I don't believe you until you post a pic....kidding with you :)

I've been going back and forth on whether or not to purchase her. Your pic and others on this forum may push me in the right directions (hint, hint)

Audrey

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At your service, vuwugarden...

David Austin, eat your heart out!

Great pic of a great rose, remontant. And vuwu, those flowers are NOT lightweights, but fat, heavy things loaded with petals and luscious scent.

Sherry

My favorite rose, hands down. We're growing a "rose dome" at FSC, to complement Frank Lloyd Wright's "Water Dome" on our campus -- 26 feet wide and I hope eventually about 14 feet tall. I'm using 8 Mrs. BRC plants on 'Fortuniana' plants to do it. They are already as wide as I need them; still working on the height. Less than 2 years old.

D:
D:

OH MY GOD!! It's so amazingly gorgeous! How old is that one in the picture?

I must admit I'm a little jealous. I've had mine since April 2, it's still a little twiglet, and has only one small bud. However, it seems like a healthy little thing and I hope by fall to have a nicely blooming albeit small plant. This is one rose that I can't wait to watch growing larger and larger.

Ingrid

Oh My Goodness!

Can anyone tell me how large it will be when mature in Central Va - zone 7?

I may have to remove some sod in the middle of the front yard and let her 'have at it'!!

But, I need to know how much grass I should remove.

Glad I saw this before I tucked her in among the others!!

Betty

Holy macro!!! Um, do you think I can resist not buying Mrs. B.R. Cant now?

I wonder why her name is B.R. Cant, it seems she should be called Mrs. B.R. Can-too......I know I can...I know I can...

Thanks a lot, enabler remontant...

Gratefully,

Audrey

Betty, I can't say how big Mrs. B would get for you but in a climate like mine I understand she can easily reach 10 x 10 feet. I'm growing mine standing alone as a specimen plant and I think your idea of growing her as a stand-alone plant in the front of your home is splendid. This rose will probably stop traffic in a few years.

Ingrid

Audrey -- Benjamin Cant (CAHnt) was one of the great rose-men of 19th-Century England.
His company was "Cant's of Colchester."

This rose was a real big deal to him, and the first one he ever named after his (somewhat younger, trophy) wife.

I always visualize her as being a big, tall, proud woman with a "deep bosom." :-)

Jeri

Love her even more after reading your response about her history, Jeri :)

Will definitely add one or two of Mrs. Benjamin Cant!

Thank you!

I have Mrs Cant in a prime spot off the driveway in the front yard. She's only 2 (the first one was murdered by a wayward hose) but she's already been pumping out the blooms. And they last! I haven't detected any scent yet though. She's so small, I haven't bent down that far to sniff the flowers yet.

Wow, I "CAHnt" wait til my rose looks like remontant's!

I've had Mrs. B.R. (whom Anne calls Mrs. B.R. CAN!)for five years. She's way above my head--I'm guessing somewhere around seven feet or more. There's no way I can deadhead the top blooms. She definitely needs room. This is what Liz Druitt and Mike Shoup wrote about her in _Landscaping with Antique Roses_

"'Mrs. B.R. Cant' is not suitable for a small garden." (I take exception with that because my yard is very small--only 60' wide--but I make room for her!) "This rose makes such a large plant that it's almost a whole garden by itself. For the first two years it will seem out of balance, too open and leggy; but once it reaches six feet in every direction, the proportions come together as they should. Since 'Mrs. B.R. Cant' is a Tea, there is no point trying to prune it back hard to keep it under control, because it will just sulk and refuse to bloom well. With a light shearing once or twice a year, it can be kept at 5 ft. or 6 ft., but if room is available, 'Mrs. B.R. Cant' will be happy to grow to 8 ft. up and sideways and bloom in equally expansive style...This is the sort of plant that will make the neighbors think of you as someone who grows roses, even if you have only one bush in the yard."

I will say that I can't detect any fragrance from my plant, but it be either my nose or the clone I have or both. I have her for the eye candy--apparently like Mr. Cant back in his day. ;-)

Dr. Manners, your rose dome sounds like a wonderful project! It will be wonderful to see pictures!

Thanks for the additional info.

We have a huge hill of a grassy front yard. This may be just the excuse I need to start a large bed 'smack-dab' in the middle of that yard!

After all, DH knows we need to find something to slow down the soil errosion on that hillside and cut down on all of that grass we have to mow when DS leaves for college in 2 years!

Now i've got to find an inexpensive material to make a raised bed. Hmmm...

Betty

In our cool, foggy coastal climate, her name is Mrs. No Can Do because the blooms don't open well on the young plants. I stuck with her for four years while she matured into a giant plant, and the blooms almost always open now. I'm surprised buford can't smell the scent. I find it divine, among the best of the Teas.

Maturity can make a tremendous difference, can't it?

I saw those monster blooms of "Arcadia Louisiana Tea" at Celebration, and I shook my head.
I think I need to move my poor ALT out of where it is.
It can never achieve enough growth to do THAT, where it is -- squeezed to death by 'Le Pactole.'

Jeri

berndoodle, I haven't had mine that long, as as I said, she is so small still, I haven't bent down to sniff her blooms that much. I'll try again next flush. I am hoping she does get large, I'm counting on her to cover up a manhole cover.

So beautiful! It was just the impetus I needed to order the Mrs. Cant. I wanted one for the front of our house. Thanks for sharing!

Here it in MD it is 8x8 with significant prunning (can be 10x10 easily), Winter hardy too, if you spray it and keep healthy. If left unsprayed BS will weaken it significantly, 4x4 or less and problems with winter hardiness.
Olga

I don't spray, but so far this year the BS hasn't started in on MBRC, though my Merville de Lyon looks atrocious. (Now I remember why I made a mental note to move her from beside the front door. Then forgot; d'oh! This fall for sure!)

I just received 4 cants from antique rose emporium. i can't wait. glad to hear that they grow fast.

Random Harvest. Did you select your name because you enjoyed the book? The title takes me back so many years, and I am just curious. I have never noticed your name before.

Sammy

I love this rose but thank goodness I didn't get it because it would get way too huge for a container! :-o

I've had Mrs. Cant for about 15 years, and she's still going strong, no blackspot - which is really impressive here! - and continues to make those big, fat, pink roses.
There is no better rose, at least for my area.
Sherry

sadly, although Cants are still in business, just down the road from me, they no longer sell MrsC. Bred in Essex, East Anglia, I always assumed that this would be my top choice for hardiness too. Still available from Beales so, if I can get over the pink thing (already have too much of it), it would be my choice of tea.

It is recommended that she be planted in zones 7-9. We had the worst ever winter last year with about a 3 week period of ice or ice and snow on the ground. My two died back way too much. I keep them watered and I keep thinking they may come back from the roots. At least I was wise enough to think about them when I placed my order, and I have one new one.

Sammy

Sammy, my influence was not the book but the movie starring young, radiant Greer Garson. I also love Mrs. Miniver, but Random Harvest seemed to better suit my slap-dash approach to gardening.

Random Harvest--I just saw that movie recently (on TCM) for the first time. I specifically chose to watch it because of Greer Garson. I love her. She was oh-so classy and beautiful with a brilliant voice and a spectacular smile. I loved her in Pride and Prejudice and also, Madame Currie.

But, while watching Random Harvest, I had a new found admiration for Ronald Coleman. What an attractive gent. I love the look on his face when he realizes who she is at the end! Don't want to spoil it for anyone so I can't say anymore.

Any roses named for Miss Garson or any of her characters? Mrs. Miniver perhaps or surely a Madame Currie?

Annabeth

Campanula, you had asked a while back if growing teas was feasible in your garden. I'm sure none of us knew you are so close to Mrs BR's "birthplace". Do you see her growing in your area? She is one of the more winter hardy teas, and I don't think your winters compare to Sammy's recent winter experience, correct? If you see her growing around you, your summers must be her cup of tea. As regards her color, she is really no ordinary pink but a rather vibrant raspberry with great fragrance. Perhaps your milder summers would mitigate some of her hugeness issues for you. I wonder...what do the great English rose gardeners say about this rose in your "neighborhood"? I think she's worth a shot in your toastiest spot.

Sherry

honestly Sherry, you have to look really hard to see any roses in Cambridge. There is no shortage of modern climbers (Handel - yech!) and nearby me, there is a spectacular climbing cecile brunner. As an illustartion, Scotsdales, our biggest garden centre, sells a zillion Austins and loads of HTs and floribundas while there is a tiny little row of 'old favourites' such as Fantin Latour, Rose de Rescht, a couple of hybrid musks and the odd gallica (belle de Crecy)....and that's it. Mail order is the only game in town for rosarians. My very first rose order was from Cants who are still actively breeding - Just Joey is one of theirs. Also, Harkness roses are even nearer - less than 20 miles. You would think we ought to be in rose heaven. Andrea may know of some good college gardens but Cambridge is not much of a gardener's paradise - the local council recently sold off our historic glasshouses which used to grow all the plants for the city but now they are mostly bought in from Holland. The difference is woeful and, for a wealthy town, embarassing. I am guessing that Cambridge is merely reflecting the state of horticulture in general in the UK - more colleges are closing than ever before while the courses on offer are poorly taught with few resources, or quick moneyspinners such as design courses, mainly taken up by middle aged people downsizing or embarking on a second career. Sorry to waffle on but it is truly sad that so few new young gardeners are getting a decent education, despite obvious skills shortages in the industry. Still, I would be inclined to give Mrs Cant a go especially since it is not likely to turn into a ten foot whopper.

I'm in love!
I am slowly looking around for a darker pink OGR. I am also glad to hear from remontant, another person from TN. Remontant, Mrs. Cant must do okay in our humidity? WHen does she bloom for you?

Campanula, I found this book about amateur rose gardening in England. The chapter on tea roses starts on page 87. He has a rather lengthy list. He says Mrs BR has "few claims to fine form". I wonder if that's because she opens flat rather than with the swirl. Personally, I like her form, but I guess it is atypical for a tea rose. You might enjoy other parts of the book.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: The Rose Book - 1913

rooty, it's very humid and so far Mrs. Cant is doing well. She was a tiny band last summer and now she's shooting out 2 foot canes loaded with blooms. I can't wait for her to get to full size.

Rootygirl, she blooms in cycles all through the year. She had the big flush above earlier in the month and is resting now (understandably). I'm on the Cumberland Plateau which means we're not as hot and humid as Memphis, say. So far she's handled the past five winters here quite well. She may be in a bit of a heat island, since she's at the corner of the lot (paved streets on two sides) and is right beside the sidewalk.

Campanula, you should take a road trip to Cant's and let them know their signature rose has an international fan club!

ya'll are making me homesick for the Mrs. BRC I left in the south. Here's a closeup of her beautiful face. Gean

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Thanks for the replies, everyone. That is why I like this forum so much!
I have always liked Louise Odier for the dark pink color, but it looks as though Mrs Cant may be more disease resistant in this humid area. (I'm in Murfreesboro).
I'll be going on some rose garden tours next week to gather more ideas.

Mine grew about 12 ft. by 10 ft. and I had to prune her back because my husband would complain of his shirt getting ripped when he needed to mow the grass. Please put Mrs. B where she will have plenty of room to grow. Don't plant next to a walkway or close to your neighbors property because they may get angry about brushes with the thorns (unless you hate your neighbors!). Very fragrant and wonderful cut flowers. Never any blackspot and never problems with insects. Drought tolerant once established. She seems to like my clay-ey soil and lots of water (she's planted on a mound next to a spot with poor drainage, and her roots love it). I know this rose will out live me!

This rose is named after the wife of Mr. Benjamin Revett Cant 1828-1904. The Cant name in rose growing goes back probably four generations back from Benjamin Cant and they started out life as ordinary seedsmen in say 1728 (ish) but became interested in rose as more were brought back from China and other countries. Benjamin's wife was named Elizabeth. There are descendants of the Cant family still operating Cant's Roses in Colchester, England, but no more named Cant descendants. My children descend from Olive Cant who always had lots of roses in her garden. There are descendants of Benjamin's son Harry still living in Australia. This rose is still available in England directly from Cants Roses, Colchester, England and it is also in USA and Australia, where it flourishes as a native. Another interesting fact about Benjamin R. Cant is that he was an entrepreneur, and opened the first dual Ice skating and roller skating rinks in England, putting on skating shows, even bringing an elephant into one of the rinks as part of an act. He started to lose money when he appointed a manager to run the empire, and when others in Britain began to copy him. He just avoided bankruptcy by selling nearly everything he had but the road he made to get to the complex is still there. He spent many years developing Mrs. B.R.Cant, getting the rose just right, and I hope that my care of my children's ancestor gives justice to his efforts, flair and sense of fun. The rose is in centres in most countries - just don't give up looking. An interesting note is that in both World wars, a fair amount of thei Cant land growing roses, was dug up to grow vegetables for the war effort.

Thank you for reposting this wonderful thread. I adore my MBRC, and love reading about her history and all the others who grow. Just wish I could see all those pictures too! :-)

..yes an interesting potted history... but I would like to point out that the rose 'Mrs. B.R. Cant' has not been sold by Cants for a long time and is currently not available anywhere in the UK to my knowledge... I emailed them about it a few years ago and was told that they no longer offer this rose.... and it is not found on their website catalogue.... Beales used to offer it but they also have removed it from their inventory in recent years...

...Unfortunately, roses like these would be considered very old fashioned and generally unwanted in today's rose world here in England … having long been superseded by hybrid teas and now of course it's all about Austins ….. everybody wants an Austin...

Marlorena, i really hope you can get her. Avryll Sixtus wrote above that , " This rose is still available in England directly from Cants Roses, Colchester, England " . I hope it is still available there and cross fingers. That is a very scary and sad though that old roses are being removed bec they are unwanted. i wish i can send you a rose bush or even a cutting :}

I absolutely love Mrs. B R cant. I hope i gave enough space but it looks small as it takes forever to grow kinda like every typical tea i have. i think it wil be a 3rd year in couple of months.

Avryll Sixtus, thank you for the above interesting history :}

jin