David Austin Roses is celebrating the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton by naming two new varieties of roses in their honour.
The famed rose grower has already launched the Kate rose, a cut flower named after the new Duchess of Cambridge, and also plans to launch the William and Catherine garden rose at the upcoming RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The long buds of Kate have silvery magenta-pink outer petals. As they open to wide blooms - of up to four inches across - they reveal rich magenta pink petals which deepen with age to take on hints of purple. The flower form is fully double with beautifully waved outer petals. As the flower ages, the yellow stamens eventually appear in the centre. It also has a delightful fruity fragrance.
The mature flower is very much in the style of 18th and 19th century Gallicas, with some of the character of both “Charles de Mills” and ‘Tuscany Superb” - generally considered among the most beautiful of all roses. The vase life of “Kate”, however, far exceeds that of most garden roses - at about eight to 10 days.
“Kate” joins two recent David Austin cut flowers, “Keira” and “Darcey”, all of which are expected to be popular choices for weddings and events. These three roses mark a significant advance in the company’s breeding programme - their extended vase lives making them particularly suitable for stocking in florists’ shops.
The flowers of “William and Catherine”, a garden variety launching at Chelsea, are particularly beautiful with the classic shallow cup shape and the full petalled form of many of the Old Roses.
