The elusive aprıcot rose
They’re the rarest roses of all – but the challenge of tracking down a apricot bloom is irresistible, says Monty Don
ROSES – I love them in (almost) every hue: red, the gradated subtlety of pink varieties, the soft buttery yellow of the first species roses, and I have a dozen different kinds of white rose that are all a joy. All these colours are readily available and now is certainly a good time to buy roses and plant them. However, there is a colour of rose I am always in pursuit of and which is elusive, and that is apricot.
This is a very hard colour to find in the floral world, not least because so many yellows and oranges veer just the wrong side of it. That does not make yellow or orange undesirable – I love both in their place – but neither can be properly called apricot, which is a distinct colour in its own right.
Why apricot particularly? Because it is a lovely colour, with recognisable yellow, orange and pink in it and yet not dominated by any one of those tones, and also because it is the perfect complement to pinks, reds, blues and purples – which means that it will work in a wide range of situations.
And, I confess, the very fact that it is so hard to pin down and get exactly right makes it a challenge I cannot resist.
I do grow the English shrub rose ‘Crown Princess Margareta’, which is as near to apricot as you are likely to get. The flowers also have a really good shape, and mine bloomed steadily from May through to November last year. This variety, bred by David Austin, combines the repeat-flowering qualities of hybrid teas with the form and charm of
the old-fashioned shrub roses that flower only once – and often for a brief few weeks at that. It has delicious fragrance and will cope with quite a lot of shade – so all in all is highly recommended for almost any garden. David Austin Roses also have ‘Grace’, which is a good apricot colour, as is ‘Port Sunlight’, which has a more modest habit so is ideal for growing in a container. I have not grown either of them but am certainly tempted to do so.
‘Charles Darwin’ is not really apricot except sometimes it is... It can appear almost primrose yellow but at other times any shade from bright yellow to apricot to orange.
If this makes it sound unattractive, I am doing it a disservice because it is a lovely rose with huge blooms.
The colour seems to respond to the weather – the warmer and sunnier it is the paler it becomes, so in the wetter, more overcast summers we seem to be having now, it almost comes into the apricot category.
The hybrid tea ‘Mrs Oakley Fisher’ has a glorious scent and is, I think, a subtle enough orange to be called apricot. It is an old-fashioned rose, but none the worse for that, of slender growth and providing a constant display of flowers. Like all hybrid teas it needs hard pruning in March as the flowers are produced on new shoots, whereas shrub roses can be just lightly trimmed either in autumn or spring. ‘The Churchill Rose’ is a modern shrub rose with lovely apricot or peachy flowers. It is repeat-flowering and will grow in light shade.
Finally the best apricot climbing rose is probably ‘Ginger Syllabub’ – the name is almost an attempt to hedge the bet in case it does not strike the exact apricot note. But it is beautiful, highly fragrant and repeat- f l owering, has glossy green leaves, and will climb to 3.5m (12ft) so is good for training on a trellis or fence as well as a wall. ÷