Rosa Rhapsody In Blue - Shrub Rose

The 'Rhapsody in Blue' Rose Bush, the result of the hard work of a passionate amateur rose enthusiast in search of perfection, is a beautiful horticultural success that skillfully combines modern rationality with wild romance. Original and surprising, this bush explodes with a thousand flowers ranging from plum to violet, exhaling a carefully spiced fragrance that leaves no one indifferent. They bloom in semi-double corollas, revealing blueish nuances and a pleasant white-cream heart as the hours pass. The disease-free, tender green foliage highlights this uninterrupted flowering from summer to autumn. It is an exceptional variety in every way: floriferous, sturdy, and easy to pair with, it is undoubtedly destined for a bright future.

The Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' took 27 years to be born in 1999, from the hands of Franck R. Cowlishaw, a British citizen fond of roses. Its genealogy is complex, involving the roses 'La belle Sultane', 'Sissi', and 'Violetta', with the contribution of the botanical rose Rosa persica. It is part of the bouquet-flowered cultivars obtained by hybridising polyantha and tea roses.

'Rhapsody in Blue' forms a small bush 0.80m (3ft) to 1.20m (4ft) high and 0.60m (2ft) to 1m (3ft) wide. It is very vigorous and produces thorny stems carrying healthy, light, and vibrant green foliage. Its flowering is remarkably long, lasting 5 to 6 months, it is in bloom. This bush renews in successive waves throughout the summer; its semi-double corollas are 5 to 7cm (2 to 3in) in diameter and are gathered in terminal clusters. The tightly closed buds open into round cup-shaped flowers, a shimmering violet colour that oscillates between mauve and violet blue, turning pink when deflowered, with a small white line on the edge of each petal surrounding a white-cream centre with yellow stamens.

Floribunda roses allow for the creation of beautiful small hedges planted mixed along the terrace edge or in small-sized shrub beds. Combine them with abelias, nandinas, or caryopteris, for example. They are good companions for paniculate phlox and tall gypsophila. However, the unusual hue of the 'Rhapsody in Blue' roses is easy to pair with other varieties of pink, white, or even red to purple flowers.