders, rose borders and pathways, but it also will look great in pots and containers due to its neat and compact growth habit.

Foliage:

The quantity of the foliage on this variety is normal, the number of leaves per flowering stem is 10 under normal growing conditions. There are usually 5 leaflets, including a terminal leaflet, on the normal mid-stem leaf. The leaves are large, about 17 cm long and about 12 cm wide.

The new foliage on the upper surface and on the lower surface is dark purple red (Group 185A). The old foliage is dark green (Group 137A) on both sides.

Leaflets:

The leaflets are about 7 cm long and about 4.8 cm wide. The shape of the leaflets is pointed oval with rounded base and acuminate apex; the surface texture is smooth and leathery; the edges are serrated; the type of serration is single and medium. The appearance of the leaflets is semi-glossy.

Petioles have dark brown green colour (Group 146B), the length is 4 cm on average and the width is about 2 mm; the surface texture is smooth.

Petiole rachis is also dark brown green (Group 146B), the underside is with prickles.

The stipules have dark brown green colour (Group 146B), the length is about 2 cm, the surface texture is glandular.

Auricle is strap-shaped, the length is about 1 cm and the width is about 2 mm. The colour of the auricle is dark brown green (Group 146B).

The vein color is the same as leaf color, dark green (Group 137A), the venation pattern is reticulate (net-veined).

Wood:

The colour of the new wood is dark brown purple (Group 183A), the bark is smooth. The mature wood has slightly darker medium green (Group 144A) overlaid with dark brown purple (Group 183A), the bark is smooth.

Stems:

The length of the lateral branch is usually about 70 cm, with a diameter of about 7 mm. The internode distance is about 4 cm. There are usually 6 lateral branches on the stem, with length of 16 cm on average and with the width of about 6 mm. On the branches of this variety the stem pubescence is not present. The above measurements are all variable, depending on growing conditions in a season.

Prickles:

There is a normal quantity of prickles on the main canes from base, about 11 per 10 cm of the stem length. On laterals from main canes there are also normal quantities of prickles, about 8 per 10 cm of the stem length. They have deep concave form, the length is about 10 mm. The colour of the young prickles is dark purple red (Group 59A), the mature prickles have dark brown (Group 200B).

Small prickles:

There are no small prickles on the main stalks and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose variety.

Disease resistance:

The variety ‘Maid Marion’ has good disease resistance to black spot, mildew and rust. Pest resistance has not been tested yet.

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

Maid Marion was the companion of the mythical hero, Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest.

English Shrub Roses

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

The rose variety ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ is classified as a Shrub rose, and was originated by David Austin from the cross-pollination of the two ‘unnamed’ and unpatented seedlings of Rosa hybrida.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

The objective of this rose variety breeding was to grow a rose that has superbly-formed rose pink flowers, with buds that start as rounded cups with larger outer petals enclosing numerous smaller petals within that open into rosette-shaped flowers having outer petals that form a perfectly rounded rim in the form of a saucer, with a relatively upright but bushy and compact plant and with a soft myrrh fragrance.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

Among the features which distinguish ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ variety from other presently available and commercial rose cultivars is the following combination of characteristics:

  a perfect rosette-shaped flowers, having a clear rose pink color;

  medium-strong myrrh fragrance, that becomes more fruity with a distinct clove character as the flower ages;

  a plant growth that is relatively upright but quite bushy and compact;

Asexual reproduction of this variety by budding as performed in greenhouses at Bowling Green Lane in Albrighton, The UK showed that the foregoing and other distinguishing characteristics came true to form and established and transmitted through succeeding asexual propagations. ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ may be asexually propagated by budding.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ may be distinguished from its seed parent, by the following combination of characteristics:

 whereas the seed parent has yellow, cupped flowers with taller broader growth, ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ has pink, cupped rosette-shaped flowers with a compact growth.

‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ may be distinguished from its pollen parent, by the following combination of characteristics:

 whereas the pollen parent forms single pink flowers, ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ produces double rose pink flowers.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

The closest commercially available cultivar to the rose variety ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ is the rose variety ‘Ausglisten’ / ‘Cottage Rose’. The ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ may be distinguished from the ‘Ausglisten’ / ‘Cottage Rose’ variety by the following combination of characteristics:

 the ‘Ausglisten’ / ‘Cottage Rose’ produces blooms that are a little larger and quartered rosette-shaped with around 80 petals, while ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ has blooms that are smaller and have around 57 petals.

  ‘Ausglisten’ / ‘Cottage Rose’ has a medium old rose perfume compared with the ‘Austobias’ / ‘Maid Marion’ myrrh perfume, which turns fruity with clove as it ages.

USDA 6