''Rosa'' Veilchenblau is a mauve hybrid multiflora

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

and the best known violet rambler. Other names are Bleu-Violet, Blue Rambler, Blue Rosalie and Violet Blue. The cultivar was bred by Hermann Kiese in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1909. Its parents are the red hybrid multiflora 'Crimson Rambler' (Japan, before 1893) and the mauve hybrid setigera 'Souvenir de Brod' (Geschwind, 1884). It was introduced by Johann Christoph Schmidt from Erfurt, where Kiese had been employed until he started his own nursery in 1904. 'Veilchenblau' has small, semi-double flowers with an average diameter of and a sweet, fruity fragrance reminiscent of

lily-of-the-valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' ), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

. The crimson buds appear in late spring and early summer (June to July) in loose clusters of 10 to 30, and open to dark, purple violet flowers with a white center, that age to a grayish mauve, especially under hot conditions. As they remain long on the plant, all hues can appear simultaneously. The cultivar blooms abundantly for a period of three to four weeks. In autumn, 'Veilchenblau' develops small brown-red hips of only 5 to 10 mm length, decorating the shrub into the winter. The cultivar is a robust, near-thornless rambler, growing from 3 to 6 metres (10′ to 20′) in height, but can reach heights of over 10 metres. It has large, glossy, light to medium green foliage, tolerates heat, half-shade and poor soils, and is winter hardy up to −29 °C (

USDA zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

5), but should be planted in airy locations, as it is susceptible to

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mold, largely by its colour: molds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consisti ...

. The cultivar was used as stock plant and in rose hybridisation, and is easy to propagate through cuttings. Some of its seedlings are from the beginning of the 20th century are 'Rose Marie Viaud' (Igoult, 1924), 'Violette' (Turbat, 1921), 'Schloß Friedenstein' (Schmidt, 1915), and 'Mosel' (Lambert, 1920). In 1993, 'Veilchenblau' was granted the

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed Veilchenblau Vines