Rosa x persica 'Queen Babylon Eyes' - Miniature Rose

The 'Queen Babylon Eyes' Rosebush, a marvelous descendant of the Persian rosebush, is the pinkest of the Babylon Eyes series. Its semi-double and velvety flowers, well open, are a delightful range of pink, speckled with fuchsia central macules. Like its siblings, its flowering is an enchantment that only ends with the first frost, its foliage is resistant to diseases, and its behaviour in dry soils is remarkable. It also has a compact habit that allows it to be grown in a large pot to adorn the patio or balcony.

The Rosa x persica 'Queen Babylon Eyes' or 'Intereybabeuq' descends from a wild rosebush discovered in 1784 by botanist André Michaux in the Zagros Mountains, straddling Iran and Iraq. The particularity offered by its bicoloured flowers with a highly contrasting centre has since prompted rose breeders to attempt its hybridisation with other cosmopolitan species and varieties. After years of research and selection, new and very interesting cultivars have emerged all over Europe.

'Queen Babylon Eyes', born in the 2010s, is part of these varieties with exotic charm, beautiful like hibiscus, still relatively unknown to us. It is a shrub or a bush with an upright and bushy habit, rarely exceeding 1m (3ft) in height and 75 cm (30in) in width. Its branches are moderately thorny and adorned with small, slightly shiny, healthy green foliage. Flowering occurs early in June and regularly repeats itself until September-October. The semi-double flowers with 8 petals in flat cups measure 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) in diameter. The changing colours of the flowers make this wonderful bush a bouquet where different shades of pink, from fuchsia to tender pink to white pink, are highlighted by the central red macules that become fuchsia pink at maturity.

'Queen Babylon Eyes', charming under its corollas of bright and fresh pink, is an almost "indestructible" rosebush that will seduce gardeners without gardens or those who struggle step by step with ungrateful soil, dry in summer, frozen in winter. It will be adopted more than any other in a Mediterranean garden, on sandy or rocky soil, on a slope, in a large rockery, or wherever other 'classic' roses would sulk. It is also hardy enough to withstand our normal winters, which allows it to be adopted almost everywhere. Babylon Eyes roses can be combined with various plants, such as garden irises, lavenders, cistus, rosemary, escallonias, oreganos, teucriums, and sedums in dry terrain. It can be paired with pink or white foxgloves, catmints, or even pretty grasses like Muhlenbergia capillaris or Stipa capillata in cooler soil. On the patio or balcony, it can be surrounded, for example, by cineraria maritima, alstroemerias, agapanthus, or carnations.