Cants of Colchester is the oldest firm of commercial rose growers in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The company was established as a general nursery by Benjamin Cant in 1765, in the town 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. Colches ...

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 G ...

. The family nursery initiated a rose breeding program in 1875. Early rose varieties include 'Ben Cant' (1901) and 'Golden Ophelia' (1918). The company's most successful new rose cultivars include 'Just Joey' (1972), 'Alpine Sunset' (1973), and 'English Miss' (1977).

History

Cants of

, the oldest commercial rose growers in Great Britain, was founded by Benjamin Cant in 1765. The nursery, 'Benjamin R Cant & Sons', 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 firm originally sold a variety of plants, seeds, bulbs and trees, including azeleas,

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

and

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

trees. With the rise in popularity of roses in the mid 1800s, Benjamin R. Cant (1827-1900) initiated a rose breeding program in 1875. By 1880, Cant had become a very successful rose exhibitor in England. Cant's nephew, Frank Cant (1857-1928), left the family business to establish 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. The family nursery continues today, owned by Martin, Roger and Angela Pawsey.

Cant's Roses

The Cant family has introduced more than 130 new rose varieties since 1875. Early roses include 'Ben Cant' (1901), 'Augustus Hartmann' (2014), and 'Golden Ophelia' (1918). Frank Kant and Company developed several successful rose varieties from the turn of the century through the 1920s, including 'Blush Queen' (1916), 'Yvonne' (1920) and 'Henry Nevard' (1924). Roses bred by Roger Pawsey at Cants of Colchester include many of the company's most successful rose varieties, including 'English Miss', 'Alpine Sunset', 'Sally's Rose' and 'Goldstar'. The company's most successful rose is the buff-orange, hybrid tea, 'Just Joey'. Created in 1972 by Roger Pawsey and named in honor of his wife, Joey Pawsey, 'Just Joey' has won multiple awards and was inducted into the

Rose Hall of Fame The Rose Hall of Fame contains roses considered world favourites by a vote of members of the World Federation of Rose Societies. Inductees are announced every three years at World Rose Conventions. Additionally, popular historical roses and roses o ...

as "World's Favourite Rose" in 1994.

Select roses

* 'Ben Cant', (''B.R. Cant & Sons''), 1901 * 'Blush Rambler, (''B.R. Cant & Sons''), 1903 * 'White Dorothy', (''B.R. Cant & Sons''), 1908 * 'Golden Ophelia', (''B.R. Cant & Sons''), 1918 * 'Snowflake', (''Frank Cant''), 1922 * 'Captain F.S. Harvey-Cant' (''Frank Cant)'', 1924 * 'Memory', (''B.R. Cant & Sons''), 1932 * 'English Miss', 1977 * 'Just Joey', (''Cants of Colchester''), 1972 * 'English Miss', (''Cants of Colchester''), 1977 * 'St. Helena', (''Cants of Colchester''), 1983 * 'Alpine Sunset', (''Cants of Colchester''), 1973 * 'Abbaye de Clune', (''Cants of Colchester''), 1995

Rose gallery

Rosa_%27Ben_Cant%27.jpg, 'Ben Cant', 1901 Rosa_%27Blush_Rambler%27_01.jpg, 'Blush rambler', 1903 Rosa White Dorothy.jpg, 'White Dorothy', 1908 Rose,_Mrs._Oakley_Fisher,_%E3%83%90%E3%83%A9,_%E3%83%9F%E3%82%BB%E3%82%B9_%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC_%E3%83%95%E3%82%A3%E3%83%83%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC,_(18158806051).jpg, 'Mrs. Oakley-Fisher', 1921 Rosa_Lady_Forteviot_1.jpg, 'Lady Forteviot', 1926 %E7%8E%AB%E7%91%B0_Rosa_Crimson_Descant_-%E5%A5%A7%E5%85%8B%E8%98%AD%E7%8E%AB%E7%91%B0%E5%9C%92_Parnell_Rose_Garden,_Auckland-_(45717406125).jpg, 'Crimson Descant', 1972 EnglishMiss.jpg, 'English Miss', 1977 Rosa_%27Just_Joey%27_1.jpg, 'Just Joey', 1972 Rosa alpine Sunset - Gran Bretaña 1975 (11982347785) (cropped).jpg, 'Alpine Sunset' Rosa_sp.269.jpg, 'St. Helena', 1983 MaplewoodRoseFestival2018ApricotCandyHybridTea.jpg, 'Apricot Candy', 2006

References

{{Reflist Horticultural companies of the United Kingdom Rose breeders Organizations established in 1765 Plant nurseries