Rosa 'Winchester Cathedral' - English Rose

The 'Winchester Cathedral' Rose is a beautiful variety, both floriferous and of great class. This bush, with its open shapes, being a perpetual flowering variety, offers a flowering of immaculate white, impressive in its purity and generosity throughout the summer. It is also known as the White Mary Rose, in memory of its parent with pink flowers from which it inherited all its qualities. Its rose, modelled after old roses, blooms in a well-double corolla, slightly crumpled, with a subtle fragrance.

This rose belongs to the family of English Roses, a term coined by the breeder David Austin himself. These roses are obtained by cross-breeding an old rose (gallica, bourbon,...) with a Hybrid Tea or a Floribunda. English Roses are well known for being perfectly perpetual, and their flowers are renowned for being beautiful, regular and highly scented rosettes.

Winchester Cathedral is a well-branched bush rose that constantly produces new shoots. This variety does not exceed 1.20m (4ft) in height by 1m (3ft) in diameter, so it remains quite short and is perfect for layering in a rose bed at the forefront of taller varieties. It is directly descended from the David Austin Mary Rose rose, and in certain conditions, it can produce flowers that are more or less tinged with pink, sometimes half white and half pink. The flowering occurs from June to September, throughout the summer, in successive waves, as long as faded flowers are regularly removed and the plant is not lacking in water or nutrients. The large white buds, slightly streaked with carmine red, open into large flowers of 10cm (4in), pure white. In the form of very double cups, they are composed of more than 40 white petals and exhale a scent of old rose, softened by notes of honey and almond flowers. Its foliage is a medium green, rather matte. Its disease resistance is more or less good depending on the climate and growing conditions.

The immaculate flowers of Winchester Cathedral blend well with all other colours in the garden. This bush with moderate growth easily integrates into shrub beds such as buddleias, lilacs, spireas, deutzias, mock oranges, kolkwitzias, or perennials, bringing exuberance and fragrance. It will also accompany delicate annuals and even grasses in mixed borders, whose tufted foliage will hide its sometimes naked base. English roses are magnificent when planted in groups of three; they form a superb mass of flowers late into the season.

Obtained by David Austin in 1988.