''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 Garden roses#Hybrid perpetual, hybrid perpetuals with ...

developed by Roger Pawsey of Cants of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

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

History

Cants of Colchester Cants of Colchester was a firm of commercial rose growers, and was the oldest in Great Britain, Britain at the time of its closure in 2023. The company was established as a general nursery by Benjamin Cant in 1765 in Myland, Essex. The family nur ...

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 an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, 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 Stanway is a suburb, civil parish & village in the City of Colchester, Colchester district, in Essex, England near Colchester. 'Stanway' is an Anglo-Saxon name for the 'stone way' of the Roman road, now the A12 road (England), A12. In 2021 the ...

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