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'Royal Lavender' Getting its Pink Slip

11 years ago

Does anyone have comments about the climber 'Royal Lavender'? After a trial of about five years--I'm pretty patient--it is still at a size which might be called "just right but maybe a little spindly for a five-gal. can." Meantime, its flowers are so un-lavender that, once upon a time, with one of its few shoots mingling with a 'Radiance', I didn't realize until later that the blossoms it had were *not* from 'Radiance'. While I have quite a nice number of roses in the lavender-lilac-"gray" range, this is the only reputed lavender one which never even approximates anything in that range; it's just mauve. Is 'Royal Lavender' a misnomer, or does it lavender-up for others? On the plus side, its leaves are attractive, so if one can get it to grow . . . but, for me, the plant is about to get its walking papers.

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Comments (3)

roseseek
11 years ago
It was MUCH better budded, Brent. I had the original, import plant I brought in from LeGrice nearly thirty years ago which grew acceptably and flowered rather well. It was intensely fragrant and the flowers were never "lavender", but shades of browish-grayish-mauvey-pink. Own root, it is much less of everything. I can also report it is SIGNIFICANTLY better in the ground (once established) than in a can. it needs roots to really perform, preferably artificial roots to impart greater vigor to push it along. I can understand your disappointment with how it's performed for you, though. I maintained it until a few months ago, when I decided I needed/wanted the room for something else which would be happy to be with me, instead. Fifty years ago when it was introduced, there was nothing like it at all. But, look at what's behind it...multiple doses of Grey Pearl, Lavender Pinocchio, and you know there had to be similar genes from Raffel's Lavender Queen. It can be quite an interesting and enjoyable rose, IF you have the room, patience and enjoy museum pieces. Kim
odinthor
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Kim. Though I referred to a 5-gal. can, that was just as a guidepost to the size of the plant; mine has actually been in the ground at least four years. It will be outta here as soon as my new 'Cl. Chrysler Imperial' bulks up a bit. The spot is one of the central focus points in my garden, and demands something which will be magnificent every now and then. The nearby 'Radiance' it grew into also is now a thing of the past for similarly "not paying its rent." Sic transit gloria mundi.
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Ingrid, you can't see that view directly from my house but a lot of the areas near me you can see the mountains like this! I live in the Santa Clarita area (north of Burbank/LA) I'm not sure if my rose is Mrs. Wood's or if it's just Lavender Pink! Ah well, we'll see how it does. I'll try and get some form of protection up for my shorter bands, soon. THanks guys, I didn't even think of that! huttnem, I agree about the clouds! Those mountains with the sun moving over them... it's easier to see them when the clouds have cleaned out the air and cause the light to move in beautiful ways. Plus, I have no desire for us to get to 110 degrees sooner than we need to. :)
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Thanks for the reply. Blooms are around 4 inches when opened up, I'd say. The biggest flush is definitely in the spring, where it is not the earliest nor the latest of my 20 roses. It will have fewer blossoms all through the summer, but does not "always" have blooms on it like some of my others. Never a really profuse cover of blooms like a lot of my others. It has thorns, but not really "few" like Crepuscule, nor tons like Brandy. It is chugging along in sub-optimal conditions- not enough water in heat of summer, and so the foliage isn't usually very pretty. Drier, and certainly darker and definitely more coarse foliage than the Graham Thomas next to it. I have moved now to a neighboring town, but will try to go over an get some shots of the plant and thorns. I will definitely try to propagate it from a cutting, although wasn't successful on my first try this last November.
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Hi Bart! I'm sorry, I've been "otherwise occupied" battling downy mildew. Royal Lavender is NOT a silvery-lavender. It IS sometimes pinkish-mauve, sometimes rather brownish-lavender. It is quite fragrant and there honestly isn't anything else quite like it. It was one of the first "mauvish" climbers and is pretty much a museum piece these days, as are many of the other strangly colored early roses. If water, space and disease pressures weren't issues here, I would grow it again. I wouldn't use it for breeding, which is pretty much what I limit my space use for these days, but I did enjoy the rose. In the mid California desert, it was healthy, but I know it wouldn't be here along the Central California Coast where nights are chilly and wet, followed by warmish, sunny and very windy days. If you just have to try it, go for it. But, if you really want something along the coloring of Blue Moon, Sterling Silver and their like, it won't please you.
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CoriAnn, this is a brilliant idea!!! I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of Florence D.; on HMF, the photos show a colour that is very washed-out and muddy in comparison to the ones posted here. I myself have become very,very focused onto lavender,violet, purple, mauve roses,after realizing last year that these were the colours that pleased me the most,so I'm on the alert for good ones in this category. I'm even thinking of changing my present policy and actually trying an HT or two!
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nancylee2
10 years ago
Well, odinthor, I always hoped those 4 years of Latin would come in handy....

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