''Rosa'' 'Alpine Sunset' is an apricot blend

hybrid tea rose Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Hybrid Perpetuals with the tall, elegant Tea roses. ...

developed by Roger Pawsey of Cants of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in 1973. The cultivar was introduced into Great Britain in 1974.

History

Cants of Colchester Cants of Colchester is the oldest firm of commercial rose growers in Britain. The company was established as a general nursery by Benjamin Cant in 1765, in the town of Colchester, Essex. The family nursery initiated a rose breeding program in 187 ...

is the oldest firm of commercial rose growers in Great Britain. The company was founded by Benjamin Cant in 1765 under the name, 'Benjamin R. Cant & Sons' and was located in

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, now a northern suburb of Colchester. The nursery originally sold a variety of plants, seeds, bulbs and trees. With the rise in popularity of roses in the mid-1800s, Benjamin R. Cant (1827-1900), initiated a rose breeding program at the company in 1875. By 1880, Cant had become an award-winning rose exhibitor in England. Cant's nephew, Frank Cant (1857-1928), split from the family firm and established his own nursery in Colchester in the early 1880s. The two Cant families became fierce competitors. The rivalry between the two nurseries lasted until the 1960s, when their descendants decided to merge the two family businesses into one company. The 'Benjamin R Cant & Sons' of Mile End Colchester and 'Frank Cant & Company' of Stanway, Essex became the 'Cants of Colchester' under the leadership of Cant family descendant, Roger Pawsey. Cants of Colchester has introduced several popular rose varieties, including ''Rosa'' 'Just Joey', ''Rosa'' 'Alpine Sunset' and ''Rosa'' 'Goldstar'. Pawsey developed the new rose variety, 'Alpine Sunset' in 1973 from hybrid tea roses, Dr. A.J. Verhage and Irish Gold (also known as 'Grandpa Dickson'). 'Alpine Sunset' was used to develop two child plants: ''Rosa'' 'Pretty Lady' (1997) and ''Rosa'' 'Yardley Baroque' (before 1997).

Description

'Alpine Sunset' is an upright, compact shrub, 2 to 4 ft (60–120 cm) in height, with a 2 to 3 ft spread (60–91 cm). The rose has a large, cupped, full bloom form. Blooms have an average diameter of 4-5 in (10–13 cm) with 30 or more petals and a strong fragrance. The plant blooms in flushes from summer to fall. Flower color is an apricot blend, often displaying peach with an apricot reverse. The plant thrives in USDA zones 7b and warmer.

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed Alpine Sunset 1974 introductions