On 21 April HM Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 95th birthday.
There are many queenly beauties in the rose world, but in 1954, a year after her coronation, the magnificent pink grandiflora rose ‘Queen Elizabeth’ named in her honour was introduced, and quickly became a favourite in gardens and parks worldwide. Vigorous and healthy, with an upright bearing, glossy foliage and sturdy stems, Rosa ‘Queen Elizabeth’ continues to be popular and reliable. It is tolerant of poor soils, very disease-resistant and can grow to over 10ft/ 3m tall.
‘Queen Elizabeth’ follows in the tradition of naming roses for celebrated monarchs. Her ancestor Queen Victoria is commemorated by the lovely bourbon rose ‘La Reine Victoria’ bred in 1872 by the French rosarian, Joseph Schwarz of Lyon. Strongly fragrant, with fully double globular-shaped blooms, this ‘perpetual flowering’ beauty is tolerant of some shade, and can even be grown in containers. It is also sometimes known as the Shell Rose.
The modern ‘Queen Elizabeth’ was bred by Dr Walter Lammerts of California, and over the past 60 years has consistently won many awards, including the Portland Gold Medal, (1954), the All-America Rose Selections winner, USA, (1955), the American Rose Society Gold Medal, (1957), Golden Rose of the Hague, (1968), the World’s Favorite Rose, (1979) and in 2015 the Award of Excellence for Best Established Rose. There is also a climbing form, plus white and blush versions as well.
For these and yet more royal roses why not search on the website HelpMeFind?