|
For a tea or tea-noisette the petals have very good substance (almost leathery!), which suggests they may be weather-proof, and that the flower should not ball even in humid and/or cool climates. All blooms are opening beautifully for me so far, but then again the weather has been really fine. (My plant is only in its second spring: last year, as it was busy building up wood, the blooms were few and very small.) The scent is as strong and sweet as on any tea rose, and the flower choke-full of petals. Despite the plant being in the sunniest part of the garden and despite days on days of strong sunshine, the pale yellow has not bleached. I was missing Marechal Niel, whose blooms rot in the rain, and which is really too vigorous for pot culture. I have to say Ley's perpetual so far is exceeding my expectations as a MN substitute.
UPDATE: Three years later, I have decided to part with this rose because of its extreme susceptibility to blackspot in my garden. I regularly spray my roses with sulphur but it seems to have made no difference to Ley's Perpetual. Virtually all foliage was badly affected this spring, despite the rose being in the sunniest part of the garden. In late May I have now lots of canes, NO leaves, and a decent amount of flowers that may or may not open, given the leafless plant's inability to produce energy through photosynthesis. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the roses physically closest to Ley's Perpetual have also had more than their fair share of blackspot this year, and I put this down to Ley's Perpetual acting as a breeding ground for the disease. This plant has the most perfectly formed, fragrant, pale yellow flowers, but I think I now understand why Trevor White dropped it from his catalogue last year. The blackspot is pretty much the worse I have ever seen on any rose. I'm waiting to see what happens with the blooms (even the sepals have blackspot!) and then I confess I will be glad to see it gone.
|
REPLY
|
