Rose The Mayflower

'The Mayflower' was mentioned by David Ausin as one of the most significant English Roses that was bred since introducing his first repeat-flowering varieties in the early 1970s. It embodies the ideal flower and growth characteristics of the English Roses, and remarkably, it appears almost completely free of disease. While not a flashy rose, it possesses a simple charm that is very pleasing. The flowers are small to medium-sized with a slightly domed, rosette shape, and the petals curl back at the edges. They emit a beautiful and very strong Old Rose fragrance.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The detailed description of rose variety ‘The Mayflower’ is provided with color descriptions using terminology in accordance with The Royal Horticultural Society (London) Colour Chart (2001), except where ordinary dictionary significance of color is indicated.

FLOWER

This rose variety has a good repeat flowering habit, blooms in flushes. The number of blooms per plant during the growing season is profuse, but there are too many to count.

Flower bud:
The flower buds are medium sized, about 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter when the petals start to unfurl. The bud form is pointed ovoid. When sepals first divide, the bud color is grayed-green. When half blown, the upper sides and the lower sides of the petals are clear pink.

The blooms are born several together in small clusters of 3 - 6 blooms, having flat shape. The flowering stems are strong, the average length is about 16 cm and the diameter is about 4 mm.

The calyx is star-shaped, the length is about 5 cm and the diameter is 5 cm as well.

The sepals are about 2.49 cm long and about 0.7 cm wide. The shape of the sepals is lanceolate, with smooth margins, the surface texture on the upper surface is hirsute and the lower surface is smooth. The sepals are regularly arranged, opening to a star-shape which then folds right back. The colour of the sepals on the upper surface and and the lower surface is green (Group RHS 143C) with some red intonations (Group RHS 42C) on the lower surface. There are 3 normally appendaged sepals, and 2 unappendaged sepals with smooth edges.

The receptacle is medium sized and pitcher shaped, about 8 mm long, and their width is about 8 mm; the surface texture is smooth. The colour is green (Group RHS 143C) with red intonations (Group RHS 42C).

The peduncle is short and strong, averaging about to 1.75 cm. The surface is smooth and has grayed-red colour (Group RHS 182B).

Bloom:
The flowers upon opening have medium size, the average diameter of the open flower is about 6.5 cm. When first open, the flower form is cupped. As the flower opens the flower becomes more flat, slightly domed, rosette shaped, and the the petals turning back at the edges. The number of petals under normal conditions is 135 on average.

The colour on the upper sides of the petals is medium pink. The reverse sides of the petals are of a slightly lighter medium pink colour, and the base of the petals has white spot. Normally there is no variegation observed on the flowers of this variety.

The general tonality at the end of the first day is medium pink, and at the end of the third day is pink with petals fading to much lighter pink closer to the edges.

Petals:
The surface and texture of the petals is smooth. The shape of the petals is obovate with weak undulation or reflexing margins; the form is slightly quilled. The base of the petals is pointed and the apex shape is basically rounded, but some are notched and some are cuspidate. The length of the petals is about 3.14 cm and the width is about 3.75 cm. The petals arrangement is imbricated.

There are usually few petaloids present on the flowers of this variety, about 5 - 10 per flower. They have the same medium pink colour as the petals have. The length of the petaloids is about 9 - 10 mm and the width is about 3 - 4 mm. The shape is long and thin, and the margin is irregular.

The petals have moderate self cleaning quality, they usually hang on and dry. The petals last on the plant fairly long, about 5 days. The lastingness as a cut flower has not been tested.

Fragrance:
The fragrance is as expected from such a rose is strong, with prominent Old rose character.

Reproductive parts:
The number of stamens per flower is 18 on average, they have bright yellow-orange colour (Group RHS 20A) and the length of about 4 - 5 mm. They are tucked in calyx or partly so and some mixed with petaloids.

The filaments have grayed-yellow colour (Group RHS 160A), and their length is about 4 mm.

The pollen has yellow-orange colour (Group RHS 20A).

The number of pistils is 48 on average per flower, they have a length of about 10 - 11 mm.

Stigmas are yellow (Group RHS 12B) about 0.2 mm long.

The styles have green-yellow colour (Group RHS 1C), their length is vabout 10 mm.

PLANT
The rose variety ‘The Mayflower’ is classified as a Shrub rose from David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. The growth habit is moderately vigorous, the plant has medium, upright and bushy growth. The mature and well established plant forms a bush of about 90 - 120 cm in height and has about 60 - 90 cm in width.

This rose has freely branching growth, producing flowers in a lively manner well above the foliage, with exceptional regularity throughout the summer. It begins blooming very early, often in late May in Britain and similar climates, long before other English Roses start to flower, and it remains in bloom until the onset of winter. Initially forming a small shrub, it gradually grows into a medium-sized plant. A potential downside is that some flowers might not fully develop, likely due to the considerable effort it expends over the season.

Foliage:
There is a normal quantity of foliage on the plant. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves is variable between 5 and 7 including terminal leaflets, but mostly 7. The leaves are medium-sized, about 14.46 cm long and 11.1 cm wide. The number of leaves per flowering stem is about 6. New foliage on the upper side is green (Group RHS 137C) tinged with grayed-red (Group RHS 178A). The lower side of the young leaves is green (Group RHS 137C). The mature foliage on the upper side is green (Group RHS 137A) and the lower side is green (Group RHS 137C).

Leaflets:
The shape of the leaflets is oval with an obtuse base and acute apex. The length of the leaflet is about 5.74 cm and the width of about 3.36 cm. The leaflets have leathery texture and serrated edges, the general appearance of the mature leaflets is matt, the type of serration is single and small.

The petiole is about 4 cm long and about 2 mm in diameter. The surface texture is smooth and has yellow-green colour (Group RHS 146C).

Petiole rachis is yellow-green (Group RHS 146C) and the underside with prickles.

The stipules have length of about 2 cm, the surface is smooth and has yellow-green colour (Group RHS 146C) with some red-purple intonations (Group RHS 60B).

The auricle is sword-shaped, and has length of about 6 mm and width of about 3 mm. The colour is yellow-green (Group RHS 146C) with some red-purple intonations (Group RHS 60B).

The vein colour is the same as leaf color, the venation pattern is reticulate.

Wood:
The young stems have grayed-red colour (Group 178A), the texture is smooth. The mature stems have yellow-green colour (Group RHS 146A), the texture is smooth with some rough patches.

Stems:
The number of branches from the main canes is about 10, they have average length of about 40 cm and the diameter of about 4 mm. The main stems are about 62.5 cm long and about 7 mm in diameter, the internode distance is about 6 cm. The above measurements are all variable, depending on growing conditions in a season. Stem pubescence is not present on stems of this variety.

Prickles:
There is an ordinary quantity of prickles on the main canes from base, the number per stem length is about 20 per 10 cm of the stem length. On laterals from main canes there is also an ordinary quantity of prickles, the number per stem length is about 15 per 10 cm of the stem length. The prickles have a deep concave shape, the length is about 7 mm. The colour when young is grayed-purple (Group RHS 183B) and the colour when mature is grayed-orange (Group RHS 175A).

Small prickles:
There are few small, sparse glandular prickles on the main canes of this variety, about 10 to 12 prickles per 20 cm of the stem length, and there are few small prickles on the laterals from the main canes, about 10 per 20 cm of the stem length. When young they have grayed-purple colour (Group RHS 183B) and when mature they have grayed-orange colour (Group RHS 175A).

Disease resistance:
The rose variety “The Mayflower” has good disease resistance to most common rose pathogens, especially in warmer and drier climates. At the same time there may also be a tendency to red spider in warmer climates.

The variety is quite frost hardy, easily survives winters in climate conditions similar to USDA 5.

Named after the ship that carried the first English settlers to America, to mark the launch of the branch nurseries of David Austin Roses Limited at Tyler in Texas.

English Shrub Roses

Award of Garden Merit (RHS/RNRS, Award of Garden Merit (RHS/RNRS), 2000;

Australia - Certificate of Merit, Australian National Rose Trials, 2004.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

The rose variety ‘Austilly’ / ‘The Mayflower’ was bred by cross pollination of two distinctive rose varieties by David Austin in Albrighton, Nr. Wolverhampton, The UKnd and derived as follows:

 Female parent (seed parent) - is unnamed and unpatented rose seedling;

 Male parent (pollen parent) - English shrub rose ‘Ausman’ / ‘The Countryman’ by David Austin, 1987.

USDA 5