Rosa 'Blaze Superior'

The 'Blaze' Superior climbing rose, more commonly marketed as Blaze Improved or Demokracie, is an old Czech variety still considered one of the best red climbers. This generous climbing rose is very popular across the Atlantic and difficult to find in the French horticultural trade. It bears large semi-double flowers of a scarlet red gathered in lightly scented clusters. Covered in flowers in late spring, it offers a beautiful re-flowering in late summer, well highlighted by its healthy dark green foliage. It is a lively plant, very easy to grow, ideal for enhancing any support provided.

The Demokracie climbing rose was discovered by Jan Böhm in 1935 in former Czechoslovakia and introduced to the United States in 1950 by the nursery Jackson & Perkins Co under the name "Blaze Improved". This horticultural hybrid belongs to the groups of the Wichurana liana roses, large-flowered climbers and floribundas, whose flowers are gathered in clusters. Its growth is rapid, developing long erect woody stems, green and adorned with sharp prickles, flexible enough to be trained. It can climb up to 4m (13ft) in height. Its long stems are covered with dark green, dentate leaflets, resistant to rose diseases under good growing conditions. In humid weather, they may stain. The 'Blaze Improved' roses, with wide 6cm (2in) blooms, have 20 to 25 petals. Sporadic blooms follow the abundant flowering in June in summer, and then the plant produces numerous roses again in September-October. They are born on short one-year-old shoots and on the current year's growth, gathered in clusters of several buds. Their color is a brilliant red with a hint of pink, and they seem to shine in the sunlight. Their fragrance is light.

'Blaze Improved' is a strikingly charming rose that radiates in the sun and catches everyone's attention in the garden. Like other climbers, it is incomparable to adorn a gate, the railing of a grand staircase, fences and small pergolas, or brighten up an old conifer hedge. Its red flowering pairs well with the 'Prince Charles' clematis, blue, or Miss Bateman, with white flowers. It is an ideal companion for dead trees that it will revive or sheds that give a wild charm to. Trained on an arch and placed on an unsightly fence, it dresses up the smallest decor without requiring much effort from the one who planted it.