{"product_id":"blue-for-you-floribunda-rose-plants","title":"Blue For You","description":"\u003cul class=\"pdp-specs\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blue For You, mauve-lilac with golden stamens and a citrus fragrance\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Floribunda\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mauve-lilac fading to slate-blue as flowers open; prominent golden stamens\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFragrance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate, citrus-sweet with a violet character\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 75cm (2.5ft)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpread:\u003c\/strong\u003e 75cm (2.5ft)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlowering:\u003c\/strong\u003e July to first frosts, repeat-flowering\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRHS AGM:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, awarded 2012\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePruning:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cut back hard to 30-40cm in late February, just above an outward-facing bud. Light tidy in autumn.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGood for:\u003c\/strong\u003e Borders, containers, informal hedging, cut flowers\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContainer suitable:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, minimum 40cm pot with loam-based compost\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSimilar varieties:\u003c\/strong\u003e Burgundy Ice (deeper plum-purple, slight scent); Rhapsody in Blue (slate-purple shrub, stronger fragrance, RHS AGM)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bareroot plants (November to March) and 3L container grown plants (spring and summer)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlant:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bareroot: November to March while dormant. Container grown: any time the ground is workable.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDelivered:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bareroot: November to March. Container grown: spring and summer dispatch. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/collect-your-order-from-castle-cary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCollection from Castle Cary\u003c\/a\u003e also available.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlue For You is a floribunda rose growing to 75cm, producing clusters of semi-double blooms in soft mauve-lilac that deepen to a distinctive slate-blue as each flower opens and ages. It has a genuine moderate fragrance, a clean citrus note with a violet character, and repeat-flowers from July to the first frosts. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, awarded in 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eBlue For You, the Closest Thing to a Blue Rose\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRoses cannot make blue. The biochemical pathway that produces delphinidin, the pigment responsible for true blue in delphiniums and hydrangeas, is absent from the genus. Over a hundred years of breeding has refined the best available result: mauve, lilac, and slate-purple varieties that read as blue in certain lights. Blue For You, bred by British amateur Peter James and introduced in 2007, is one of the most successful of those results. The colour shifts across the life of each flower, opening as mauve-lilac and settling to a grey-slate tone that gives the plant its unusual quality. The golden stamens are visible through the petals, adding warmth that stops the overall effect from reading cold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe fragrance is worth noting separately. Blue For You has a clean citrus note with a violet undertone, strongest in the morning and on warm afternoons, and it carries to a cut stem in a glass of water. Peter James's variety became one of the most widely grown floribundas in the UK purple-mauve range partly on colour, partly on that fragrance, and partly because the plant is simply reliable: disease-resistant, free-flowering from July to first frosts, and at 75cm in both height and spread, compact and tidy. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, which assesses disease resistance, garden performance, and ornamental quality together. Our \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/how-to-grow-floribunda-roses\"\u003efloribunda rose growing guide\u003c\/a\u003e has everything you need on planting, feeding, and pruning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting Companions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMauve-lilac shows best against warm tones and whites. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/arthur-bell-floribunda-rose-plants\"\u003eArthur Bell\u003c\/a\u003e in warm yellow-cream makes a classic pairing: the warm and cool tones set each other off. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/margaret-merril-floribunda-rose-plants\"\u003eMargaret Merril\u003c\/a\u003e, white and very strongly scented, reinforces the fragrance theme. At the base, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/munstead-english-lavender-plants\"\u003eMunstead lavender\u003c\/a\u003e echoes the colour at a lower level and brings bees through the season. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/caradonna-salvia-plants\"\u003eCaradonna salvia\u003c\/a\u003e adds dark violet spires that flower at the same time. Plant \u003ca href=\"\/products\/christophii-allium-bulbs\"\u003eChristophii alliums\u003c\/a\u003e between the roses in autumn for large silver-lilac spheres in May and June, setting the palette before Blue For You comes into flower in July.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy buy your roses from Ashridge?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOur roses are grown specifically for us by specialist rose growers, some of whom we have worked with for decades. Bareroot plants are dispatched between November and March while dormant. Container grown plants go out in spring and summer. We are peat-free throughout, use no neonicotinoids, and guarantee every plant we send. Which? Gardening named us Best Plant Supplier, and Feefo gave us their Platinum Trusted Service Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHow hard should I prune Blue For You rose?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHard, back to 30-40cm in late February, just above an outward-facing bud. Blue For You comes back more vigorously and flowers more freely for it. Remove any dead or crossing stems at the same time. Our \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/pruning-rose-bushes-shrubs\"\u003epruning guide\u003c\/a\u003e covers the full method for floribunda roses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Blue For You rose disease resistant?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlue For You has good, all-round disease resistance to black spot, powdery mildew, and rust. It grows well without spraying, though ensuring decent air circulation and clearing fallen leaves in autumn always helps. Reliable in most UK conditions, including wet summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat does Blue For You rose smell like?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlue For You has a clean citrus note with a violet undertone, strongest in the morning and on warm afternoons. Cut a stem for the house and the scent carries well. It is one of the most fragrant floribundas in the mauve-purple colour range, which is unusual, as most roses in that group have slight or no scent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is the difference between Blue For You and Burgundy Ice?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth are purplish floribundas with strong disease resistance. Blue For You is a soft mauve-lilac with a citrus-violet fragrance and the RHS Award of Garden Merit; \u003ca href=\"\/products\/burgundy-ice-floribunda-rose-plants\"\u003eBurgundy Ice\u003c\/a\u003e is a deeper plum-purple with a slight scent. Blue For You is the more compact grower at 75cm by 75cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eDoes Blue For You need deadheading?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlue For You is a repeat-flowering rose, and deadheading spent flowers encourages it to produce more buds rather than set seed, extending the display by several weeks. Ten minutes with sharp secateurs every week or two through summer makes a real difference. Our \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/how-deadhead-repeat-flowering-roses\"\u003edeadheading guide\u003c\/a\u003e covers the method.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Blue For You really blue?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot true blue, as no rose in commercial cultivation achieves that yet. Blue For You is a soft mauve-lilac, similar in tone to lavender, that shifts towards slate-grey in cool or overcast conditions. That quality, alongside its excellent disease resistance, is what took it to the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ashridge","offers":[{"title":"Potted \/ 3 Litre","offer_id":56568682250566,"sku":"ROSEBLUEFORYOU-3L","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0947\/0351\/8022\/files\/blue-for-you-roses.webp?v=1778751370","url":"https:\/\/www.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/products\/blue-for-you-floribunda-rose-plants","provider":"Ashridge Nurseries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}