Moonlight

Where to plant. As a large specimen, or as a small climber on a pergola or a south wall; one of the most shade-tolerant old roses, good in partial shade. Ideal in a group with Danaë, as the '1913 duet, the birth of the Hybrid Musks'.

Climate. Down to −20 °C; in Ukraine with moderate winter protection; in the south, without protection.

Care. Minimal; selective pruning; tie in horizontally if grown as a climber.

Name. 'Moonlight', meaning 'moonlight'. A poetic name reflecting the milky-white colour of flowers that seem to 'glow' at dusk (a typical Pemberton device, naming roses after literary or atmospheric images). In the family garden of the Pemberton-sisters at Havelí, Moonlight was planted along the paths, and in the evening it 'glowed'.

Breeding. Bred by Rev. Joseph Hardwick Pemberton (1852–1926, an Anglican priest and rose breeder) in Great Britain; bred and introduced in 1913. No patent code (1913). Parentage: 'Trier' (Hybrid Multiflora, Peter Lambert 1904) × 'Sulphurea' (Tea, W. Paul 1900).

Significance. RNRS Gold Medal 1913 (Great Britain, according to the Pemberton archive). ONE OF THE FIRST TWO HYBRID MUSKS PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1913, TOGETHER WITH DANAË: effectively the birth of the Hybrid Musk class as the world knows it. The 14th Hybrid Musk in our catalogue, and the largest 'wild' family. It is often mistakenly attributed to Lambert; the breeder is Pemberton, although its ancestor Trier was bred by Lambert. In commerce it is sometimes confused with 'Trier'.