Rosa x floribunda Abbatiale de Pontigny - Floribunda Rose

The 'Abbatiale de Pontigny' Rose Bush is a beautiful rose created by Orard to celebrate the 900 years of the Abbey of Pontigny, a jewel of our heritage that houses the largest Cistercian church in the world. It is a lovely bush rose with a compact habit and young purple-brown foliage, producing bouquets of double, shiny flowers in shades of pink and silver, more or less speckled with dark red depending on the sunlight. It blooms all summer and is dressed in highly disease-resistant foliage. An original variety, with a somewhat old-fashioned charm, to showcase in the garden.

The 'Abbatiale de Pontigny' Rose Bush is a vigorous variety that forms a upright bush with thorny stems in a few years, reaching a height of 80 cm (32in) and a width of 70 cm (28in), adorned with very healthy foliage that emerges purple and becomes shiny dark green in summer. Its flowering is abundant from June to September. Its 7 cm (3in) wide corollas are double, gathered in bouquets of 5 to 7 flowers. The tight buds open into round, slightly flattened cups. The petals display different shades of pink, sometimes with small white streaks and red dots, with their reverse tinged with white. The colours vary from one flower to another and depending on the exposure. Their scent is light. The deciduous foliage falls in autumn. Since 2014, this rose enriches the rose garden of the Burgundian Abbey of Pontigny.

Cluster-flowered roses can be used to create beautiful small hedges, planted mixed at the edge of the terrace or in beds of small shrubs. Associate them with dwarf weigelas, bluebeards, and peonies for example. They are good companions for phlox and tall baby's breath. The modest size and resistance of 'Abbatiale de Pontigny' make it an interesting variety for all gardens, even small ones and for growing in large pots. Its uses are diverse, according to each gardener's desires: in a monochrome rose bed, as its color can be difficult to match, or in the company of white varieties ('Marie Pavie', 'Swanny'). It will blend well with light and easy-to-grow plants such as perennial geraniums (Geranium 'Blue Cloud', 'Anne Folkard', 'Nimbus', 'Orion'), campanulas (lactiflora, rapunculoides), catmints, love-in-a-mist, foxgloves, phlox. Its flowers can be used to create elegant bouquets that delicately perfume the house.