Rosa Smarty - shrub rose

Rosa Smarty shrub rose will delight gardeners looking for a floriferous, vigorous and low-maintenance variety. This modern hybrid rose grows into a superb bush, as tall as a man, with a generous and flexible habit. It continuously blooms from May until the first frost, in large clusters of small wild looking roses in shades of white and pink with yellow and orange highlights, sprinkled with very prominent stamens in a golden heart. It has many thorns and very ornamental dark, disease-resistant foliage. If trained, 'Smarty' can hide an unsightly fence or cover a small arch. It will be perfect in a defensive hedge with all the other thorny shrubs, protecting and beautifying a wild and romantic garden.

While modern roses are often criticized for being stiff and disease-prone, the 'Smarty' variety, obtained in 1979 by Ilsink but poorly distributed in commerce, truly stands out. This unique rose, still classified as a cluster-flowered rose, forms a superb bush with a slightly spreading habit and flexible branches. If left to grow freely, it will reach a height of 1.80m (6ft) and a width of 1.90m (6ft), but when trained to climb, it can exceed 3.50m (11ft) in height and 1.25m (4ft) in spread. From May until the first frost, small pearly wild roses with 5 to 7 petals, measuring 3 to 5cm (1 to 2in) wide, bloom on dark green foliage in large clusters. They are multicoloured in white to pale pink, very soft salmon pink and very light yellow. The centre of the flower is more orange and filled with numerous brown stamens. The fragrance is discreet but pleasantly fruity.

This Smarty hybrid rose is elegant, simple, and vigorous and will be fantastic in the garden. Robust and reliable, it will thrive in all soils that are not too dry and all climates (even hot climates), allowing it to be grown everywhere, even at medium altitudes. It will blend in perfectly in a defensive hedge, with Japanese quince, Berberis, or other large roses such as Cerise Bouquet, Agnes, Rosa californica Plena, Rosa hugonis... Left to grow freely, it will form a large flowering dome, incredibly elegant in front of a mass of flowering shrubs like abelias, Kolkwitzia, mock oranges, elderberries, tamarisks, laburnums or lilacs. It can also be trained on a support, but beware of its thorns when handling it!