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• Ardnan

25 favorite votes.  
Average rating: EXCELLENT.  

White, near white or white blend Large-Flowered Climber.
Registration name: Ardnan
Exhibition name: Hettie

Bred by Paul Barden (United States, 2003).
Introduced in United States by The Uncommon Rose Historic Archive.

Climber, Floribunda, Cl., Large-Flowered Climber, Shrub.  

Cream.  Moderate, apple, rose fragrance.  25 to 55 petals.  Average diameter 3".  Medium, very full (41+ petals), in large clusters, cupped bloom form.  Continuous (perpetual) bloom throughout the season.  

Tall, climbing.  Medium, glossy, dark green foliage.  

Height: 5' to 9' (150 to 275cm).  Width: 4' to 6' (120 to 185cm).

USDA zone 5b through 10b.  Can be used for landscape, pillar or shrub.  Can be trained as a climber.  heat tolerant.  suitable for a pillar.  Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.  Feed this rose well.  Needs little care; relatively disease-free and quite hardy.  Remove spent blooms only.  Remove unproductive wood every third year or so.  

I have often thought that since 'Bonica' is such a fine shrub, that it might make a decent parent as well. Matching it with a proven parent, such as 'Abraham Darby' seemed like the direction to go, and this hybrid resulted. Out of a small group of seedlings, three were kept, this being the nicest, in my opinion. One other is a peach colored semi-double that blooms in clusters on a 3 foot shrub, but they fade to off-white too fast. Another is similar to this white one, but a smaller shrub with less vigor.

To date, this rose grows as a small climber, to about 6 feet tall, with fairly lax canes that produce clusters of up to 20 blooms, mostly towards the ends of the canes. The subsequent bloom cycles result in lateral branches along much of the cane length, which means a significant increase in bloom quantity. Left to grow without support, it will grow as a fountain-shaped shrub about 7 feet across and 5 feet tall. Repeat of bloom is not constant, but it produces several major flushes of bloom per season.

Individual blooms are about 2.5 to 3 inches across, fully double with an amber glow at the center. There is a very pleasant fresh fragrance that reminds me of green apples, not unlike the scent of 'Sombreuil'. In mid-summer, the blooms often show a button eye, not unlike many older roses.