Rosa x moschata 'Twins' - Moschata Rose

The 'Twins' rose bush is a generous, lively and gently coloured shrub that blooms continuously from early summer until the first frost. This excellent hybrid of the musk rose charms with its soft fragrance, and the pastel pink colour of its flowers harmonizes perfectly with the young brown leaves and greyish-blue-green of the mature foliage. This well-offered flowering to bees produces oval hips of various colours in autumn. It is a naturally disease-resistant variety, almost maintenance-free, rewarding and easy to grow in any soil, even in partial shade.

The 'LENtrifel Twins' rose is a creation of L. Lens from 1994, which was awarded a Certificate of Merit in Courtrai in 1994. It is derived, among others, from the musk rose (Rosa (x) moschata), a spontaneous hybrid probably originating from Asia Minor or the Middle East. Like polyanthas and floribundas, roses from this family produce flowers gathered in clusters. However, their colours are more refined and have a more flexible and graceful habit. 'Twins' shows rapid and vigorous growth and a bushy, spreading, fan-shaped habit. Ultimately, this bush reaches about 1.35m (4ft) in height and 1.20m (4ft) in width, sometimes more, depending on the growing conditions. Trained as a climber, it quickly reaches up to 2m (7ft). Its flexible and spiny stems bear young shoots tinged with brown. The leaves are divided into dark green leaflets that take on greyish-blue hues over time. Flowering begins in June until October if the soil does not dry out too much. The flowers form rounded clusters of numerous small semi-double flowers measuring 4cm (2in) in diameter. Their colour is a more or less light lilac pink, varying with the temperature. The centre of the corollas, occupied by golden stamens, is well-offered to bees and other pollinators. The flower stalks are sturdy, and the pedicels that bear the flowers are soft reddish-brown, harmonising with the young leaves. The flowers have an aromatic scent. If faded flowers are not pruned from August onwards, this rose produces small oval fruits at the end of the season. Some turn orange, others remain green. Its hardiness is provided to approximately -15 °C (5°F).

This shrub rose 'Twins' is undemanding, reliable and generous. The bush thrives in any well-prepared soil and requires no pruning apart from removing the oldest branches or dead wood at the end of winter. Its refined colours and wild rose-like appearance work wonders in an English or romantic garden. Plant it in a flowering hedge or a bed with other landscape roses, with perennials such as geraniums, nepetas and perennial salvias. Also, consider pairing it with a small-sized clematis ('Blue Pirouette', 'Country Rose', 'Josephine'...) that will weave through its branches.