Rosa polyantha Red Ballerina

The Red Ballerina Rose bush, a variety with flowers of a deeper pink than the famous Ballerina, resembles a hydrangea in full bloom, with its small carmine wild roses tightly packed into large clusters, each with a small white heart. They bloom from June to October on a sturdy, vigorous bush, bursting with health. The colour of its flowers, fresh and cheerful but not aggressive, is easy to match with other white, pink, purple, or even violet roses. This variety is easy to grow in any well-prepared soil and it will thrive everywhere, even at high altitude.

The Rosa (x) polyantha Red Ballerina rose is not strictly an old rose, as it was created by Harkness in 1974. Nevertheless, it has all the characteristics of an old rose, except for the fragrance, which is absent from its flowers. Its ancestry hails from musk roses (Rosa moschata) and, of course, polyantha roses. This variety forms a bush with a sturdy, dense, upright habit, reaching a height and width of about 1.2m (4ft), sometimes more depending on growing conditions. Its flowering is very long and continuous, from June-July to October-November. Its single, bicoloured flowers, 2-3cm (0.8 - 1.2in) wide, consist of 5 regular petals arranged in an open cup, revealing a golden yellow stamen centre. The dominant colour is a very bright carmine pink, surrounding a small central white area. The flowers are tightly packed in generous clusters that appear at the tips of the current year's shoots. If left undisturbed, it forms attractive orange hips. The deciduous foliage is small and slender. Its colour is a pure, glossy light green, and is highly disease resistant.

The Red Ballerina Rose adapts to all soils that are not too dry and all climates, even at higher altitudes. Planted in mass, it will border the pathways and underscore the shrub borders. It will blend perfectly with a medium landscape hedge, where it will enhance the foliage of dogwoods and viburnums. It can also be combined with pretty, easy-to-grow perennials such as perennial geraniums (Geranium Blue Cloud, Anne Folkard, Nimbus, Orion), bellflowers (lactiflora, rapunculoides), catmints, snapdragons, bear's breeches, foxgloves...

If you have enough space, English, Old, or Shrub Roses are magnificent when planted in groups of three. They will grow together to form a single, opulent bush that will flower even more generously.