Rosa x moschata 'Kathleen'

The Kathleen rose embodies a bush's elegance and freshness that combines wild roses' resistance and robustness with the abundant flowering of hybrid musk roses. This vigorous bush offers delightful bouquets of simple dog roses of fairly small size, with delicate shades of pink and white, gracefully revealing their stamens as they open flat. The show unfolds almost uninterrupted from June to October, thanks to intense and generous flowering. In an ecological garden, 'Kathleen' provides the much-appreciated nectar for bees, and the orange fruits, called hips, over 1.5 cm (1in) in diameter, feed the birds in autumn and winter. Naturally resistant to diseases, it is easy to grow in any soil, even in partial shade, and requires little maintenance.

The Rosa x moschata 'Kathleen' is a variety obtained in 1924 by the English Reverend Joseph Hardwick Pemberton, who is also responsible for roses such as Penelope, Cornelia, Felicia, Robin Hood.... 'Kathleen' is the result of the hybridisation of 'Daphne' (Hybrid Musk, Pemberton, 1912) and 'Perles des jardins'. The Rosa moschata, which belongs to the rose family, is native to Asia Minor or the Middle East. Although its original species has disappeared, some of its descendants, still present today, generally emit a musky fragrance.

'Kathleen' is a fast-growing variety, forming a dense plant with a bushy habit. It can reach a height and spread of 1.50 metres (5 feet) if trained as a climbing plant. This bush is characterised by relatively thornless and erect branches, which bear leaves composed of seven leaflets, with reddish-brown hues when young, then a lovely deep green, adding a beautiful ornamental appearance to the plant. The deciduous foliage turns yellow before falling for the winter. From June to October, it offers generous and perpetual flowering. The rosebuds, in a pink tone, open into beautiful small flat flowers, single, about 4 cm (2in) in diameter, with 5fivepetals, a very soft pink, whiter towards the centre, surrounding a heart filled with yellow stamens. The flowers are gathered in the form of an extended cluster. To maintain continuous flowering, it is recommended to remove faded flowers regularly. This variety offers abundant flowering, is attractive to bees, and is often continuous until frost if the soil does not dry out too much in summer. It is expected to observe flowers and hips simultaneously on the plant, these fruits being very decorative even in winter. The roses emit a delicate and sweet musk fragrance.

The magnificent 'Kathleen' rose is an excellent choice to enhance your garden. Its roses are bright, warm and generous. It only requires sunny exposure and fertile and moist soil to reach its full potential. With its luxuriant foliage, soft colour and intoxicating fragrance, it is perfect for creating a small hedge, a rose bed or enhancing a landscape composition of light perennial plants. To create harmonious combinations, plant it in groups on large borders, associated with other moschata roses in tender and refined colours or landscape shrub roses in shades of pink, red, white or pale yellow. In a colourful shrub bed, you can associate it with weigelas and dwarf abelias, caryopteris or even lavenders. You can also accompany it with Japanese anemones, phlox paniculata, blue bellflower, red penstemons, delphiniums, Buenos Aires verbena... And let's not forget, for contrast effects, the association with silver foliage such as artemisias and seaside cinerarias, or positioned in front of the dark foliage of boxwood, hornbeams, Japanese privet, cotoneaster... Thanks to its dense vegetation, this rose adapts perfectly to cultivation in a large pot. Just water it regularly and provide the necessary fertilisers to thrive on terraces, balconies, or patios fully.