Rosa Wedding Day - Rambling Rose

Rosa Wedding Day is one of the most vigorous rambling roses. Its exuberant and branching growth produces long thorny branches that can reach over 8 metres (26 feet). In summer, it is covered with a cascade of white wild roses with yellow centres, which turn pink before fading. They emit a delicious honey fragrance. Its vigour allows it to climb large trees and to hide an unsightly structures.  Like most climbing roses, it does not rebloom. In autumn, it produces numerous small decorative fruits that last until the middle of winter.

This large thorny rose is a creation by Sir Fredrick Stern, dating back to 1950. It easily reaches a height of 8 to 10 metres (26 to 33 feet) with a spread of 4 metres (13 feet). Its long stems are thorny and covered with a very healthy, medium green foliage, which remains on the plant quite late in the season. The blooms of this rambling rose are single flowering in July. They appear as apricot-coloured buds on short shoots from the 2nd year. They open into 3 cm (1in) wide wild roses, gathered in bouquets along the stems. Flowers have an exceptional fragrance with hints of honey. Butter yellow when they bloom, they quickly fade to white, then take on shades of salmon pink. The small fruits that delight birds in the winter are actually fleshy false fruits called hips. They contain a large quantity of achenes with a single seed.

Wedding Day is an enchanting rose, with abundant flowering that cannot be forgotten. Like other rambling roses, it is invaluable for filling large spaces and giving a wild touch to the garden. It is an ideal companion for dead trees that it will cover fences, and ugly buildings or cabins to which it adds a wild charm. Trained on an arch, near the patio, it will create a romantic and fragrant feature. Since its flowering only lasts for a month, it can be paired with a large-flowered clematis whose summer blooming will take over until autumn.