Rosa 'QUEEN ANNE' shrub rose (David Austin)

THIS VARIETY HAS BEEN RETIRED BY DAVID AUSTIN, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION.

Queen Anne is another rose of classic Old Rose beauty, but more in the direction of the Centifolias or Bourbons. The medium-sized flowers are a very pure rose pink, the outer petals only slightly paler than the central ones. In habit ‘Queen Anne’ is quite upright but still bushy and has few thorns. It could be used very effectively in beds where more formal roses are required, or it would look equally at home in more informal surroundings, whether planted with other roses or mixed in with perennials. The flowers have a good fragrance with hints of pear drop at first, changing to a most attractive, rounded Old Rose scent. The ‘Queen Anne’ rose has been named to celebrate the tercentenary of Ascot Racecourse. The world’s most famous racecourse was founded by Queen Anne in 1711.

Planting instructions: Prepare a hole of size 30x30 cm. Put your rose in the way that the grafting point is 3 cm deep in the soil. Water well and cover new shoots with soil or bark mulch about 15 cm high. Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun.

Pruning: English roses don’t need hard pruning like tea hybrids. Just cut last year’s growth by one third to maximum one half in the spring (after frosts) to achieve desired shape, and strong and reliable framework. Cutting it back to 3-5 live buds is possible for re-juvenating. To support extra flowering during the season remove twigs past blossom: cut them off the first leaf with 5 leaflets. Mulch well before winter, preferably with leaf-mould.

Last update: 03-02-2015.