A legendary alba with a quartered rosette and a button eye in the centre; one of the hardiest old garden roses; flowers once.
Maiden's Blush (working name)
Once-flowering, from late spring to early summer. Months are approximate, for the climate of Ukraine.
Award of Garden Merit, 1993
USDA zone 4b. H7; Ukraine: without protection. H7 · Ukraine: without winter protection.
Compare reference temperatures
Very double — 41 or more petals (up to ~100) petals.
Strong, rich, classic old-rose.
Shade-tolerant — a rarity among old garden roses.
The shoots are prickly; there is no precise data on prickle density.
Grey-green.
Rich pink in the centre, which lightens on opening to tender pink and almost white at the petal edges
Heritagesoft pink
Queen of Swedenlight pink
Olivia Rose Austinsoft pink
Munstead Wooddark raspberry · contrastSoft pink roses — one colour family:
Blue, lilac and silver neighbours set off the soft pink:
The variety has several historical names in different languages — a sign of its long and wide recognition in garden culture:
Where to plant. In an old-fashioned garden, a romantic mixed border, beside other albas; thanks to its spreading, arching outline, it forms large groups and informal hedges well.
Climate. One of the hardiest old garden roses — tolerates to −26 °C (USDA 4b–9b, RHS H7); in Ukraine it overwinters without protection.
Care. Undemanding and very disease-resistant; after it flowers once, sanitary pruning is enough; tolerates partial shade well.
Name. Named after Queen Marie Sophie Frederikke of Denmark.
Breeding. Bred by James Booth at the Flottbek nursery near Hamburg; bloomed in 1816, reached the market in 1826; class — Alba.
Significance. A legendary alba with a quartered rosette and a button eye in the centre, exceptionally winter-hardy and one of the healthiest old garden roses.
The cultivar’s reference temperature is −26 °C (USDA zone 4b). Overwintering depends on the conditions. H7; Ukraine: without protection.
Once-flowering, from late spring to early summer.
120–185 cm tall, 120–150 cm wide.
Sun / partial shade; shade-tolerant — a rarity among old garden roses.
Strong, rich, classic old-rose.
