Rosa 'CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE'

THIS VARIETY HAS BEEN RETIRED BY DAVID AUSTIN, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION.

Christopher Marlowe is of a colour not usually associated with English Roses: an intense orange-red, paling a little to salmon-pink on the outer petals as the flower ages. We need all colours if we are to fulfil all the requirements of the garden. ‘Christopher Marlowe’ should be useful whenever a bright splash of red is required. The flowers are rosette-shaped; the outer petals reflexing a little. The growth is short but very vigorous, with numerous stems arising from the base and later branching to give a continuous flow of flowers. The result is a free-flowering, nicely rounded shrub. There is a pleasing Tea fragrance, with a hint of lemon. Very healthy.

Planting instructions: Prepare a hole of size 30x30 cm. Put your rose in the way that the grafting point is 3 cm deep in the soil. Water well and cover new shoots with soil or bark mulch about 15 cm high. Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun.

Pruning: English roses don’t need hard pruning like tea hybrids. Just cut last year’s growth by one third to maximum one half in the spring (after frosts) to achieve desired shape, and strong and reliable framework. Cutting it back to 3-5 live buds is possible for re-juvenating. To support extra flowering during the season remove twigs past blossom: cut them off the first leaf with 5 bracts. Mulch well before winter, preferably with leaf-mould.

Last update: 24-01-2009.