Ophelia

Where to plant. In historical and Edwardian cottage-style plantings; as a 'memorial' rose of the twentieth century in the garden; ideal among other classic Hybrid Teas and Old Garden Roses; a unique living example of varietal inheritance: the creation of the 'Ophelia line' alongside Madame Butterfly and Lady Sylvia.

Climate. Most of Ukraine with light winter protection (USDA 5b–9a, down to −26 °C); in heat the colour is almost white, so morning sun and evening shade are recommended to keep the pink.

Care. Full sun or light shade; a well-ventilated site; needs disease prevention (typical of 1910s Hybrid Teas); feed 2–3 times per season; prune one third in spring; cut for home bouquets, as the reference Hybrid Tea form is ideal for classic arrangements.

Name. 'Ophelia', after Ophelia, the heroine of Shakespeare's tragedy 'Hamlet'. In the Victorian and Edwardian era it was fashionable to name roses after Shakespeare's female characters: the soft pink, changeable flower was associated with the tenderness and tragic beauty of the heroine who went mad with love and drowned among flowers. Other 'Shakespearean' roses: Juliet, Desdemona, Hermione, Titania.

Breeding. An unknown French breeder (bred in France before 1912). Introduced by William Paul & Son (Waltham Cross, England), one of the most important British rose nurseries of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Introduced 1912. Parentage: seedling of 'Antoine Rivoire' (HT, Pernet-Ducher 1895). There is no registration code (the variety predates the ARS system).

Significance. Founder of the whole Ophelia line: Madame Butterfly (1918), a pink sport; Lady Sylvia (1926), a warm pink sport; Golden Ophelia (1918), yellow; White Ophelia, Climbing Ophelia, and dozens of other descendants and sports. It is the standard of the reference Hybrid Tea form of the early twentieth century, a model of the high-centred bloom that defined the look of all later Hybrid Teas. Widely used as a cut flower in the 1910s–1930s, it was the basis of the Edwardian flower-garden fashion. Today it is a collectors' variety and an important historical landmark in the garden. It is NOT in the WFRS Old Rose Hall of Fame (a common myth): the Old Rose HoF list has only 5 varieties: Cécile Brünner, Gloire de Dijon, Gruss an Teplitz, Old Blush, Souvenir de la Malmaison. Ophelia is very important in breeding, but it has formally not been inducted into the Hall of Fame.