Rosa Sir Lancelot

Rosa Sir Lancelot is part of a series of modern hybrids called English Legend, which brings together varieties created in England in the 1990s by the famous breeder Robert Harkness. With their repeat-flowering and delicate scent, these slightly old-fashioned roses express all the charm of English roses. This vigorous rose with healthy foliage bears bright pink double flowers with a fruity scent that reveals notes of peach and pear. It flowers in abundance from spring to the first frosts. It is ideal for borders and flower beds, and its roses are sublime in a vase.

Sir Lancelot, a hybrid tea type, is characterised by an upright, well-branched, and bushy habit. This bush quickly reaches about 1m (3ft) in height and 90cm (35in) in width. Its thorny stems bear reddish young shoots that unfold into dark green, shiny leaves, divided into 5 finely toothed leaflets. The foliage is not very susceptible to diseases under good growing conditions. Its flowering is long and abundant, renewing itself in successive waves from May to October if the soil remains moist. The flowers open in small clusters of 3 to 5 units. They are 10 to 11cm (4in) wide, composed of 40 to 45 petals arranged in quarters. They are a bright and vivid pink colour. Their fruity scent is of medium intensity. It reaches its peak at noon and in the evening, after a hot and sunny day.

English bush roses can be used to create beautiful small hedges, planted mixed at the edge of a patio, or in borders with modest-sized shrubs. Combine them with abelias, Mexican orange blossoms, or bluebeards, for example. They are good companions for phlox and tall baby's breath. Sir Lancelot will be enhanced when planted in groups of 3, forming an extremely bright bush. It can be surrounded by catmints and perennial or shrubby salvias with blue, mauve, or white flowers. Combine it with white ground cover roses (Swany, Marie Pavie), chamomiles, or small, light grasses like stipa (barbata, pennata, tenuifolia). This very hardy rose requires little maintenance. It will thrive in full sun or partial shade, where it will delight all gardeners.