Archduke Charles Wins Again

Once again, the first rose to bloom in my yard is Archduke Charles.  For three straight years, this lovely little China rose has been my first to bloom.  It never lost its leaves all winter despite some of our coldest temperatures in recent memory.  There are quite a few roses in the "China" family and they are all ideal for the hot, humid weather of the South.  Most are very resistant to any disease - I don't spray mine at all any more - and they don't even need much pruning.  They have a pleasing, full and rounded form and they bloom throughout the year with hardly a break.  Archduke Charles has blooms that start off with light pink middles and darker outside petals, then over a couple of days the whole bloom deepens to a deep crimson.  In hotter months the blooms start off a darker color.  The fragrance is sweet and "peppery" to my nose. 

Spring, Summer, Fall - Archduke Charles

I know that I've just posted on Archduke Charles a few days ago, but since this is in alphabetical order, AC is next in line. This is one of three China roses that I have growing in my yard.  As with all of them, there may be some leaf loss in mid-summer and mid-winter, but I have yet to see any blackspot on them.  I think this is the plant's natural time to shed some leaves and make way for new ones. 

This first picture is from peak bloom in April.  This rose has been my first to bloom in each of the last two years.  It has all the shades of pink at the same time on the same plant. 

Next is the same plant in early August.  Unfortunately, I don't have full plant pictures of any of my roses from early summer.  Still, this shows the plant at the most stressful time of year in my climate.  As you can see, there is some leaf loss, but none of the leaves are yellow or spotted.  (The smaller-leaved climber behind this plant is a rambler known as Super Dorothy.) There are not many blooms at this time of year and the blooms that do come out are small and crisped from the heat.

By mid-September, blooms are coming back in profusion.  I love the light peppery fragrance of these flowers!  I've given this rose the same care as the Abraham Darby and it looks much better.

At the end of October, this is what AC looks like.  I'd say this is about as good as first spring flush.  It will continue to bloom like this till a hard frost comes.  This rose comes pretty close to being an evergreen in Louisiana.  I planted this specimen in October of 2008, so it is still a youngster.  It's filling out nicely as it ages and I expect it to get around 5' x 4' at full size.  It's a fairly bushy and full plant that has been recommended to me as a good candidate for a rose hedge. 

This is a great rose for beginners.  It requires almost no care to look great.  I suspect that it's easy to take cuttings and get them to root for passing on to friends and family.  To me, this rose has so much more character than the Knockout family of roses and does nearly as well.  Highly recommended.

Duking It Out With the Charles

Right now Archduke Charles is looking his best since April.  The blooms are profuse and in every shade of light pink to crimson. 

The blooms are in clusters surrounded by perfect, blue-green leaves that are attractive by themselves.

The bloom shapes on this little China rose are utter perfection.  The fragrance is spicy and peppery, to my nose.

The bush is filling out more and more as it ages and there is not a sign of disease on it.  With the cooler weather, the blooms aren't crisping either.  As with all of my roses this year, no spray has touched this plant.  It has received a couple cups of alfalfa pellets and plenty of water from my irrigation system.  I keep it mulched with hardwood chips.  This is certainly a good candidate for a maintenance free rose in Louisiana as I'm sure it would look nice even without the mulch and extra water.