Rose Moth

Unusual early English Shrub rose ‘Moth’ carries comparatively open, semi-double blooms whose muted coffee-blush, pearl-pink and cream colouring surrounds a conspicuous centre of golden stamens. Its flowers are notably fragrant and repeat in successive flushes, while the plant itself is generally low, spreading and rather informal. Its substantial prickles contrast strikingly with the delicacy of its flowers. Although now rare and absent from David Austin’s mainstream commercial range, ‘Moth’ remains horticulturally interesting as an example of the experimental breadth of Austin’s breeding during the formative period of the English Rose.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

‘David Austin’s English Rose group developed the group by combining the flower character and fragrance associated with historic Gallica, Damask, Alba and related roses with the broader colour range and repeat flowering derived from modern roses. By the early 1980s the programme was producing an increasingly diverse range of shrubs, and ‘Moth’ represents one of its less conventional expressions. The distinguishing feature of ‘Moth’ is its lighter and more naturalistic bloom. The flowers open broadly, revealing their reproductive centre, and combine relatively few petals with an uncommon mixture of pale coffee, beige-pink, blush and eventually creamy white. In a mixed border this gives the plant something of the visual character of an old shrub or species-derived rose, although it retains the valuable modern capacity to flower repeatedly.

Its subdued colouring is particularly important. The petals of this rose display a distinct as for a English rose coffee colour with blush, pink-beige or a milky latte-like pink pearl shading. These difficult-to-classify intermediate shades give the cultivar a quiet, sophisticated appearance and can change considerably with flower age, temperature and light. Mature blooms become much paler, sometimes approaching creamy white.

Its modern relevance lies chiefly with collectors, historically minded gardeners and designers seeking roses with visible stamens and a less formal flower architecture. It can contribute well to cottage gardens, mixed perennial borders and informal rose plantings, where its flower colour is easier to appreciate at relatively close range. Because surviving plants are uncommon, it also has conservation interest as part of the earlier history of Austin’s breeding programme.

FLOWERING

‘Moth’ is a repeat-flowering English shrub rose. This rose blooms in flushes through the growing season, the first flush provides the most abundant display, followed by periods of renewed vegetative growth and later flushes of flowers. The open centers of the individual flower gives the flowering display a lighter effect, as it combines soft petals, clearly visible golden stamens and changing pastel colours. Individual flowers therefore contribute strongly to the ornamental effect even where the shrub is not completely covered with bloom.

Flowers may occur singly or in small clusters; one specialist listing reports approximately three to five flowers per stem. Where long canes are produced, flowers can develop successively along the flowering laterals, giving the plant a loose, arching character rather than a strictly upright floribunda-like display. Deadheading after a flush should encourage subsequent flowering.

Flower bud:

Flower buds have an ovoid, elongated shape reminiscent of an Old garden rose before opening. This is noteworthy because the mature flower becomes broad and comparatively flat, producing a noticeable transformation from the rounded bud to the open flat bloom. The sepals have lanceolate broad shape, are medium green and have a slightly glandular surface on the upper side and the underside is covered with grayish glandular hairs. There are 3 very lightly appendaged sepals and 2 unappendaged sepals with grayish hairy edges. When the sepals start to unfurl they show petals of a strong coffee pink colour which transition to darker red pink orange towards the tip of the bud. As the buds progress to unfurl the red pink orange disappears and the petals become lighter, coffee pinks with more yellow beige toned on the upper sides of the petals. The receptacle is medium green, small, chalice shaped and smooth. The peduncle is medium sized, strong and stiff, capable of holding the flowers well; the colour of the peduncle is medium green and covered with some small pickles and glandular hairs.

Bloom:

The flowers of rose ‘Moth’ are semi-double, when fully open have a broadly open to flat shape with the central stamens clearly exposed. The number of the petals varies generally from approximately 9 to 16 petals, although most commonly the quantity is closer to 9. This relatively low petal count is central to the personality of the cultivar and separates it from the many very full English Roses introduced during the same period. The flowers are large in size, the diameter of the open flower is approximately 10 - 12 cm (4 - 4.7in), and the flower size is variable according to climate and cultivation and that well-grown flowers can appear substantially larger.

The colour of this rose is quite complex, and may vary with climate, maturity of the plant, culture and temperature. The just opened blooms occupy an unusual range between coffee-beige and pale pink, and may appear pale velvety pink with a hint of gray or suede. Blush shading softens the warmer coffee tones, and the fully expanded petals can acquire a pearl-like or creamy quality. With age the colour fades significantly, sometimes becoming almost ashy white. The yellow-gold stamens remain visually important throughout this change and prevent the pale mature flower from appearing visually empty. The centre is open rather than packed with petaloids. This gives the flower an accessible, pollen-bearing appearance reminiscent of some old shrub roses and makes ‘Moth’ particularly attractive to gardeners who value naturalistic floral form.

Petals:

The flowers are generally arranged in a loose semi-double formation, they spread outward sufficiently to expose the stamens, giving the overall flat, open structure. The petals are soft and smooth in texture and become progressively paler as the flower matures. The blooms withstand rain and strong sunlight reasonably well without immediately losing their ornamental effect.

Fragrance:

The fragrance of ‘Moth’ is light and fresh, although intensity will naturally vary with temperature, humidity, flower maturity and time of day.

Reproductive parts:

The reproductive centre is one of the main ornamental features of this rose. Numerous yellow to golden stamens are clearly visible because the semi-double petals open away from the centre. The contrast between these stamens and the pale coffee-pink petals gives the mature bloom much of its character.

PLANT

Rose ‘Moth’ is classified horticulturally as a Shrub rose and belongs to David Austin’s English Shrub rose collection. It is a modern hybrid cultivar even though its fragrance, informal shrub habit and flower presentation intentionally evoke older rose traditions. The plant of this rose has moderately vigorous growth habit, forming rather a medium sized, spreading and bushy plant. The mature and well established plants of this rose form a plant of about 60 - 120 cm (2 - 3 ft) in height and of approximately 50 - 100 cm (1.7 - 3.3 ft) in width. Such variation in mature plants' dimensions are due to the fact that this rose performs very differently depending on climate and culture, and in favourable warm climates it produces long, sprawling canes arising from the base and flowering along their length.

Its best position is near the front or middle of an informal border, where the subtle flower colour can be appreciated closely. A large container may also be suitable where winters are not excessively severe, although container-grown roses experience greater root-temperature extremes and require particularly consistent watering. Plant this rose in fertile, moisture-retentive but freely drained soil. Full sun should provide the best flowering, although this rose can tolerate a light shade where they still receive several hours of direct sunlight. Consistent soil moisture is especially useful during establishment and during the development of flowering shoots.

Because the cultivar may produce irregular or elongated canes, pruning should be directed toward building a balanced framework: it is recommended reducing the previous season’s growth by approximately one third, removing weak, dead or diseased wood and periodically removing older stems to stimulate basal renewal. For rose variety ‘Moth’ in colder climates lighter pruning may be preferable initially if the objective is to preserve its natural arching character.

Foliage:

The foliage is medium green, medium in size and semi-glossy. It supplies a comparatively quiet background to the pale flowers. There is a normal quantity of the foliage on the plants of this rose variety.

Leaflets:

The normal medium sized leaves in the middle of the flowering stem of the rose variety ’Moth’ typically have 5 leaflets, including the terminal leaflet. The leaflets are medium sized, have elliptic shape with elongated acute tip and serrated edges; the type of serration is medium and single.

Wood:

The plant produces a spreading framework with considerable capacity for basal renewal. In cooler or more harder pruned gardens it may remain comparatively compact, while in warmer-climate gardens it is able to produce rather long basal shoots and developing flowers along much of their length. This tendency can result in a somewhat loose or irregular shrub and for that it is described by the gardeners the plant is awkward in shape, which helps explain why it may appeal more strongly to collectors and informal gardeners than to those seeking a perfectly rounded landscape shrub.

Prickles:

Rose variety ‘Moth’ is relatively well armed with prickles, having exceptionally large prickles, making this one of the more memorable vegetative characteristics of this rose. This armature should influence placement. Avoid positioning established plants immediately beside narrow paths or locations where gardeners must frequently reach through the shrub. Strong gloves are advisable during pruning.

Disease resistance and stress tolerance:

By modern standards this rose has moderate disease resistance. While powdery mildew may not always be a major problem, black spot can be more troublesome. It should therefore be cultivated as an older English Shrub of rather modern disease resistance rather than as a no-spray landscape rose. Good air circulation, appropriate spacing, removal of heavily infected fallen foliage and avoidance of unnecessary wetting of foliage late in the day are sensible preventive measures. Black spot, powdery mildew and rust remain among the common fungal diseases that potentially can affect this rose.

In terms of cold hardiness this rose is recommended for growing in climates similar to USDA zone 6b through zone 9b, where it is able to survive the short term extreme minimum of roughly −20.6°C (−5°F). The upper USDA limit of zone 9b does not indicate extreme heat tolerance rating, because USDA zones describe winter minimum temperatures rather than summer heat.

In continental climates near the colder edge of its range, plant deeply enough to protect the crown according to local rose-growing practice, apply an organic mulch after the ground begins cooling, and avoid late heavy nitrogen applications that encourage tender autumn growth. Container plants require substantially greater winter protection than roses established in open soil.

The name was dedicated to one of the fairies in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, Moth appears alongside Peaseblossom, Cobweb and Mustardseed among the fairy attendants associated with Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Both ‘Moth’ and ‘The Moth’ occur in horticultural use and relate to the same rose variety.

Rose variety ‘Moth’ is not known for receiving any major recognized rose award or trial certificate.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Moth' originated by David C. H. Austin and introduced in 1983, however the parentage of this rose was never publicly disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

Within the generation of the English shrub roses ‘Moth’ demonstrates that Austin’s conception of the English Rose was broader than the densely petalled rosette that later came to dominate popular perception. Its open stamens, moderate petal count and subdued beige-pink colouring give it something closer to the spontaneous charm of a lightly doubled old shrub rose. This quality also has ecological interest in modern gardens. Flowers with exposed stamens provide easier access to pollen than extremely double blooms whose reproductive structures may be obscured or transformed into petals. Although ‘Moth’ was not specifically introduced as a pollinator rose, its flower structure is inherently more accessible to visiting pollinators.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

‘Moth’ is an intriguing early English Shrub rose with semi-double flowers open broadly around golden stamens, carrying a rare mixture of coffee, beige, blush pink and creamy pearl before fading almost white. The shrub is medium sized and spreading, although mature plants in warm conditions can develop surprisingly long flowering canes. This rose variety incorporated the following unique combination of characteristics:

  unusual coffee-beige to blush-pink flowers fading toward creamy or ashy white;

  semi-double, broadly open blooms displaying conspicuous golden stamens;

  noticeable sweet fragrance combined with repeat flowering through the season;

  medium, spreading to irregularly arching English Shrub rose habit;

  large, numerous prickles contrasting with the delicate floral character.

Rose variety ‘Moth’ must be propagated vegetatively if plants are to remain genetically true to type, by budding onto suitable Rosa rootstocks. For home propagation, softwood cuttings taken from new shoots in spring or hardwood cuttings taken from autumn into winter are possible general methods for this rose.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

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

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

A useful comparison of the variety ‘Moth’ can be made with English shrub rose ‘Lucetta’, another semi-double rose associated with the 1983 introductions. Both roses belong to the more open-flowered side of early Austin breeding, but they differ markedly in stature and colouring. ‘Lucetta’ develops into a much larger shrub, commonly exceeding 1.5 m (5 ft) and in favourable conditions capable of considerably greater growth; ‘Moth’ is a lower, spreading plant. ‘Lucetta’ produces large blush-pink to pale flowers, whereas ‘Moth’ is distinguished by a more unusual coffee-beige, pink-pearl coloration. Both reveal their stamens when fully open, yet the effect in ‘Moth’ is especially striking because the petals are comparatively sparse and the flower matures toward ash white.

USDA 6

USDA Zone 6 - hardiness guide