Rhapsody In Blue Rose Bushes

Rhapsody In Blue Shrub Rose

Rhapsody In Blue has fragrant, shiny purple flowers that fade to slate "blue": the closest thing yet to a blue rose. A healthy, robust grower that will make a tall, bushy shrub that repeats well from July to October. The bright, lime green leaves really make the flowers "pop". 4.5 ft x 3 ft

Especially recommended for sunny sites in the North and Scotland, where the cooler weather brings out the best it has to offer: it is known to sulk in a heatwave in the South.

See the full range of shrub rose bushes.

Bred by the amateur grower Frank R. Cowlishaw of Derby in the late 1990's and first sold by Warner's Roses, Devon, in 2000. Its registration code is FRAntasia. 

The seed parent was Summer Wine, a Kordes rose, and the pollen parent was a hybrid of International Herald Tribune crossed with a Blue Moon & Montezuma hybrid and a Violacea & Montezuma hybrid.

It was RHS rose of the year 2003, won a gold medal at the 1999 Royal National Rose Society Show, and was named best shrub rose at the 2018 New Zealand Rose Trials.