Book  (Feb 1993)  Page(s) 125.  Includes photo(s).
 
Mrs John Laing
Hybrid Perpetual
Botanical grouping: Chinensis
England 1887
... regarded as one of the very best hybrid perpetuals... rich silvery pink in colour... Long stemmed and ideal for picking...

Book  (1993)  Page(s) 295.  
 
Hybrid Perpetual. Ever since Henry Bennett brought out this rose in 1887, rosarians have been singing her praises, led by Dean Hole: ‘Not only in vigor, constancy, and abundance, but in form and features - Beauty’s Queen!’ All one can add to that is, that after a hundred years the bush remains vigorous and free with its flowers, which are as enchanting as ever - large and full without being in the least blowsy, distinctive in their cool pink with just a hint of lilac, and sweetly fragrant. Foliage is light green. ‘Mrs. John Laing’ features in the breeding of some quite recent roses. Parentage: ‘Francois Michelon’x unknown. Repeat flowering. Fragrant.

Book  (1993)  Page(s) 96.  Includes photo(s).
 
A Hybrid Perpetual. Raised by Bennett in Britain, launched 1887. A Francois Michelon seedling. Repeat flowering. Height to 120cm (4 ft). Very good scent. Bennett is said to have received $45,000 for the rights of this rose in the USA.

Book  (Jun 1992)  Page(s) 143, 326.  
 
Page 143: Mrs. John Laing
Hybrid Perpetual
Bennett, 1887
Seedling of 'François Michelon'
... Silvery lilac pink... superbly fragrant... Rosy pink... a continuous bloomer... The best of the late Mr. Bennett's seedlings... shell pink... Tea-scented... slightly prickled... no thorns to bother... Not liable to mildew or injured by rain... apt to be dull when much shaded... [Author cites information from different sources.]
Page 326: Mrs. John Laing Hybrid Perpetual. Henry Bennett 1887

Book  (1992)  
 
p29 Between 1879 and 1890, Bennett succeeded in raising several distinct varieties from a deliberate programme of crossing Teas with Hybrid Perpetuals and, in his lifetime, raised well over thirty new roses. Several, such as ‘Mrs. John Laing’ and ‘Captain Hayward’, were clearly Hybrid Perpetuals...

p361. Bennett UK 1887. ‘Francois Michelon’ seedling . Undoubtedly one of the superior Hybrid Perpetuals and one of the best from Henry Bennett’s stable in late Victorian times. Upright in growth with large grey-green leaves. A healthy plant producing an abundance of scented, shapely, silver-pink flowers, which would have been used extensively for exhibition by Victorian and Edwardian gardeners. Today it makes an excellent bushy shrub. Recurrent or repeat flowering (not continuous). Tolerant of poor soils. Suitable for hedging. Suitable for growing in pots. Very fragrant. 4’x 3’ 120 x 90 cm.

Article (magazine)  (1991)  Page(s) 33.  
 
Number of petals...as average of ten blooms..'Mrs. John Laing' HP (1887), 45 petals

Booklet  (1990)  Page(s) 47.  Includes photo(s).
 
Mrs. John Laing, Edelrose 1887

Magazine  (Nov 1989)  Page(s) 12.  
 
Rosemary Heather. Who Was That Lady?
....I feel it may be of interest to provide a short biography of my grandmother Mrs. John Laing, for whom the Bennett rose was named. Florence Mason was the second of four daughters.....

Article (magazine)  (1988)  Page(s) 28.  
 
[Colour description according to the CIELAB colour space (petal inside): L* = Lightness, a* = red-green axis, b* = yellow-blue axis]
'Mrs. John Laing' (tender pink), L* 72-73, a* 29-34, b* -13 to -6

Book  (1988)  Page(s) 77.  Includes photo(s).
 
Mrs. John Laing. A Hybrid Perpetual raised by Bennett in 1887. It makes a short, sturdy plant up to 1.3m high, with very small thorns, and well-scented flowers in clusters of 3 or 4. Impervious to rain. Parentage: seedling of ‘Francois Michelon’.