Rose Maroussia!

‘Maroussia!’ delivers a crisp, “cold-white” focal rose ideal for weddings, sympathy work and minimalist bouquets where true white and prolonged life are mandatory. The slight green flush lets it bridge pure whites and green-tinted florals such as viburnum or lisianthus, while the large petal count grants a premium, “garden rose” visual without the fragility of English or old-rose types.

FLOWERING

This rose variety ‘Maroussia!’ has a continuous flowering habit. Blooms in flushes with short breaks from summer until frosts and in controlled greenhouse conditions able to bloom all year long. The number of blooms per plant during the growing season is profuse, but there are too many to count.

The flowers of this rose variety are large, when fully open the average diameter is about 10 - 12 cm (4” - 4.5”). The flowers open slowly from egg-shaped (ovoid “classical” tea-rose) buds to luminous white flowers flushed with pale-green at the outermost petal backs. THe flower form is close to perfection, of a classical high-centred shape, it retains high-centred form for days, then finishes it forms a deep full cup. The flowers of the rose variety ‘Maroussia!’ are full, the number of petals under normal conditions is 55 on average, but sometimes can be as many as 80.

The colour of the flowers is pure white, the outermost petals show a light green sheen that adds “cool-white” depth. The fragrance is rather typical for florists roses, delicate, fresh and slightly sweet. The flowers appear solitary or in small clusters, of 3-5 blooms together, on long, straight peduncles. Because variety is bred and grown as a cut flower, so usually spare buds and side shoots are nipped out.

Academic testing ranks rose ‘Maroussia!’ among the longest-lasting commercial cut roses with mean vase life 12 – 14.3 days, outperforming benchmarks such as ‘Black Magic’. Slow senescence is linked to lower ethylene sensitivity and delayed up-regulation of senescence-related genes. When grown in the garden the flowers last on a plant long, for about 10 - 14 days under normal growing conditions. Normally petals of this rose hang on and dry therefore timely deadheading is recommended for this rose.

PLANT

The rose variety ‘Maroussia!’ is classified as a Hybrid Tea rose or Large-flowered florist’s rose for cut flower and garden exhibition. The mature and well-established plants have a height of about 60 - 100 cm and the width of about 40 - 50 cm.

There is a normal quantity of foliage on the plants of this rose variety. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves varies from 5 to 7, including the terminal leaflet. The foliage is dark emerald-green, leathery and glossy and provides a good backdrop to white blooms. The edges are serrated, the type of serration is single and large.

The prickles are relatively few, they have a straight, pyramidal shape; stems remain easy to handle for floristry. The flowering stems are high-class, pristine, long and easy-to-handle stems. This rose looks equally perfect at home in professional bouquets and in well-tended home borders or in a garden.

When grown it prefers full sun position, fertile loam or high-organic greenhouse media soils (EC ± 1.5 mS cm⁻¹, pH 6.2), and rose-specific NPK fertilizers with elevated K during flush boosts petal substance. The flower buds stay tight in prolonged rain but open cleanly once dry.

The rose variety ‘Maroussia!’ is disease resistant, particularly to mildew, blackspot and rust in greenhouse conditions, with an average day temperature maintained at 17.5 degrees C. In a garden environment the resistance to black spot and mildew is adequate, and needs routine sprays in wet seasons. Pest resistance has not been tested yet.

The cold hardiness is rather weak, it is not well suited for cold winters but tolerates continental winters with light cover. It is recorded that it can withstand winter in the garden in climates similar to USDA 6 and warmer.

Unfortunately we do not have information about the origin of the name of this rose.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Dutch-bred hybrid-tea that florists prize for its snow-white chalice buds, long stems and record-long vase life. Bred by Schreurs (The Netherlands) for the professional cut-rose trade, it combines exhibition-class form with vigour. The origin and parentage of this rose variety was not disclosed.

USDA 6