''Rosa'' 'Wildeve' (aka AUSbonny) is a pink blend
shrub rose cultivar, created by British rose breeder
David C. H. Austin in 1995. The rose was named for the character, Damon Wildeve, in
Thomas Hardy's book,
The Return of the Native
''The Return of the Native'' is the sixth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It first appeared in the magazine ''Belgravia'', a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly instalments from 9 Januar ...
. The rose was introduced into the
UK by David Austin Roses Limited (UK) in 2003.
Description
'Wildeve' is a medium-tall bushy shrub rose, in height, with a spread, on long, arching branches.
The rose has little or no fragrance. Its flowers are in diameter, with a quartered, rosette bloom form. Bloom colour is light pink, sometimes with touches of apricot, and the colour fades to near white at the edges.
Flowers are carried in small clusters. Leaves are large, semi-glossy and dark green. The rose blooms continually blooms throughout the growing season.
History
David Austin roses
David C. H. Austin (1926–2018) was an award-winning rose breeder, nursery owner and writer from
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. 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 Garden roses#Hybrid perpetual, hybrid perpetuals with ...
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).
'Wildeve'
Austin developed the new by crossing an unnamed seedling with
'Golden Celebration'. Six resulting seedlings of that cross were chosen and grafted onto 'Laxa' ( Rosa canina 'Laxa') rootstock. This new cultivar was given the name 'Ausbonny'.
'Wildeve' was introduced into the
UK by David Austin Roses Limited (UK) in 2003. The rose was named for the character, Damon Wildeve, in
Thomas Hardy's book,
The Return of the Native
''The Return of the Native'' is the sixth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It first appeared in the magazine ''Belgravia'', a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly instalments from 9 Januar ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa 'Wildeve'
Wildeve
2003 introductions