The floribunda climbers 'Altissimo' and 'Bantry Bay' are both lovely climbers so it is not surprising that when they were crossed they gave rise to another lovely rose: 'Dublin Bay'.
Both 'Bantry Bay' and 'Dublin Bay' were raised by the famous Northern Ireland rose grower, Sam McGredy - hence their evocative Irish names, lapped by the Atlantic and the Irish Sea respectively. From 'Altissimo', 'Dublin Bay' inherited the rich red colour, and from 'Bantry Bay' (a pink rose) it inherited its fullness of flower. The result is a remarkable bloom. 'Dublin Bay' is a richer red even than its parent 'Altissimo'. For those who like their rose reds rich, this is the one for you.
Not a comment, but two questions for you... [1] from which of its parents or remoter ancestors does 'Dublin Bay' inherit its complete lack of scent? [2] why do you suppose that 'Dublin Bay' was for many years by far the most popular climbing rose in NZ?
ReplyDeleteOh come, Dublin Bay is not as bad as all that…thank you CQR for your thought provoking comment
ReplyDeleteOn NZ - of course roses used to be tremendously popular in New Zealand, a predilection that spawned the idea of the "transported landscape" - English settlers consoling themselves with symbols of home amongst all those awkwardly twiggy native divaricating shrubs. A mentor of mine, an expert in ferns, visited NZ in the 1970s and came back appalled at all the roses, when there were all those lovely native ferns to grow. When I visited NZ in the 1990s his wish was coming true, the native gardening movement was in full spate and it seemed that growing roses was almost an uncouth and low thing to do. However, when one looks at the native flora of NZ (and it is a flora I love) the lack of colour is the most striking thing: green and white predominate. Against that wonderful forest green of New Zealand one begins to crave (and crave is not too strong a word) the colour opposite - strong red. In the 1970s this was doubtless provided by Dublin Bay. In the 1990s it was provided by mass planting of the pohutakawa (Metrosideros) - a native shrub that is brilliantly red (an exception to prove the rule). Funnily enough the pohutakawa that was being planted en masse along the road verges around Auckland when I was there was not the native plant but a prostrate ecotype of the same species from Tahiti. Oh well, native enough - and brilliantly red.