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Rose Charles de Gaulle is a hybrid tea variety with large double lilac-blue flowers and a rich aroma with light citrus and verbena notes. Thanks to its high frost resistance and abundant, wave-like flowering, which does not stop throughout the season, the plant stands out from other species and will decorate any flower garden.
Origin story
The rose variety Charles de Gaulle appeared in France in 1975. It was obtained by employees of the famous Meilland nursery by pollinating a seedling of the Prelude x Sissi hybrid with a mixture of Caprice pollen and Sondermeldung florindunda.
For almost half a century of its existence, the rose variety was never included in the State Register of the Russian Federation
Description and characteristics of rose Charles de Gaulle
Rose Charles de Gaulle is considered to be of medium height. Its strong bushes with erect, densely leafy stems strewn with pointed long thorns grow approximately 80-100 cm in height and up to 60 cm in diameter.
The lush, medium-dense leaves of the plant have a classic shape and are painted bright green with a pronounced glossy sheen.
The rose variety is classified among the rare varieties of “blue” or “blue” roses and stands out for the exquisite beauty of its extraordinary smoky lavender petals. Flowering is lush, remontant and almost continuous. It does not stop throughout the season until frost. With good care and optimal conditions, the Charles de Gaulle rose produces 2-3 waves of abundant flowering. A maximum of three pointed, goblet-shaped buds are formed on the plant’s strong peduncles. Large, double, cup-shaped rose flowers consist of 30-40 satin petals, curly at the edges.
When fully bloomed, the diameter of rose buds is 12-14 cm
The flowering bush emits a pronounced pleasant aroma with notes of verbena, saffron, lemon, barberry and lily of the valley. The color of the petals varies from pale lilac, violet and light purple in buds to light purple, smoky lilac, blue and cool dusty pink in flowers at various stages of dissolution.
Winter hardiness of rose Charles de Gaulle
The plant is characterized by average frost resistance and without shelter can easily withstand temperatures down to -21 0C. When growing in areas with frosty winters, it is advisable to cover the Charles de Gaulle bushes before the onset of frost.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Charles de Gaulle variety is characterized by long wave-like flowering and frost resistance. Thanks to its spectacular double flowers with unusually colored petals, it is successfully used to decorate flower beds and garden plots.
With proper care, the Charles de Gaulle rose blooms continuously throughout the season.
Pros:
- pleasant aroma;
- relative frost resistance;
- unusual color of the petals;
- long and abundant flowering.
Minuses:
- risk of damage to buds and petals by rain;
- fading of buds under the bright sun;
- susceptibility to diseases.
Features of cultivation
Rose Charles de Gaulle is characterized by drought and heat resistance and grows well in regions with a dry climate. The main disadvantages of the variety are the paleness of the buds under the bright midday sun and the sticking of the petals in rainy weather. Taking these features into account, it is recommended to plant bushes in draft-protected, well-ventilated and illuminated areas with partial shade at midday. Charles de Gaulle roses develop well in fertile, well-drained soils without stagnant water. Rocky, saline and waterlogged soils are not suitable for growing bushes. The preferred option is slightly acidic soil with groundwater lying at a depth of at least 1 m, otherwise the plants are at risk of black spotting.
It is recommended to plant rose bushes on the site when the soil warms up to +13 0C. The best time for this is considered to be from mid-April to mid-June. Roses of the Charles de Gaulle variety grow and develop well at +18-25 0C. Prolonged increase in temperature from +35 0C leads to a decrease in turgor and inhibition of bushes.
Charles de Gaulle roses require infrequent but abundant watering at the rate of 5-10 liters of water for each plant. The peak of liquid consumption occurs during the period of budding and flowering, which means that a lack of moisture is fraught with a delay in the growth and development of shoots and a deterioration in decorative qualities. You need to water the bushes with water that is not too cold and so that it does not get on the buds and leaf blades.
For long and abundant flowering, plants need fertilizing.In the summer months, it is recommended to apply phosphorus-potassium or complex mineral fertilizers to the soil under the bushes. In the fall, in preparation for wintering, Charles de Gaulle roses can be fed with potassium sulfate in a concentration of 1 tbsp. l/bucket of water.
In spring, it is better to apply nitrogen fertilizers to plants
A mandatory element of caring for rose bushes is timely formative and sanitary pruning. In spring, plants must be removed from dried and frozen stems. In autumn, it is advisable to thin out rose bushes and free them from unhealthy and damaged shoots. Throughout the growing season, faded inflorescences must be cut off from plants. It is advisable to remove them along with the top of the shoot. In the first year of the bush's life, when pruning, you can leave a maximum of two buds on weak branches and no more than five on strong ones.
In spring, the cover must be removed in a timely manner to prevent damping off.
Despite the high frost resistance of Charles de Gaulle roses, it is recommended to prepare the bushes for winter. Trimmed plants must be covered with soil at the base and covered with spruce branches. Then you need to install a frame, rising 20 cm above the bushes, cover it with insulation and polyethylene, leaving side ventilation.
Reproduction methods
To preserve varietal characteristics, roses are propagated exclusively vegetatively, for example:
- By layering. In the spring, before the buds open, you need to select a formed and flexible shoot, make a circular cut of the bark about 70 mm long on it and place it in a trench dug next to the mother bush. The cuttings are fixed with special pegs and covered with earth mixed with humus.
Next spring, the cuttings are separated from the bush and transplanted to a permanent place
- Dividing the bush.In April, before the buds swell, the plant is dug up and divided into parts so that each has both shoots and roots. The branches are shortened so that each has 3-5 buds. The cut areas are treated with garden varnish, and the roots are dipped in a mash of clay and water.
After division, the plants are planted in individual holes
- By cuttings. Planting material is taken after the first stage of flowering. Cuttings 5-8 cm high, with 2-3 leaves, are prepared from healthy and young plants. The upper cut should be 10 mm above the bud, the lower, inclined cut should be directly under the bud. The bottom sheet and part of the top sheet are removed to minimize evaporation. For 18-20 hours, the cuttings are immersed 15 mm in a solution of a root formation stimulator (Sodium Humate, Heteroauxin, Kornevin), rinsed, planted in a flower bed or in a container, watered and covered with polyethylene or glass.
After approximately 30 days, the cover is removed from the rooted seedlings
Diseases and pests
Charles de Gaulle roses are susceptible to black spot and moderately resistant to powdery mildew. The variety is also susceptible to infectious burn and gray rot. To prevent diseases when opening roses after wintering, it is recommended to treat the plants with Fitosporin (7 ml/l of water). It is advisable to re-treat in May, but with a less concentrated solution (3.5 ml/l of water). If it was not possible to avoid infection, you need to collect all the affected leaves from the bush and burn them, continuing treatment with Fitosporin. You can also use a 1% solution of copper sulfate or 5% Bordeaux mixture to combat diseases.
Of the pests, the greatest danger to roses are caterpillars, leaf rollers, rose sawflies, aphids and spider mites.For the purpose of prevention and to combat insects that have already settled, bushes can be treated with the biological product Fitoverm (4 ml/l of water).
Application in landscape design
Although the variety was bred as a cut variety, Charles de Gaulle roses are successfully used in landscape design.
The plant looks impressive in single plantings on green lawns and can become part of all kinds of compositions and mixborders.
Thanks to the unusual lilac-blue shade of the petals, the Charles de Gaulle variety combines organically with white, blue, lilac, pink and soft apricot roses. The plant looks impressive next to barberry, deutzia, weigela, spruce, thuja and pine.
Clematis will be successful neighbors for bushes of this variety.
Thanks to their unique aroma, Charles de Gaulle roses are often planted near benches and recreation areas.
Conclusion
Charles de Gaulle roses are a popular French variety with showy lilac-blue flowers and shiny green leaves. The bush is characterized by long wave-like flowering and spreads around itself a delightful aroma mixed with lemon, saffron and verbena.
Reviews from gardeners about rose Charles de Gaulle
When my parents lived in Central Asia, a Charles de Gaulle bush grew in the yard, which we got when we bought a house. I don’t know how he would behave in severe frosts, but he tolerated the heat perfectly.
