''Rosa'' 'Dame Judi Dench' (aka AUSquaker) is an apricot

shrub rose Garden roses are predominantly Hybrid (biology), hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. A ...

cultivar, developed by British rose breeder

David C. H. Austin David Charles Henshaw Austin (16 February 1926 at Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton – 18 December 2018 in the same village) was a British rose breeder and writer who lived in Shropshire, England. His emphasis was on breeding roses with t ...

in 2009 and introduced into the UK by David Austin Roses Limited (UK) in 2017. The rose was named in honour of legendary British actress,

Dame Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

Description

'Dame Judi Dench' is a medium-tall bushy shrub rose, in height, with a spread. The rose has a strong tea fragrance. Its flowers are in diameter, with a cupped, ruffled, very full bloom form and a button eye. Bloom colour is apricot-orange with paler apricot outer petals. Flowers are carried in clusters. Leaves are medium, glossy and dark green. The rose is a vigorous grower and blooms in flushes throughout the growing season. It does well in rainy weather.

History

David Austin roses

David C. H. Austin (1926–2018) was an award-winning rose breeder, nursery owner and writer from

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. When he was young, he was attracted to the beauty of old garden roses, especially the Gallicas, the Centifolias and the Damasks, which were popular in nineteenth century

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Austin began breeding roses in the 1950s with the goal of creating new shrub rose varieties that would possess the best qualities of old garden roses while incorporating the long flowering characteristics of

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. T ...

s and floribundas. His first commercially successful rose cultivar was 'Constance Spry', which he introduced in 1961. He created a new, informal class of roses in the 1960s, which he named "English Roses". Austin's roses are generally known today as "David Austin Roses". Austin attained international commercial success with his new rose varieties. Some of his most popular roses include 'Wife of Bath' (1969), 'Graham Thomas' (1983), 'Abraham Darby' (1985) and 'Gertrude Jekyll' (1986).

'Dame Judi Dench'

Austin developed the new cultivar in 2009 by crossing two unknown parents. Resulting seedlings of that cross were selected as buds and grafted onto 'Laxa' ( Rosa canina 'Laxa') rootstock. The new rose was named in honour of legendary British actress, Dame Judi Dench. It was introduced into the UK by David Austin Roses Limited (UK) in 2017.

Introduction

In May of 2017, the new rose cultivar was introduced at the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

, by the actress Judi Dench.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa 'Dame Judi Dench'

2017 introductions