Rosa x floribunda 'Princesse de Galles' - Hybrid Tea Rose

The 'Princess of Wales Rose' or 'hardinkum', halfway between a polyantha and a bush, is an exquisite and floriferous cluster-flowered rose. It first charms with the purity of its white roses that do not change colour at the end of flowering and how they are grouped in dense bouquets throughout the season. Then, by its beautiful, flexible, and lush vegetation. A superb rose, with vigorous and healthy growth, constantly flowering, with a light, very soft fragrance. Its modest size makes it a prime choice for borders, flower beds and large pots on patios and balconies.

The Rosa floribunda 'Princess of Wales' is a creation by Harkness (U.K.) dating from 1997. It was awarded the Gold Medal of the plant world in 2001, the A.G.M. of the Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.). The plant forms in a few years a small ramified bush with a spreading, slightly trailing, very natural habit, measuring about 65 cm (26in) in height and 80 cm (32in) to 1 m (3ft) in width. It shows young shoots tinged with brown, and its thorny stems bear foliage cut into dark green leaflets, very resistant to diseases. This deciduous foliage falls in autumn. The flowering repeats from June to October. The wide corollas of 5-6 cm (2in) are semi-double, gathered in generous bouquets. When they bloom, they have a turbinate shape, and then they open almost flat around a small yellow heart. The flowering of this rose is very lightly scented, and it withstands rain well.

The floribunda roses allow for beautiful small hedges planted mixed at the edge of the terrace or in flower beds with small-sized bushes. Combine them with ground-cover roses, abelias, nandinas, or copter. They are good companions for foxgloves and tall baby's breath. The modest size, generosity, and resistance of 'Princess of Wales' make it an interesting variety for all gardens, even small ones and container gardening. Its uses are varied, according to the desires of each gardener: in a rose bed, alongside white varieties (Marie Pavie, Swanny), pink or mauve ones (Blue Boy, Rhapsody in Blue). Like all roses, it is stunning mixed with easy-care perennials such as hardy geraniums, catmints, or asters. Its bouquets of roses are charming in floral arrangements or centrepieces, with double clematis flowers, for example.