Rose The Ancient Mariner

‘The Ancient Mariner’ is a stunning rose variety that begins with pink buds, which unfurl into many-petalled, incurved, cupped blooms with a strong, warm myrrh fragrance. The flowers display a captivating glowing pink or bubblegum pink at the center, gradually fading to softer tones towards the edges. This impressive variety produces an abundance of large, multi-petalled blooms on a bushy yet upright shrub. Over time, each bloom reveals a charming cluster of golden stamens.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

Throughout this description of the rose variety 'The Ancient Mariner' is provided with color descriptions using terminology of the The Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society (2001), except where common terms of color definition are employed. Phenotypic expression may vary with environmental, cultural and climatic conditions, as well as differences in conditions of light and soil.

FLOWERING

This rose variety has a nearly continuous flowering habit. Blooms almost without breaks, in flushes with very short breaks from 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 'The Ancient Mariner' rose variety are medium sized, about 2.6 cm long and 3.0 cm in diameter when the petals start to unfurl. The bud form is pointed, broad based. When the sepals first divide, the bud color is red pink (Group 47C). When half open, the upper and the lower sides of the petals are light blue pink (Group 65B).

Calyx is star-shaped when fully opened with the sepals folding back, the length is about 7.5 cm and the diameter is 7.5 cm.

The sepals have a length of about 3.5 cm and a width of 1.3 cm. The shape of the sepals is lanceolate, the surface texture is downy on the upper surface and glandular on the lower surface. The colour on the upper surface is medium brown green (Group 139C) and on the lower surface is medium green (Group 143C). There are no appendaged sepals on the flower buds and there are 5 unappendaged sepals with glandular edges.

The receptacle is medium green (Group 144A) with brown red (Group 178B), funnel shaped and has a smooth surface. The size of the receptacle is broad, about 1 cm long and about 1.6 cm in diameter.

The peduncle is long, averaging to about 7 cm in length, strong and has a smooth surface. The colour of the peduncle is medium green (Group 144A) with brown red (Group 178B).

Bloom:

The flowers are large, the average diameter of the open flower is about 9 cm. When first open, the flower form is cupped, the flower form persists until the end, outer petals curl back. Flowers are very full, the number of petals under normal conditions is 160. They are born in small clusters, of 4-14 blooms, having rounded shape. The flowering is strong, medium, has an average length of about 20 cm and about 4 mm in diameter.

When first open the colour of the upper and of the reverse sides of the petals is light blue pink (Group 65C), the base of the petals is medium yellow (Group 9C). Under normal growing conditions no variegation is observed on the flowers of this rose variety.

The general tonality at the end of the first day is light blue pink (Group 65C), at the end of the third day the general tonality does not change, remaining light blue pink (Group 65C).

Petals:

The texture of the petals and the surface is smooth; the shape of the petals is obovate, the margins are slightly frilled on some petals, but with entire margins. The apex is rounded and the base of the petals is acute, and the petals form is incurved. Average length of the petals is about 5.0 cm and the width is about 4.5 cm. The arrangement of the petals is imbricated.

Normally there are no petaloids observed on the flowers of 'The Ancient Mariner'.

The petals of this rose variety have good self-cleaning quality, they normally drop off cleanly before drying. Under normal climate conditions the petals last rather long, on the plant they last for about 6 days, as a cut flower their lastingness is 5 days on average.

Fragrance:

The fragrance of the rose 'The Ancient Mariner' is strong, warm, of a myrrh character.

Reproductive parts:

The number of pistils is 40 on average, they are about 11 - 12 mm long.

The colour of the styles is medium grey green (Group 196A) with red pink (Group 51B), they are about 9 mm long.

Stigma are about 0.5 - 2 mm long and have light yellow brown colour (Group 162A).

The hips of this rose variety have not been observed yet.

PLANT

The rose variety 'The Ancient Mariner' is classified as a Shrub rose and is part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. The growth character is vigorous. Mature and well-established plant has a height of about 125 - 150 cm and the width of about 90 - 125 cm. Foliage:

There is an abundant quantity of the foliage on the plants of this rose variety. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves is normally 5, including the terminal leaflet. The average flowering stem has about 10 leaves. The foliage is large, about 19 cm long and about 13 cm wide.

The colour of the juvenile foliage on the upper and on the lower side is dark purple red (Group 59A). The mature foliage on the upper side is dark brown green (Group 147A) and on the lower side is medium brown green (Group 147B).

Leaflets:

The leaflets are large, about 6 - 7 cm long and are about 4.5 cm wide. The shape of the leaflets is oval, the shape of the leaflet tip is acuminate and the base shape is rounded. The surface texture of the leaflets is leathery, semi-glossy. The edges are serrated, the type of serration is single and large.

The petiole has dark brown purple colour (Group 183A), is about 5 cm long and 2 mm in diameter, and has a glandular surface texture.

The petiole rachis is dark brown purple (Group 183B), with prickles on the underside.

The auricle is lanceolate, has a length of about 9 cm and about 2.5 mm wide. The colour of the auricle is dark brown purple (Group 183B).

The stipules are 2.5 cm long, have a glandular surface and dark brown purple colour (Group 183B).

The veins have dark brown green (Group 147A) with medium brown green (Group 147B), the venation pattern is reticulate.

Wood:

The new wood of this rose variety has dark purple red colour (Group 59A) and smooth bark. The colour of the mature wood is dark brown green (Group 147A), the bark remains smooth.

Stems:

The number of lateral branches is 9 on average, they have a length of about 65 cm and the diameter is 9 mm on average. The mature stem has an average length of about 125 cm and the diameter of 9 mm, the internode distance varies between 7 to 15 cm. The stem pubescence is not present on the stems of this rose variety. The above measurements are all variable, depending on growing conditions in a season.

Prickles:

There are few prickles present on the main canes from base, about 4 per 10 cm of the stem length. On the laterals from main canes there are no prickles. The shape of the prickles is deep concave, the length is about 6 mm. The colour of the young prickles is dark brown purple (Group 183B); the mature prickles have grey brown colour (Group 199C).

Small prickles:

The small prickles under normal growing conditions are not observed on the main canes and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose variety.

Disease resistance:

The rose variety 'The Ancient Mariner' has good resistance to most common rose diseases under normal growing conditions. In particular it is resistant to mildew caused by the fungus Sphaerotheca pannosa, downy mildew caused by species of the fungi Peronospora, Bremia and Plasmopara, to blackspot caused by the fungus Diplocarpon and to rust caused by the fungus Phragmidium, including, P. tuberculatum and P. mucronatum. The pest resistance has not been tested yet.

Rose variety is recommended for growing in climate conditions similar to USDA 5 and requires winter protection in more colder climates.

The name of this rose was inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, published in 1798 in Lyrical Ballads.

English Shrub Roses

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘Ausoutcry’ / 'The Ancient Mariner' originated by David Austin by crossing an unnamed, unpatented seedling with an unnamed, unpatented seedling of Rosa hybrida.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

The primary objective of this rose variety breeding was to create a new rose variety with pink buds which open to many-petalled, incurved, cupped blooms with a strong, warm myrrh fragrance.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

The objective was achieved, along with other important improvements, and this rose variety incorporated the following unique combination of characteristics:

 blooms having many petals pink in color that are incurved and cupped;

 the bloom is paler towards its outer petals and stamens are not evident in the center of the bloom;

 strong and warm myrrh fragrance.

Asexual reproduction of this variety by budding showed that the foregoing and all other characteristics and distinctions came true to form, established and transmitted through the succeeding propagations.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

The ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ may be distinguished from its, by the following combination of characteristics:

 The seed parent has more sprawling, uneven growth habit and produces fewer petals compared to ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’.

The ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ may be distinguished from its pollen parent by the following combination of characteristics:

 The pollen parent has a shorter, although upright, growth habit and produces fewer petals than ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

The closest commercially available cultivar to the ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ is the rose variety ‘Ausmixture’ / ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ and they may be distinguished by the following combination of characteristics:

 the ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ may be distinguished from ‘Ausmixture’ / ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ because the blooms of the prior cultivar are quartered rosettes with approximately 90 petals, whereas the blooms of ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ are incurved cups with approximately 160 petals;

 ‘Ausmixture’ / ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ is a well-balanced shrub growing approximately 105 cm in height and about 90 cm in width, whereas ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ is more vigorous and upright, growing approximately to 150 cm in height and about 90 cm in width.  The new shoots and foliage of ‘Ausmixture’ / ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ are not as red as the new growth on ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’;

  Finally, ‘Ausoutcry’ / ‘The Ancient Mariner’ has the unusual characteristic of no stamens being evident, whereas there are stamens evident on ‘Ausmixture’ / ‘Olivia Rose Austin’.

USDA 5