Jude the Obscure Rose

Well….the Jude the Obscure rose isn’t the best named flower out there, but it has been said to be one of the nicer English roses.

It was named after the Thomas Hardy novel of the same name.  The titled character was an orphaned wanderer who is hopelessly in love with his cousin.  It was a publicly burned novel at one point.   I’m not quite sure what David Austin was going for with this name, but its definitely interesting!

The color has been called Apricot but there is a good amount of white mixed in.  It almost turns into a pale yellow.  Its not my favorite look but a lot of gardeners do enjoy it.  Another oddity, in my opinion, is the scent.  It tends to fade in and out a bit, so the fragrance may depend on when and where you’re getting a sniff.  It does bloom continuously although sometimes not as big as some of the other David Austins.  It does not really have a full double bloom, so consider other varieties if that is your cup of tea. From a gardening standpoint, it appears that you’ll need a bit of patience when working with this one.  Many gardeners have reported it taking two, three, or even more seasons before it really started blooming.   It is pretty light on the thorns so it’s a little easier to handle in that respect.  Its been known to be tough against diseases and pests.  Its fairly stubborn as a bush grower, so I’m not sure how well it would handle training or pegging.  Its probably best left as a shrub.   Its rated from zones 5 to 10.  One other nice point with this breed.  It can do well in semi arid areas, such as Texas and the American Southwest.  Definitely work to water it regularly though.