Rose Tamora

One of David Austin’s earlier introductions, ‘Tamora’ is a compact, free-flowering shrub rose that embodies the romantic charm and classic fragrance of Old Garden Roses in a smaller, highly manageable form. This rose possesses a softer disposition - offering flushes of apricot-toned blooms, a strong myrrh perfume, and a refined, low-growing habit well-suited to borders, beds, and containers. Though later varieties like ‘Jayne Austin’ and ‘Sweet Juliet’ may have eclipsed it in popularity, ‘Tamora’ remains cherished by connoisseurs for its fragrance, floriferousness, and graceful bloom form, especially in warmer climates where it thrives remarkably well.

FLOWERING

The blooming habit of the rose variety ‘Tamora’ is recurrent, it blooms in flushes from early summer until the frosts.

Bright orange-red buds unfurl into a deeply cupped at first and later open into informal rosettes, measuring around 9 cm (3.5 in) in diameter. The flowers of this rose variety are full, the number of petals varies from 40 to 70 petals, depending on the weather and a season. Petals are broad and silky, arranged in a dense whorl with a gently tousled appearance. Their color is a subtle gradient of apricot, peach, and soft orange, fading at the edges to buff or pearl-white, often with darker backs and warm undertones that shift with light and temperature. Early blooms formed shallowly cupped; as they expand the many short, broad petals arrange themselves into informal rosettes that recall old Gallica roses.

Flowers are borne both singly and in clusters of 3 - 7 blooms together, making the shrub continuously decorative. Its intense myrrh fragrance, a hallmark of the English Rose group, enriched with aspects of lilac and mimosa, is carried on the air with surprising reach - powerful, resinous, and unmistakably sweet.

Long, straight flower stems of ‘Tamora’ furnish useful vase material; gardeners report both cut and garden flowers holding well under normal climate conditions.

PLANT

The rose variety ‘Tamora’ is classified as a Shrub rose and is part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. A short, upright, bushy habit keeps ‘Tamora’ neat and compact. The mature and well-established plans reach of about 90 - 100 cm (3 - 3.3 ft) in height and about 75 - 90 cm (2.5 -3 ft) win width. Most flowering shoots arise directly from the base, creating a dense framework ideal for front-of-border positions or low hedging.

The foliage is compact and neat, with small, dark green Floribunda-like leaves, sometimes bronzed when young. New shoots are flushed with bronze, and stems are adorned with distinctive red-bronze prickles - slender and sharp, yet not excessively dense. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves is typically 5, including the terminal leaflet, the edges of the leaflets are serrated, and the type of serration is double and small.

Its tidy shape and nonstop flowering make it a strong choice for front-of-border planting, small gardens, cutting beds, or even low formal hedges. It is ideal for planting in groups of 3 or more, where its mass of blooms can create a low, glowing carpet of color and perfume. While it benefits from full sun, it tolerates partial shade reasonably well and requires only light maintenance to remain healthy and shapely.

‘Tamora’ is widely appreciated for its adaptability and disease resistance, particularly in hot, dry climates where it outperforms many English Roses. It also shows strong resistance to black spot, powdery mildew, and rust, making it reliable even in challenging conditions. It was noted for its resilience in trials at the Montreal Botanical Garden, where it performed admirably in a cool, humid environment.

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

Named after the fierce Queen of the Goths in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus.

English Shrub Roses

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Austamora’ / ‘Tamora' originated by David Austin by crossing female parent (seed parent) an English shrub rose ’Auscer’ / ’Chaucer’ with the male parent (pollen parent) Rugosa rose ‘Conrad Ferdinand Meyer’, drawing its character mainly from ’Auscer’ / ’Chaucer’ and the Bourbon ancestor ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ rather than the Rugosa side.

USDA 6