Rose Malvern Hills

Rosa ‘Malvern Hills’ is a soft yellow English Rambling Rose, notable as one of the few truly repeat-flowering ramblers. This climbing rose combines the charm of old ramblers with modern remontancy, offering soft yellow, rosette-shaped blooms in successive flushes from early summer through fall. The small, full flowers have a moderate musky fragrance, inherited from its musk rose lineage. ‘Malvern Hills’ is a vigorous, flexible climber reaching 3–6 m in height, with smooth, glossy foliage and remarkably few prickles. Garden trials and anecdotal reports laud its exceptional disease resistance, with minimal black spot or mildew even in high-pressure conditions. This blend of aesthetic appeal and practical performance underlies the cultivar’s enduring popularity in gardens worldwide.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

FLOWERING

The rose variety ‘Malvern Hills’ has a recurrent flowering habit. Blooms in flushes with short breaks from summer until frosts, with peak in early summer and with later intermittent blooms. The number of blooms per plant during the growing season is profuse, but there are too many to count. The flowerBorne on lateral shoots from old and new canes (blooms on new wood).

The flowers of ‘Malvern Hills’ are modest in size but borne in profusion. Individual blooms average to about 4 - 5 cm (1.5 - 2 in) in diameter, qualifying as “small” by rose standards. They are full, with approximately 40 petals each. The flowers have cupped rosette form with a classic button-eye in the center (a small cluster of petaloids).

When in bud, blooms show a deeper buff-yellow to apricot shades and deep yellow colour and are gathered in medium sized clusters. As the flower opens and ages, the colour softens to a pale soft yellow or cream. The overall effect is a delicate primrose yellow. Petal texture is somewhat papery, and blooms are often quartered or ruffled in appearance, in keeping with Austin’s “English Rose” style blooms. Clusters are of medium sized, typically bearing 5 to 15 blooms per inflorescence on lateral flowering shoots. These cluster-flowering trusses create a charming display of many small roses blooming together. Because buds, newly opened blooms, and aged blooms may all be present simultaneously on a cluster, presenting a delightful spectacle is a mix of all stages of blooms. The plant blooms on new laterals off the main canes, and notably, late-season basal shoots often develop flower clusters at each node, cascading as long, flowering whips.

Fragrance:

The scent of rose variety ‘Malvern Hills’ is typically described as light to medium, with prominent musk character. The musk aroma originates from Rosa moschata in its pedigree and is characterized by a sweet, slightly spicy note reminiscent of cloves or ambrette. While not overpowering, multiple blooms can scent the air, especially in the evenings of warm days. Interestingly, the cultivar’s small blooms still produce viable pollen and nectar and are considered bee-friendly, unlike full roses that may be sterile; however, hips (rose fruits) are rarely produced, as the spent flowers tend to dry and drop off rather than setting seed.

PLANT
Botanically, Rosa ‘Malvern Hills’ is classified as a Modern climbing rose and is part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection, and David Austin Roses groups it in the English Rose Ramblers subset of shrub roses. It combines old-fashioned Hybrid Musk Rambler characteristics with modern remontant (repeat-blooming) traits. It is often informally described as an English Musk Rambler, reflecting the influence of Hybrid Musk ancestry in its breeding and its strong musk fragrance.

‘Malvern Hills’ is a vigorous, scrambling climber with a pliable, arching habit. In cultivation it typically reaches about 300 - 450 cm (10 - 15 ft) tall and can exceed 500 cm (16+ ft) in ideal conditions. It can also have a spread of the plant of about 200 - 300 cm (6 - 10 ft). This rose is not self-supporting and requires training on support. The long, slender canes are produced from the base; these shoots are strong but slender, with good extension growth late in the season. Unlike stiff climbers, its canes are flexible and easy to train or weave into supports. Notably, the stems bear very few prickles, making it easier to handle than many climbers.

Foliage:

The foliage is deciduous and quite abundant, with compound leaves consisting of 5 - 7 small leaflets, including the terminal leaflet. Leaves are a medium to deep green with a glossy, polished surface, contributing to its attractive appearance even when not in bloom. The combination of smooth canes, scant prickles, and shining foliage imparts a refined look, distinguishing ‘Malvern Hills’ from more bristly or coarse-foliaged ramblers.

The shape of the leaflets is narrow pointed oval, the shape of the leaflet tip and of the base is acuminate. The surface texture of the leaflets is leathery. The edges are serrated, the type of serration is double towards the center of the leaflet and single towards the base and apex, medium-sized.

Disease resistance:

Rose ‘Malvern Hills’ has gained a reputation for exceptional disease tolerance. Austin himself observed it has “almost perfect disease-resistance and will give minimum trouble”. Field experience and trial reports corroborate that it shows high resistance to black spot, powdery mildew, and rust - the major fungal diseases of roses. Gardeners in humid climates like the southeastern US have found ‘Malvern Hills’ to remain nearly defoliation-free, a stark contrast to susceptible varieties. It is likely this cultivar inherited disease-resistant genes from its seedling lineage (possibly involving heritage rambler or species roses known for toughness).

It is suitable for growing in climates similar to USDA Zone 5b (−26 °C) to Zone 9/10. In UK terms, RHS H5 (hardy in most of UK to −15 °C). May survive Zone 5a (−29 °C) with heavy protection and mulch. Thrives in temperate climates; tolerates high heat (up to 35–40 °C) if well watered. Not well-suited to tropical lowlands (prefers some winter dormancy).

The cultivar name ‘Malvern Hills’ carries geographical and historical significance. David Austin named this rose after the Malvern Hills, a range of picturesque hills in Worcestershire/Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England. These hills lie not far south of Austin’s Rose Nursery in Albrighton (Shropshire) and are famed for their natural beauty – they are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the UK. The choice of name also pays tribute to cultural heritage: the Malvern Hills area was once home to the English composer Sir Edward Elgar, known for drawing inspiration from those landscapes. As Austin noted, “Named after the beautiful range of hills not far to the south of our nurseries and once home to the composer, Sir Edward Elgar”. This contextual naming is typical of David Austin Roses, which often bear names of British literary, geographic, or historic significance.

English Rambling Roses

RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), awarded for all-around garden excellence.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Auscanary ’ / 'Malvern Hills' originated by David Austin by crossing two unknown and unnamed rose seedlings. Upon its release, ‘Malvern Hills’ filled an important niche in rose cultivation: the unique feature of ‘Malvern Hills’ is a late-summer rebloom, a rare quality for a rambler rose. Unlike most classic ramblers which flower only once per season, ‘Malvern Hills’ reliably repeats its bloom, making it “a very important rose, as no more than a very small number of varieties could be so described at present”.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

From a horticultural and economic standpoint, ‘Malvern Hills’ has proven popular among home gardeners and rose enthusiasts globally. Its rare combination of vigorous rambling habit with continuous bloom and disease tolerance makes it valuable for modern sustainable gardening. In Germany and France, where disease-resistant roses are prized, ‘Malvern Hills’ has been recommended for low-spray or no-spray gardens due to its very healthy foliage and near-immunity to common rose maladies. By bridging the gap between once-blooming ramblers and repeat-blooming modern climbers, ‘Malvern Hills’ has had a noteworthy impact on rose breeding trends, inspiring the development of more repeat-flowering ramblers in the 21st century. Subsequent David Austin introductions (‘Snow Goose’ and ‘The Lady of the Lake’) followed the template of combining old-world rambler charm with remontancy, a path in which ‘Malvern Hills’ was a key early success.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

Comparison with similar cultivars: ‘Malvern Hills’ can be distinguished from other climbers and ramblers by its unique combination of yellow color, repeat bloom, and minimal prickles. Prior to its introduction, yellow ramblers were usually once-blooming (e.g., ‘Aglaia’ or ‘Goldfinch’, early 20th-century rambler hybrids) and often prone to black spot. By contrast, ‘Malvern Hills’ repeat-flowers and stays clean from black spots.

Compared to Austin’s earlier white rambler ‘Snow Goose’ (Auspom, 1996), which also repeat-blooms, ‘Malvern Hills’ has larger blooms of a soft yellow shades and a taller growth (Snow Goose is white, with tiny semi-double rosettes and of about 250 - 350 cm (8–10 ft) growth habit).

Unlike Austin’s popular yellow English Shrub Rose ‘Graham Thomas’ (a vigorous climber-like shrub), ‘Malvern Hills’ bears smaller blooms in clusters and cannot be grown as a freestanding bush - it must ramble. In fact, sources underscore that unlike other English Roses, ‘Malvern Hills’ is not suited to grow in shrub form. This sets it apart from many David Austin roses that are bred as shrubs; ‘Malvern Hills’ is best considered a true Rambler (climber) in usage.

Another contemporary rose to compare is ‘The Pilgrim’ (Auswalker), a yellow Austin climber (introduced 1991) with larger, quartered blooms. ‘The Pilgrim’ is more of a short climber (8–10 ft) and repeats blooms well, but it has a richer Tea rose fragrance. ‘Malvern Hills’, while less lush in bloom form, surpasses it in height and disease hardiness.

Finally, in the broader market of white or yellow rambling roses, one might consider ‘Rambling Rector’ (vigorous white once-bloomer) or ‘Goldfinch’ (small old yellow rambler) – yet neither repeats flowering, and both have more prickles. Thus, ‘Malvern Hills’ remains relatively unique in offering a pale yellow, musk-scented, repeat-flowering performance on a nearly thornless rambler, making it a distinct and valuable cultivar for covering structures with season-long color.

USDA 6