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'The Imposter' rose Description
'The Imposter (Shrub, Meilland, 2006)' rose photo
Photo courtesy of Michael Mitchell
Availability:
Commercially available
Synonyms:
HMF Ratings:
43 favorite votes.  
Average rating: GOOD+.  
ARS:
Pink blend Shrub.
Registration name: The Imposter (Shrub, Meilland, 2006)
Exhibition name: The Imposter
Origin:
Bred by Alain Meilland (1940-....) (France, before 2004).
Introduced in France by Meilland International (after 1997) in 2008 as 'The Imposter'.
Introduced in United States by Amerinova Properties L.L.C. in 2008 as 'The Imposter'.
Class:
Shrub.  
Bloom:
Pink, carmine-pink streaks, stripes, flecks.  Flowers pink blend, with a paint-spattered look to petals, clematis-like.  None / no fragrance.  up to 5 petals.  Average diameter 2.5".  Medium, single (4-8 petals), borne mostly solitary bloom form.  Blooms in flushes throughout the season.  Ovoid buds.  
Habit:
Short, bushy, compact, mounded.  Semi-glossy, medium green foliage.  3 to 7 leaflets.  

Height: 30" to 3' (75 to 90cm).  Width: 30" (75cm).
Growing:
USDA zone 4b through 9b.  Can be used for beds and borders, container rose or garden.  Heat tolerant.  Disease susceptibility: susceptible to blackspot .  Protect tender new spring growth from hard freezes that may cause canker, die-back and death of the plant. .  Remove spent blooms to encourage re-bloom.  Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood..  
Breeder's notes:
R. laxa in background
Patents:
United States - Patent No: PP 19,587  on  23 Dec 2008   VIEW USPTO PATENT
Application No: 11/586,714  on  26 Oct 2006
Inventors: Meilland; Alain A. (Antibes, FR)
The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) was the product of the cross of the `Bucbi` variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,225) and the `Macpic` variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,351). The male parent (i.e., the pollen parent) of the new variety was the product of the cross of the `Meipoque` variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,956) and the `Applejack` variety (non-patented in the United States). ....description is based on the observation of two-year-old specimens of the new variety
Ploidy:
Triploid
Notes:
The bloom has an almost "hand painted" look.

R. laxa Retzius is in the breeding of both reported parents of The Imposter. It is the pollen parent of Applejack, a grandparent of The Imposter and a grandparent of Carefree Beauty (which is also a grandparent of The Imposter). Such an ancestry should give this variety good cold hardiness, but it struggles to survive in USDA Zone 4.

Ploidy information from David Zlesak.