Rosa Violet Hood - Shrub Rose

Rosa Violet Hood Shrub Rose truly stands out with the unusual colour of its flowers and foliage. It is a descendant of the Robin Hood roses, rich in flowers, and Baby Faurax, a polyantha with a pretty mauve colour. The result is a vigorous bush with a flexible and dense habit that is adorned with large clusters of semi-double flowers in a deep lavender violet colour. Its dark foliage with a touch of brown is interesting, as are its red hips in autumn. The Violet Hood rose can be used as a specimen plant, in groups, in a perennial bed, in a small flowering hedge, or in a large pot.

The Violet Hood rose was bred by Louis Lens in 1975. It descends from the musk rose (Rosa x moschata) through its parent Robin Hood. Similar to polyanthas and floribundas, musk roses produce flowers in clusters, but their colours are more refined and they have a more flexible and graceful habit. 'Violet Hood' has rapid growth and a bushy, compact, and flexible habit. Eventually, this bush reaches a height of 1m (3ft) to 1.25m (4ft) with a spread of 90cm (35in). Its bronze-tinted green leaves are divided into relatively fine leaflets. This deciduous foliage, absent in winter, is quite resistant to rose diseases. It flowers in June and again in September-October with large clusters composed of numerous small semi-double flowers, 3-4cm (1-2in) in diameter. Each flower opens in a purplish violet shade around an irregularly streaked white centre, with well-exposed yellow stamens for bees and pollinators. After pollination, small round hips form and turn red when ripe.

The Violet Hood shrub rose is a wildlife-friendly rose that nourishes bees in summer and birds in autumn, with its numerous small hips. Easy to grow and undemanding, it thrives in well-prepared soil in full sun. Plant it in a rose or flowering shrub bed, with white, mauve, or pink roses, or in a border with robust perennials such as Chinese peonies, perennial geraniums, salvias, etc. It forms a beautiful composition with "blue" roses such as Minerva, Blue Girl, or Pacific Dream. Also consider planting it with a climbing herbaceous clematis that will weave through its branches.

Award: Silver Medal at Courtrai in 1978.