Rosa 'Blue Boy' - Polyantha Rose

The 'Blue Boy' Polyantha Rose is one of the wonderful creations by Dutch rose breeder Interplant, each more original and delightful than the last. Not very tall but dense and always blooming, it can become a beautiful bush with numerous bouquets of fully double flowers, which open in a mauve-pink and then age beautifully in shades of mauve, lilac, blue, and smoky grey, becoming paler as the hour's pass. This variety, lacking only fragrance, is a charming addition to romantic flower beds and terraces!

The x polyantha 'Blue Boy' Rose is a Dutch creation from 2001, little known here, especially since it shares its name with two other varieties that it is sometimes confused with. Polyantha roses are originally hybrids between R. multiflora and R. chinensis. 'Blue Boy' forms a small bush about 70 cm (28in) in height, 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24in) in width, highly branched, and covered with slightly glossy medium green foliage. Its branches are thorny. Its flowering period is remarkably long, lasting 5 to 6 months, it is in bloom. This bush continuously produces waves of its 5 cm (2in) in diameter, globular double corollas gathered in terminal clusters. The tightly closed buds open into turbinated flowers, which develop into roses with a slightly more relaxed appearance. The flowers range from a light purple-tinged pink to a range of soft mauve shades. These colours are best displayed in partial shade.

Polyantha hybrid roses are perfect for creating lovely small hedges planted mixed along the edge of a terrace or in small shrub beds. Combine them with abelias, nandinas, or caryopteris, for example. They are great companions for paniculate phlox and tall gypsophila. The modest size and exquisite colour of 'Blue Boy' roses make it an interesting variety for growing in large pots near the house, with proper fertilization and watering. This rose is undemanding and will thrive in full sun or partial shade, accompanied by romantic perennials such as foxgloves, gypsophila, paniculate phlox, and catmints.