Living in the flat Suffolk countryside I yearn for a hillside garden with terraces and banks. One always wishes for the impossible! Today’s rose ‘Raubritter’ is one to grow falling down a bank or over the side of a terrace.
Bred in Germany in 1936 by Wilhelm Kordes, the pink hybrid Macrantha shrub ‘Daisy Hill’ provided the seed with the vigorous red hybrid Wichurana rambler ‘Solarium’ donating the pollen. ‘Raubritter’ is a procumbent rose, with long snaking stems. I planted her in a bed to grow as a shrub, but those long stems are proving to be a trip hazard on the nearby path. I gave her a small frame, but she is having none of it. Reputedly she will scramble up a tree or hedge up to around 3m.
Small pointed rose buds appear in large clusters in early June opening to the most astonishing bloom. The profusion of buds open to silvery pink globes each with a small opening at the top, very un-rose like. The small opening gradually widens until a beautiful dusky pink peony like bloom emerges. Just so beautiful, one could look at them all day. Fragile and delicate but remarkably weatherproof and long lasting. A fresh sweet fragrance drifts from these superb blooms. Just one magnificent flush but you do get a wealth of these attractive blooms for an extended period.
A tendency for mildew infection is reported in the literature but mine has been extremely healthy in a dry bed. Otherwise, she is very vigorous with slender prickly stems and narrow wrinkled foliage. Hardy USDA zone 6b-9b. Reputed to be very frost resistant. American Rose Society grading 8.1 (A solid to very good rose. Its good features easily outweigh any problems. Well above average).
This dainty ethereal rose has an entirely inappropriate name. A Raubritter was a feudal robber baron or knight imposing unfair taxes and demands on his subjects. I can think of a few rampaging thorn ridden ramblers for whom the name Raubritter would be extremely apt but not this pretty rose.
The modern healthy continuous flowering ground cover roses may have overtaken her, but I still think ‘Raubritter’ is well worth growing. Mine is just in the wrong place to show her best. In the autumn she is to move to a sloping bank where she can fall over the retaining wall. If you are lucky enough to visit Mottisfont you will find ‘Raubritter’ adorning the small central ornamental pool, a wonderful sight.
Originally posted on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day on 2nd July 2022
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