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Is there a perfect purple rose?

7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

You might wonder what I mean by "perfect". For me personally it would be a rose that doesn't turn pink in the heat of summer, blooms a lot, has a nice bushy shape (that seems to leave out Young Lycidas), doesn't shoot up to the heavens with flowers only on top or an ungainly growth habit (Wild Blue Yonder), is healthy and has shapely flowers, whether single, semi-double or double. I'm not fond of modern-looking, hybrid tea-type roses, but that's just me, and is not a disqualifier. What are your perfect purple roses? (We can include mauve in this category).


I've ordered Plum Perfect from the Antique Rose Emporium, not because it's the perfect purple rose but because I was in a hurry and wanted the largest rose possible. I'd be interested if anyone has Plum Perfect to know the pros and cons of that rose.

Comments (86)

  • 7 years ago

    Thanks Ingrid. I think you would like it. It is very carefree and stays a smaller size, no octopus arms like most other Austins here. Sometimes in summer its a very lilac pink but most of the year it is the color pictured. I think you would like it either color. The blossom has such a pleasing shape.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
  • 7 years ago

    Purple Lodge - still fairly new (Feb. 2017) so I was reluctant to post...

    Planted in the ground - 1st blooms. It was growing near Twilight Zone and Ebb Tide. My original thought, nice blooms... on par with TZ and Ebb Tide... a keeper but nothing outstanding... relatively

    2nd round of blooms... what I did not pay attention to was the dark purple shading on the petals on the 1st flush, which dominated the 2nd flush... It was purple like I have never seen. The best way I can describe it is velvety blooms like Munstead Wood, with a deep purple that I have yet to see on any modern deep purple rose... We had actually returned from vacation and it was in full bloom. It captured my husband's eye from 70' away. I was stunned...

    P.L. was placed in a pot. The 3rd set of blooms did not have any of the dark shading seen on both images...even the blooms looked different... but it was July so...


    This year....???




    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Sweet Pea is a lilac-ish colored rose which I saw at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, looking impressively vigorous and floriferous on June 10 of last year.

    I see it was mentioned above. See also the pic on HMF, where it looks more lilac:
    http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.44233
    It is not quite as graceful IMO as Excellenz von Schubert (mentioned in a previous post), which has beautiful foliage but in my conditions doesn't repeat very much.
    I'd like to see 'Sweet Nothings' in person -- love the name.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked monarda_gw
  • 7 years ago

    That's gorgeous, Lynn, and I hope there is more of that deep, saturated purple on Purple Lodge for you this year. Does anyone still sell this rose? I'd love to try it.


    For me, the closest ideal purple rose is still Twilight Zone. It doesn't pink out, and stays pretty dark all season. TZ's big problem has been cane canker in years' past, and it has lost a lot of cane to that scourge. Next best is the lavender rose Love Song. I have one LS that is about three times bigger than the second plant. The larger plant grows in a much more protected spot, and Love Song is quite cold sensitive. That must make the difference. I've shown these pics before, but I'm still waiting for blooms of this spring. Diane

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
  • 7 years ago







    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
  • 7 years ago

    Purple Lodge -- fantastic color.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked monarda_gw
  • 7 years ago

    I really like Royal Amethyst - saw a row of them at the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden, really beautiful. I have 2 young ones that will bloom this year. Also love Plum Perfect, have several of these.......Violet's Pride is also lovely, nice scent too.

    Judith

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked alameda/zone 8/East Texas
  • 7 years ago

    Burling was trying to propagate Purple Lodge, Dianne. She could have something ready.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
  • 7 years ago

    When put together in one thread like this, and I know there are even more, it's amazing how many purple and lavender roses there are. There can't ever be too many!

  • 7 years ago

    A Gakica "Tuscany" is the closest I've come to purple.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked Cathy Kaufell
  • 7 years ago

    Did anyone say Ebb Tide? I just got it, bare root, last year and it is still small. Only got 3 blooms last summer but I love the deep dark color. No picture to post because I am on my tablet, not my computer.

    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked caflowerluver
  • 7 years ago

    Veilchenblau


    Glory of Edzell


    Nightmoss


    Mountain Mignonette


    RDV


    Ellen Tofflemire



    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked altorama Ray
  • 7 years ago

    I didn’t see anyone mention Lavender Veranda. For a plant on the smaller side, I have been quite happy with its color and vigor.


    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked Nicole G. (6B Inland WA St.)
  • 7 years ago

    Wow I havent even heard of a few of these. You guys all have such beautiful photos. Lavender, lilac, and purple are my favorite rose colors!

    How could I forget- Spirit of Freedom has a lilac-y pink tone!





    ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
  • 4 years ago

    THANK YOU mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9 FOR THE BELOW INFO:

    "I grew Sweet Chariot and wasn't all that fond of it but have Vineyard Song and I adore that rose!" mustbnuts

    Will have to ask LongAgoRoses which one is more fragrant, since I'm tempted to order both as own-roots for my zone 5.

    Spirit of Freedom is light pink at Chicago Botanical Garden with tons of blooms. I have too many light pinks and need more purple. Deep Purple was very wimpy for me, survived only two zone 5 winters, I posted its bush-shot in HMF, won't recommend for cold zone nor heavy-clay. Kordes roses need fluffy & loamy soil:

    Twilight zone is vigorous as 6th-year own-root The color is purple with high-potassium fertilizer, does well in 4 hours of morning sun: Below pic. was taken late fall before frost.


    Below is its spring flush:



  • 4 years ago

    'Vineyard Song' and 'Sweet Chariot' are both powerfully fragrant, but they have distinct fragrances. Subtly different in quality, but closely related.

  • 4 years ago

    I saw this thread and couldn't resist posting - I love purples and lavenders! I grown many of the ones people have listed (am hoping I can find a source for Purple Lodge here in the US, somebody mentioned Burlington?) But there's one I have to suggest that nobody has mentioned: Sven. Its not a well-known rose; to my knowledge, Northland Rosarium is the only place that carries it. It is a great and truly beautiful rose! Its sort of polyantha style, with clusters of small, lovely pinky-purple flowers. For me, its grown into a large graceful shurb that just covers itself with flowers, repeatedly all through the growing season. And I don't always keep up with dead-heading, but that doesn't seem to stop Sven from flowering. No disease that I've ever seen. I have 3 of them now, and even though I'm running out of space, I wouldn't part from a one of them. On top of everything else, Sven is supposedly hardy to zone 3; not an issue for me, since I'm in zone 6, but I'd grow Sven if I was in zone 3 or zone 10, such a great rose! Another really promising-seeming one, new to me this year, is Puppy Kisses; can't say too much yet but so far so good. Single flowers, and very purple, seems vigorous!

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I look up Sven, it's so cute and charming !! Does it have a wafting scent? THANK YOU.

    LongAgoRoses in NC has purples: Wise Portia, Sweet Chariot, Vineyard song, Midnight Blue, Outta the Blue, Austin The Prince, Purple Lodge and Chartreuse de Parme (parents are Yves Piaget and Big Purple). Their shipping charge is cheap at $11 per 4 roses to my Chicagoland.

  • 4 years ago

    Remontants: I am a HUGE fan of all things purple and of Tom Carruth’s creations! I love both Midnight Blue and Ebb Tide in pots. I use Black Gold organic potting soil. In my PNW garden, these two cultivars have been pretty darn healthy, they’ve been heavy and very remontant bloomers and they have been both deeply purple and deliciously fragrant. Another absolutely wonderful dark burgundy-purple rose that makes a lovely patio plant is Kim Rupert’s Purple Buttons. Gorgeous! I highly recommend trying PB if you can get ahold of one. Mine came from Rogue Valley, but I think another nursery ir two may offer PB. The Prince is a bit skimpy on foliage, but oh those huge, intoxicating, Gallica purple blooms! Pretty darn healthy for me.

    Nonremontants: Paul Bardon purples are ALL exquisite! I am trying to get my hands on every one in commerce. I am currently obsessed with Nightmoss and hoping to move mine out of its 5 gallon nursery pot and into the garden this fall. Tuscany Superb is my all time favorite rose. I wait with great anticipation for its annual show just as gardeners have been doing for 100s of years!

    Apologies that I can only find a photo of Midnight Blue at the moment. I‘ll look around for other pics.

    Carol



  • 4 years ago

    Strawchicago, thanks for the tip on Long Ago Roses! My birthday is coming up ....


    I don't really detect much fragrance from Sven, maybe a very light scent. But nothing wafting - you have to stick your nose in the flowers. Or I do anyhow - I'm aware that different people have VERY different experiences of scent. Anyway, I don't hold this against Sven, he's just a super rose!


    Carol, I'm with you, I'd LOVE to get all of Paul Bardon's purples! But it just seems like Rogue never has them. I SO wanted to get Umbra, but what they sent me was decidedly not Umbra, and its been listed out of stock ever since. I'm on the wait list, but my understanding is that Paul isn't even sure they still have a mother plant. Sigh. At least I was able to get Etienne.

  • 4 years ago

    Congratulations on your Etienne, Frances! That one is tough to get. You and I must be kindred spirits. :-) I’m working on acquiring an Umbra, too, someday. Umbra is such a romantic froth of scallops, and it turns such wonderful shades of pink, mauve and lavender! Carol

  • 4 years ago

    Carol, if you ever manage to get your hands on Umbra, please let me know how and where! I think of all the Bardon purples, that's the one I want the most ...

  • 4 years ago

    Me too.

  • 4 years ago

    Frances, I can let you know if I get ahold of Umbra. I’ll add you to my ”following” member list in case that is needed for us to touch base. You might also check in again with Paul. He may have discovered Umbra and might be willing to add you to his Umbra list since he has re-opened his propagation business just a little bit to help all of us very desperate forum members acquire some of his beautiful creations. I asked to be waitlisted if he locates his Umbra. I also have a friend who may be able to get an Umbra cutting for me. It would have to root and grow up before I could propagate. I hope RVR can locate its Umbra. RVR sent me some wonderful Mariannes this spring. Carol

  • 4 years ago

    I have started to grow purple and lavender roses 3 years ago. I have to say my favorites are Celestial Night and Violet's pride. Celestial Night has excellent disease resistance, and in my mild climate, color that is dark and continued to be dark even in the summer. It grow to > 5 feet for me. However, no sense which doesn't matter for me as my sense of smell is not great.

    Here is Celestial night




    Here with Love Song:



  • 4 years ago

    Violet Pride smells great and is very prolific here.




  • 4 years ago

    Carol, thank you SO much for putting me on your following list! It would be so, so great to someday get to grow Umbra!!! I'll check with Paul, too!

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    @strawchicago z5

    Like Mustbnuts in CA, my experience growing Vineyard Song was in the desert hot dry. I think they were ordered from Burlington (I ordered 6). V.S. bloomed almost continuously, and was dry heat tolerant. I never bent down to sniff the blooms, so I cannot report on its fragrance in that climate. I would grow it again in a heartbeat... thinking now that maybe I should...



    Edited to Add- Vineyard Song



  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Lynn: Many thanks for your info., much appreciated. I have a dry spot which I need drought-tolerant roses like Vineyard song, plus LongAgoRoses informed me that Vineyard song can take shade better than Sweet Chariot. My garden is too shady, but I have dry spots near trees (I blocked tree's roots with cement blocks dug down to 2 feet).

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I took a few more purple rose pics to post. Pardon the dead fern fronds behind The Prince and white phlox! I never got back to my front bed cleanup after Portland hit Death Valley temps in June. Carol

    Purple Buttons (Kim Rupert)

    This one is great in a pot and produces fragrant, dahlia button blooms.


    The Prince (David Austin)



  • 4 years ago

    Poseidon is lavender, not purple, but it sure looks great with purple! Carol


  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Paul Barden‘s not-in-commerce Gallica rose grown from seeds given to him by Cheryl Netter. I call it ”Paul’s Unnamed Purple Gallica,” or “PUP Gee.” It produces an abundant kaleidoscope of blooms in velvety grape, violet, magenta, cotton candy and lavender blush. Carol







  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Tuscany Superb




  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Bayse’s Purple (even the canes are purple)




  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    A close-up shot of The Prince’s perfect bloom. Plus a couple more.




  • 4 years ago

    Kim Rupert’s Lauren mingling with Hybrid Musk Daphne.


    Another couple of shots of PUPG



  • 4 years ago

    Violette



    Veichenblau



    Sometimes Munstead Wood hits lovely notes of purple.



    Midnight Blue again. My second plant.


  • 4 years ago

    I hope I’m not flooding the thread with photos! Purple roses are my thing, and all of the purples I have posted are nigh perfect in my garden! Munstead Wood is a color exception to this category in that it is usually redder than it is purple. (I actually love red and purple growing side by side or cohabitating in a bouquet.) Munstead is thorny but gorgeous, deliciously scented and healthy for me. I honestly highly recommend each and every one of these purple roses that might fit your requirements and thrive in your climate. They have all been fantastic floral performers and tough, healthy plants! I am hunting for some more shots of gorgeous Barden purples like Ellen Tofflemire and Rook as well as pics of Reine des Violettes and Cardinal de Richelieu. Carol

  • 4 years ago

    Oh, and while I’m searching, here’s a rarely grown China hybrid, mauve Frederic II de Prusse. This one was a gift to me from a very generous WA rose friend and was a favorite of Josh TX who used to post here. It grew in his grandmother’s garden. This is a GREAT rose! Fragrant, disease free, gorgeous. Carol




  • 4 years ago

    Wonder what happened to Josh? I am also from TX and enjoyed his posts.........

  • 4 years ago

    Alameda, I’ve got an email address that I hope still works. I’m going to try contacting Josh. His beloved grandmother passed away, and he was dealing with RRD when I last heard a couple years ago. He’s been on my mind this spring as I’ve been admiring Frederic II. Carol

  • 4 years ago

    Carol: Love all the pics. you posted, great reference for purple roses. Thank you.

  • 4 years ago

    Portland, hope you can reach him and maybe lure him back......he was such a nice guy. We all get tripped up from time to time........there are several people I miss that arent here anymore - one nice couple, Digger Dave & Deb - had gorgeous gardens I think in Montana.....they havent been around in several years.

  • 4 years ago

    The pictures here OMG!! How to you folks do it? They are fantastic.

  • last year

    Beautiful rose BUT I ordered two last year from Jackson and Perkins and both died in Texas heat

  • last year

    The closest to perfect purple for me is Twilight Zone. Ebb Tide is good. When The Prince is at its darkest, it's very good, and so is Munstead, though it's quite a reddish purple. All photos taken this spring in the last few weeks. Diane


    The Prince



    Twilight Zone



    Wild Blue Yonder


    Young Lycidas


  • last year

    I'm a little surprised 'International Herald Tribune' has not been mentioned here (or did I just miss it?). My favorite purple. Flowers nearly continuously, on a neat, rather compact bush. Not particularly fragrant to my nose, but always beautiful.


  • last year

    I think it's hard to beat the Gallicas for purple hues. Here's 'Belle de Crecy' this year:




    And the ever-lovely 'Umbra':




    Among the repeat-blooming roses, the not-'Purple Lodge' being sold in the US can still manage some impressive purple shades:



    And 'Excellenz von Schubert' is perhaps more mauve than purple, but it has a nice effect against the fresh green foliage of early summer:


  • last year

    First, my garden is in Maryland, USDA Zone 7a. Hot and humid summers, cold but not brutal winters, and heavy red clay soil. I am in the epicenter for the black spot fungus which will completely defoliate most modern roses by July.

    I have grown Angel Face, Lagerfeld, Midnight Blue, Novalis (aka Poseidon), Plum Perfect, Reine des Violettes, Sterling Silver, Twilight Zone, Veilchenblau, and Wild Blue Yonder. Of these I currently have Plum Perfect and Poseidon.

    ANGEL FACE (Floribunda, Swim & Weeks, U.S., 1968) was a runt grown grafted. I cannot imagine what it would do own root. Also black spot prone and the flowers are mauve, not purple. The blooms are gorgeous and the fragrance is positively orgasmic, but no, never again.

    LAGERFELD (Grandiflora, Jack E. Christensen, U.S., 1986) was a black spot disaster in the Mid-Atlantic and a runt growing on its own roots in my clay soil. La Madame de Shovel got great satisfaction executing it.

    MIDNIGHT BLUE (Floribunda, Tom Carruth, USA, 2001) was even worse. It grow backward on its own roots. For five years I would see a handful of leaves poking out of the mulch, and that was it. Pity because it bloomed its first year and of all the roses listed was the darkest with the best TRUE PURPLE color. Did not need a shovel to remove. A quick pull with my bare hand and it was gone. I may try it one day in a container because that one bloom was truly astonishing.

    PLUM PERFECT (Floribunda, Tim Hermann Kordes, Germany, 1997). Actually two own root plants on their second year. They came from the Antique Rose Emporium. I do like what I see so far. The Old Garden Rose flower form is beautiful. THE COLOR IS NOT PURPLE. It is a rich mauve color that does not wash out or fade. Fragrance is highly variable, from nothing to a nice medium scent. Most of the time it is light but detectable. The two plants are about 2-3 feet tall and as wide. They bloomed the first year, and bloomed even more this year. Everybody touts its disease resistance, but the foliage on my plants have black spot. Nothing too bad but it is early in the season. Last year it completely defoliated by August. I am hoping the disease resistance will improve as the shrubs mature.

    POSEIDON (aka Novalis, Floribunda, Tim Hermann Kordes, Germany, 2004) beats them all. The fragrance is medium in strength (stronger and more consistent than Plum Perfect), vigorous as all get out on its own roots (WARNING: shrub gets BIG) in clay soil, and the only rose that beats it in my garden for black spot resistance is Double Knock Out. Blooms ARE NOT PURPLE. They are a light cool lavender that I swear look almost blue in direct sunlight. Alas, rain is its enemy as it causes the petal edges to brown. I keep it because it is so dang healthy and is my husband's favorite rose.

    STERLING SILVER (Hybrid Tea, Esther Gladys Fisher, U.S., 1955) - just don't.

    REINE DES VIOLETTES (Hybrid Perpetual, Mille-Mallet, France, 1860) is not purple. Blooms start a rich cool pink then progressively take on mauve tones as they age. I know, not what you are looking for, but it IS the most beautiful mauve rose that I have ever seen, and I have seen many. Every single part of the plant is fragrant, from the leaves to the stems and flowers. Touching is encouraged because this rose is absolutely thornless. Graceful growth habit too. Simply lovely. So why do I no longer have it? Flowers have ZERO vase life, black spot defoliates the shrub by mid-summer and it must be grown grafted if to successfully thrive in heavy clay. Sad truth, I got sick and can't do chemicals any more.

    TWILIGHT ZONE (Grandiflora, Tom Carruth, USA, 2009) had disappointing color. I see all these pics with blooms in a rich shade of imperial purple, but not on my plant. Dark crimson shaded magenta most of the season. Ebb Tide and Midnight Blue have better color. Fragrance IS wonderful and the vigorous (if grafted) plant low thorned but the foliage must be sprayed if somewhat clean foliage is an ambition. Got shovel pruned and replaced with Plum Perfect.

    VEILCHENBLAU (Rambler, by J.C. Schmidt/Blumenschmidt, Germany, 1909) looked like something out of a dream. I am not kidding. It is a once blooming rambler that at twilight in full bloom ... OMG ... those flowers really do look blue! Wafting sweet fragrance, nearly thornless canes. Vigorous as all get out in clay soil. So why did I get rid of it? The rambler blooms ONCE and it is a very short bloom period at that. Two weeks! Blink too long and the blooms are gone! I am sorry but I need more performance than that.

    WILD BLUE YONDER (Grandiflora, Tom Carruth, USA, 2003) is not purple. It is a bicolor: mauve tipped red. It performed well enough but the color was garish to me. So I killed it.

    Of all the roses that I have grown only MIDNIGHT BLUE was a true purple. Actually, a Tyrian (imperial) purple to be precise with black tones. I once saw EBB TIDE at a garden center with blooms that were a similar color.

  • last year

    Lots of purples are not really purple,in my garden (iykwim)...and those that manage at least a purplish glow seem to lose out in a trade-off for health. I threw in the towel quite quickly with purple roses - I have no shortage of other purple plant choices in the non-rosy world. However, if I am allowed to mention lavender/lilacs and mauve, I have just one recommendation which has survived numerous rose retirements... a not very well known little thing called Odyssey. It does have a slight purple pedigree,having been bred by Frank Cowlishaw, (Rhapsody in Blue, Purple Skyliner). I have grown both of those too, but BS did for them so off to the compost they went. Amongst Odyssey's modest charms is really decent health...and an ability to play well with others ...unlike most of my other roses which have become a bit oafish over the years.

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