In my garden, Cressida was not exactly a climber but a tall shrub, had terrible BS and was not at all a prolific bloomer :-( ...but oh, that scent was to die for! Good luck wiht your new one!

If you deadhead very, very promptly, rebloom is much improved. Mine is a very awkward plant, tall and misshapen, but I adore the flowers.

I used to grow Cressida as a very large, pegged down shrub. It rebloomed pretty well after it was established. I finally shovel-pruned it this year. Loved the look and fragrance of the flowers, hated the diseased leaves.

Got Cymbeline from Roses Unlimited to replace it. Jeri Jennings said it has comparable fragrance. Can't wait for it to bloom.

Also got Roberto Capucci in my order. Oh my goodness, it is beautiful. I am surprised I don't read more about this one in the forums.

FPE, yes, you are right about all of those things. But, the blooms and the fragrance, really amazing.

hoovb, I'll try that. How tall is yours?

jimmiesgran, I think there is no rose quite like Cressida, unfortunately, so I think it will be a cross to bear!

Some of the pictures I have of blooms are just breathtaking...not my photography, but the blooms themselves. They are so beautiful, really unique.

I assume that Cressida, with its beautifully formed & deeply fragrant blossoms, must be a wondrous, well-behaved rose when grown in its native England. For me, sad to say, it was a monstrous plant that grew like gangbusters, produced a fabulous spring flush, then pouted with intermittent bloom during the remainder of the season -- altho the bush itself continued to climb skyward.

I'm surprised that the commenters above did not mention the thorns on this variety. I can deal with thorny bushes that remain within acceptable bounds. Cressida, however, with its large, dense thorns PLUS rampant, out-of-control growth enters another dimension.

Jimmiesgran -- regarding 'Roberto Capucci'. You're right, he's a remarkably beautiful rose. Even in your zone, however, take precautions to give him extra protection during winter. I've found him to be very tender and unforgiving. If he doesn't come back from the roots this season, I'm giving up on him once and for all.

hoovb, my Cressida rarely threw up new canes, like never. So, I'm wondering when you cut it down, do you know if that spurred it to send up new growth or did you just lose the potential for a bunch of blooms? Beautiful shots, love that color.

jaxondel, I can't even remember the thorns being especially nasty. And, I think that Roberto Capucci rose looks beautiful.

But, this is why, when Cressida does this, I surrender. This was taken on December 1 on Long Island.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cressida

hoovb and tivoli rose, your pictures are exactly the reason why Cressida lingered so long in my garden - wonderful photos! A shame we don't have "smellavision" IRL :-)

And I can't let go of this image....

Here is a link that might be useful: Cressida

Hello Susan,

Because of winter die back here, my Cressida is cut to a few inches tall each winter and has to start from scratch. She usually puts out 3 or 4 strong canes that grow to about 3 feet and branch moderately. She then blooms in flushes every couple of weeks over the course of the summer and into October. Mine is quite healthy, less blackspot than many of my other roses.

Another plus for Cressida is that her blooms stand up to the worst of summer heat and humidity and she is potently fragrant regardless of how hot it gets.

When I grew her on the west coast (zone 8), she was a short climber as others have described her here and she did not seem to rebloom as well as she does now that she is growing as a short bush. So she may be similar to Charles Austin and bloom and perform better if she is pruned hard and kept shorter to encourage rebloom. Might be worth a try.

Cheers,

Rideau Rose Lad

No, she bloomed better after the pruning than before. Your pictures are so awesome.

jaxondel, thanks for the warning about winter protecting Roberto Capucci!

When I see these pictures I am sorely tempted to try Cressida again. Maybe if I had cut it down drastically like rideauroselad always has to do, it would have been healthier.

We found about 5 or 6 of them growing here that were nearly dead (growing on some arches), and moved them in winter of last year. They seem pretty happy in their new space, and bloomed quite regularly. This year they've got quite a few buds on them getting ready to open, we'll see how they do now.

--Ron

can anyone get me a rosa cressida plant or cutting

I know Hortico has Cressida.

Hi there,
I was wondering as well if anyone could send me cuttings of their Cressida please? I can’t find it anywhere except for freedom garden and they’re backed up for the next couple of years on this plant. Fortunately I’ve been learning how to propagate for the past year and now feel confident to try growing these from cuttings.
Thanks!