The Sweet Spot Calypso rose is a new, long-flowering multicoloured variety created using a rare Asian species. It's now available from Thompson & Morgan
In 1976
Harkness Roses introduced three roses derived from crossing familiar roses with a wild rose relative called
Hulthemia persica [syn.
Rosa persica] which grows from Siberia south to Afghanistan. The unique feature of this uncommon species is its vivid yellow flowers with a bold red zone around the centre. The three were called ‘Tigris’, ‘Euphrates’ and ‘Nigel Hawthorne’ and were followed by three more. Sadly, these new hybrids didn’t really catch on, but now a new rose from similar parentage has arrived and looks as if it will have far more impact.
Sweet Spot® Calypso ('INTROS01') features multicoloured flowers in pinkish red with a white to yellow zone towards the centre which is blazed with a contrasting scarlet to crimson flash.
Flowering from early June into October on plants that reach 60cm (2ft) high and 50cm (20in) spread, its bright flowers are unique in their colouring and pattern.
Needing little more than clipping back by half with shears every spring,
Sweet Spot® Calypso is easy to look after and will thrive in any sunny place or in a large container. Its dense and twiggy growth makes good ground cover and the only feature that it does not have is scent.
You can
order plants of the rose Sweet Spot® Calypso ('INTROS01') from Thompson & Morgan.
Three more in the
Sweet Spot® Series roses should be a
vailable before long and these are:
Sweet Spot® Peach (soft peach with a red/pink centre)
,
Sweet Spot® Ruby (ruby pink with a red
/pink centre) and
Sweet Spot® Yellow (golden yellow with an orange/red centre).
** Please note the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author and are not necessarily those of the RHS **
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