Rosa x polyantha 'Maria Mathilda' - Shrub Rose

The 'Maria Mathilda' Rose forms a small, ever-flowering bush, offering delicate pale pink turbinate buds from June to October, which open into small semi-double roses, initially white-pink and then white, with slightly fringed petals surrounding a heart of rose-gold stamens. It is a polyantha with healthy foliage and lightly scented roses. Its rounded habit makes it easy to combine at home in any garden. It is also a small, hardy and easy-to-grow bush in the sun, in ordinary soil.

The Rosa x polyantha 'Maria Mathilda' is part of the varieties developed by the Belgian rose breeder Louis Lens, originally resulting from hybridizations between R. multiflora and R. chinensis. It forms a small bush of 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35in) in all directions, very ramified, vigorous but flexible and covered with very healthy, slightly shiny dark green foliage. It closely resembles the 'Boule de Neige' variety, but is more resistant to black spot disease. Its flowering is remarkably long-lasting, lasting 5 to 6 months, it is in bloom. This bush renews in successive waves throughout the summer, its semi-double corollas of 5 cm (2in) in diameter gathered in terminal clusters. The tightly closed buds open into turbinate flowers, then give way to lightly scented roses with a slightly more relaxed appearance. The colour of the flowers is a very pale pink nested in the predominantly white flower, then a pure white when fully open.

Hybrid polyantha roses can create beautiful small hedges planted at the edge of the terrace or in small shrub beds. Combine them with abelias, nandinas, or caryopteris, for example. They are good companions for paniculate phlox and tall gypsophila. The modest size of 'Maria Mathilda' makes it an interesting variety for growing in large pots, with appropriate fertilisers and watering.