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edanz

Help identifying purple rose

4 years ago

Hi everyone! So two years ago my young daughter saw a purple standard rose at a local hardware/garden shop and just had to have it. I usually don't buy roses like that, because I need to know exactly what I'm putting in my garden before buying, but it was my daughter, so what can I say? I bought the rose, which had a tag on it that read "Rosa Royal Purple."


It turns out I love the rose! The blooms are a very appealing shade of lavender without any hint of gray, and measure about 3 inches across when fully open. The petals are very sturdy, which means they don't ball up in the rain. They seem to last forever before they start aging with pink marbling/mottling. They don't turn gray/brown or unsightly as they age, which I have seen on other purple rose types, and finally drop most of the petals right before the blooms are completely spent. Also, when they fully open, the blooms do expose their pollen in the center, so they attract pollinators.


The grown habit is rather upright, and the blooms do not nod or cause the canes to bend under the weight. The leaves are very serrated, rather waxy and are bronze colored when young. Some of the mature leaves retain some red fringing and veining but tend to lose it completely towards the base of the canes.


So I decided to see if I could find out more about it online, but sadly there seems to be no trace of any rose named "Rosa Royal Purple." I was really surprised, and now I'm left with a rose I really like and have no clue what it is :(


It seems that the name on the tag is just a sales thing with no real significance. Anyhow I decided to take cuttings and to see how the rose behaves as a bush.


Here are a couple of photos of one of my rooted cuttings from earlier this summer. Any clue what actual name of this rose might be?






Comments (22)

  • 4 years ago

    What a lovely rose! This is a complete guess, but perhaps Royal Amethyst?

    edanz thanked arlene_82 (zone 6 OH)
  • 4 years ago

    Arlene, that is my guess too.

    You have got yourself s fabulous rose regardless of the name. What a healthy cutting, well done on that.

    I hope that you can nail diwn the name so we can all get one


    edanz thanked Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
  • 4 years ago

    Wow, looking at Royal Amethyst photos online, some photos look too pink, but others look spot on. In this photo I found online, even the leaves near roses have the characteristically red veining.



  • 4 years ago

    Color, especially in purple and red roses can vary a lot with temperature so I wouldn't be thrown off by the ones that look too pink.

  • 4 years ago

    I would have guessed Plum Perfect, too.

  • 4 years ago

    My Plum Perfect is much more mauve that's why I didnt think that thats what it is


  • 4 years ago

    Excellent description of the rose, edanz.

  • 4 years ago

    The fact that the tag had the name "Royal" included is a good clue. A lot of the time when you get a mis-labeled rose, it's helpful to always keep in mind the wrong name. For example, it's how I figured out that my mis-labeled Mount Shasta was actually Monet. I bet the vendor figured Amethyst was too weird or hard for people at a box store.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I guess it also doesn't help that I took those photos on my cell phone. However, after looking up Plum Perfect, there is no doubt in my mind that it's exactly what I have. Everything is right where it should be. From the color to the growth habit, everything. I think photos just don't do this rose any justice.

  • 4 years ago

    Im glad that is what you have because it is a really great rose.

  • 4 years ago

    Dead ringer for my Plum Perfect.

  • 4 years ago

    It seems that this rose has not been introduced in Europe, despite the fact that it was produced in Germany, very odd. I suppose that is why my local garden center had a "fake" label on it. Now, I noticed that in the US it is marketed as part of a "sun belt" series. Perhaps Kordes doesn't think the rose does well in our wet and relatively cool European summers? It's funny, I live just a few hours away from where the rose was hybridized, but I can't buy it apart from a chance encounter!

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    It is very interesting indeed. I do know the sunbelt collection was introduced here as a series that can do well in our very warm but humid areas where black spot makes it almost impossible to grow roses no spray. In my experience all my Kordes (only about 14 varieties) prefer full day sun and do not perform well in partial shade. This has greatly surprised me since in my mind they were bred in a less sunny area than mine (assumption not a fact, I have not visited). Plum perfect has very shiny leaves that stand up well to blackspot as long as it gets 6+ hours of sunlight.

  • 4 years ago

    @Edanz, I totally sympathize, and wish heartily that I would get a "chance encounter" with this rose!!! I'm here in Italy, and for years was trying to find Kordes' Quicksilver climber-another beauty, bred in Germany and at first unavailable here. Thankfully, Rose Barni now carries Quicksilver...if only Plum Perfect was available, too!

    If you do indeed live in Germany,and are successful with taking cuttings, would you ever consider growing one up and selling to me?

  • 4 years ago

    @User Sure thing! I'll have a few that should be ready to go around November. Just remind me at that time if I forget. I wouldn't charge you for the plant.

  • 4 years ago

    OMG, thank you SO much!!! As soon as I can get organized I'll make up a list of stuff (roses) I can offer you as a trade; I have way more than I need. Thank you so much, Edanz!

  • 4 years ago

    @edanz Edanz, I really hope that you can send me a rooted cutting of your Plum Perfect. I'm working on a list of roses I could give you in exchange; here are a few own-roots that I have growing in pots:

    James Galway

    Rosengarten Zweibrucken (Indigo Knights)

    Pink Mermaid This one is out in my garden and has yet to be dug up, but it is too close to another rambler so I really should remove it.


    Can you grow Chinas and Noisettes in your climate? In my garden,some are prone to powdery mildew,and so they should go. I think that they don't tolerate the lack of summer irrigation (my garden is in a wood-land, far from our house, and I have no running water out there, so most plants only get watered the first year). I have:

    Mt Vernon Purple Noisette

    Lily Mestchersky

    Blush Noisette (no health issues but needs to be moved)

    There are others, too, but I have yet to get the full list together...

    I don't know how to Private Message you on the forum, but you can contact me through my site : http://rosewhitemusic.com/eileen/contact.html The message will go to my e-mail and then I can e-mail you back.

    I hope we can work something out!

  • 4 years ago

    bump

  • 4 years ago

    Absolutely, don't worry, ill be happy to get that in the mail for you. I took cuttings a couple of weeks ago. It's been warm here, so they should be good to go in a few weeks. By November for sure. I'll send you an email on that link.

  • 4 years ago

    Thank you SO MUCH, edanz!

  • 4 years ago

    Hi, @edanz. I tried messaging you on this forum,wondering about that Plum Perfect rooted cutting...

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