Rosa x persica Sweet Babylon Eyes - Hybrid Persian Rose

The 'Sweet Babylon Eyes' Rose charms with its countless bouquets of light flowers with a magnificent red heart, whose petals change colour depending on the temperature. Just like its brothers from the astonishing Babylon Eyes series, it is living proof that the queen of flowers still has surprises in store for us. Derived, among others, from the mysterious Persian rose, this hybrid has an early, abundant and perpetual flowering, great robustness, and natural resistance to rose diseases. The plant tolerates water scarcity well and has beautiful dark and glossy foliage. With a compact habit, this very pretty rose is suitable for gardens of all sizes and works wonders in a large pot.

The Rosa x persica 'Sweet Babylon Eyes' descends, among others, from a wild rose discovered in 1784 by the botanist André Michaux in the Zagros Mountains, straddling Iran and Iraq. The uniqueness of its bicoloured flowers has since prompted rose breeders to attempt hybridisation with other cosmopolitan species and varieties. After years of research and selection, very interesting new cultivars have emerged all over Europe. 'Sweet Babylon Eyes', born in the 2010s, is one of these varieties with exotic charm, still little known here. It is a shrub or bush with an upright and bushy habit, in a ball shape, not exceeding 70 cm (28in) in all directions. Its branches are moderately thorny and adorned with small foliage, a slightly shiny dark green, very healthy. The flowering starts quite early, in May-June, sometimes as early as March-April in warm climates. It is abundant, then regularly renews until September-October, if the soil is not too dry in the heart of summer. The almost single flowers, in open cups, measure 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) in diameter. They are often visited by bees. Their colours, ranging from pinks to reds, vary depending on the temperature and their age, creating an elegant play of colours on the bush. This variety produces fruits called hips. The plant is leafless in winter.

Exotic, hardy, and not water-demanding, 'Sweet Babylon Eyes' is a rose full of advantages that will seduce gardeners without a garden or those struggling with dry soil in summer and frost in winter. It can be adopted from the north to the south of our region, in a large border, in a bed, or in a large rockery. The "Babylon Eyes" roses can be mixed together and with many other plants such as garden irises, lavender, rockroses, rosemary, and catmints in dry soil. In cooler soil, it can be accompanied, for example, by pink or white foxgloves, catmints, or pretty grasses like Muhlenbergia capillaris or Stipa capillata. On the terrace or balcony, it can be surrounded, for example, by cineraria maritime, alstroemerias, agapanthus, or sweet Williams.

Obtained by Interplant and launched in 2016 - The 'Sweet Babylon Eyes' rose was awarded at the 17th International New Roses Competition in Barcelona in 2017 as the most promising new variety.