Rosa × alba 'Alba Maxima' (A)
white rose of York
Large shrubby rose about 2m tall, with prickly canes covered in healthy, pale, grey-green foliage. Upright clusters of highly fragrant, very double blooms, white or creamy-white with a slight blush, opening flat to 10cm across, produced in summer and occasionally followed by oval-shaped red fruit (hips)
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Size
Ultimate height
1.5–2.5 metresTime to ultimate height
2–5 yearsUltimate spread
1.5–2.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Grey Silver Green | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | White Cream Pink | Grey Silver Green | ||
| Autumn | Grey Silver Green | Red | ||
| Winter |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H6Botanical details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native to the UK
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy, Spreading branched
- Potentially harmful
- Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
- Genus
Rosa can be deciduous or semi-evergreen shrubs or scrambling climbers, with usually thorny stems bearing compound pinnate leaves and solitary or clustered flowers. Flowers may be followed by showy red or purple fruits in some varieties.
- Name status
Accepted
- Horticultural Group
- Alba roses are very hardy large shrubs with sparsely prickly stems, greyish-green leaves and clusters of fragrant, double or semi-double flowers in midsummer.
How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in full sun with fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil. Mulch with well-rotted organic matter in late winter or early spring, and for best flowering apply a general rose or shrub fertiliser in early spring and again in early summer. See rose cultivation
Propagation
Propagate by hardwood cuttings in autumn, softwood cuttings (under glass) in spring or summer or by chip budding in summer
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- Cottage and informal garden
- Wildlife gardens
- Cut flowers
- Flower borders and beds
- Hedging and screens
Pruning
See pruning group 20
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, rose leafhopper, glasshouse red spider mite, scale insects, caterpillars, large rose sawfly, rose slugworm sawfly and rose leaf-rolling sawfly. Deer and rabbits can cause damage
Diseases
May be susceptible to rose black spot, rose rust, replant disease, rose dieback, and rose powdery mildew. May also be susceptible to disorders rose blindness and flower balling and sometimes honey fungus
Get involved
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