Penelope Rose

The Penelope rose is a gorgeous English musk rose. It is a white hybrid shrub that looks great in many gardens!

It was first bred in 1924 and since then has been a popular mainstay in the gardening world. The name origins are a little murky, but since Pemberton the breeder often named roses after Classic Greek women its fair to guess that this was named after the Penelope of the Odyssey fame. As part of the "Pemberton" family of roses, so it has many of those same qualities.

One great feature about this flower are the blooms. It has big clusters of its trademark white blooms, although those are more focused in the late spring and early summer. You may get an occasional additional bloom throughout the summer though, with another blooming period in the fall. In the late fall and winter, it has nice rose hips. They even have a nice fragrance to boot. Although they are a shrub they also show many properties of a climbing rose, and thus can be trained over obstacles. They also look nice on the edge of a garden near a more forested area.

A Penelope rose will grow tall, up to six feet, and bushy. They are relatively thornless. Like many of the Pembertons, they will grow in the shade and semi-shade. They are also known to be disease and pest resistant, although deer will take a liking to them! It is also hardy so its good for a cold weather climate.