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Rosa 'William Lobb' (CeMo)
  • RHS AGM

rose 'William Lobb'

Very vigorous old garden rose about 2.5m tall, open in habit, with long, arching, mossy stems bearing rich green leaves. Very fragrant, large, semi-double, deep magenta-purple blooms, 9cm across, open from heavily-mossed buds, then fade to greyish-purple, once-flowering in midsummer; Laffay 1855

Other common names
old velvet moss rose
Synonyms
Rosa old velvet moss
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Size
Ultimate height
1.5–2.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
1–1.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Purple Red Green
Autumn Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

East–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H7
Botanical details
Family
Rosaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
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
Centifolia roses are lax bushes with thorny stems and double, usually fragrant flowers in summer

How to grow

Cultivation

Vigorous moss rose for growing in full sun with fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil. For best flowering apply a balanced fertiliser and mulch in late winter or early spring and a balanced fertiliser again in early summer - see rose cultivation. Tolerant of poor soil and suitable as a pillar or climbing rose

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings in autumn or by chip budding in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Climber and wall shrubs
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Wall side borders
Pruning

See pruning group 20 (shrub roses); can be trained as a short climber, see pruning group 17 (climbing roses)

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 and sometimes honey fungus. May also be susceptible to disorders rose blindness and flower balling

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