Rosa floribunda Pirouette

The 'Pirouette' Rose is a bush variety whose flowering is reminiscent of the vibrant colours of ground cover or border roses: its moderately sized roses are brilliantly bi-coloured, very bright, red and white. They bloom in massive clusters on fresh foliage that remains decorative throughout the season. With excellent disease resistance and reliability, it is an ideal variety for a small garden.

The 'Pirouette' Rose is a creation by Louis Lens dating back to 1984. This modern variety is classified as a cluster-flowered rose called "floribunda". It forms an upright, ramified bush with sturdy thorny stems, measuring on average 1.35 m (4ft) in height and 90 cm (35in) in width. The foliage is divided into medium green, matte leaflets that are disease-resistant. This deciduous foliage falls in autumn. The flowering is continuous from June to October, reliably in not too dry soil. The 6 cm (2in) diameter roses are double. At the bud stage, they have a beautiful turbinated shape. Then, they open informally, revealing their yellow stamens. The undulated petals are garnet red, while their reverse side is white, just like the centre. They are clustered together. This rose does not have a fragrant flowering.

Floribunda roses can create beautiful small hedges planted at the edge of a terrace or in small shrub beds. Combine them with ground-cover roses, abelias, nandinas, or caryopteris. They are perfect companions for catmints, foxgloves, and tall baby's breath. Pirouette's vigour, generosity, and resistance make it an interesting variety for all gardens, even small ones. Its uses vary depending on each gardener's desires: in a rose bed, accompanied by white varieties ('Marie Pavie', 'Swanny') or purple ones ('Blue Boy', 'Rhapsody in Blue'). Like all roses, it looks stunning when mixed with easy-care perennials such as hardy geraniums or catmints. Also, consider pairing it with a small herbaceous clematis in shades of blue, white, or purple.