Growing Rosa ‘Princesse Charlène de Monaco ®’
Taking a departure from last weeks post about a rose I would not grow again, here’s one I’d like to share with you that you would have to pry from my cold dead hands: ‘Princesse Charlène de Monaco ®’
Lately, my favorite colors in roses are shades of apricot and peach so she hits the mark with that one, hands down, although sometimes she is also flushed with pink. Here are her other fine attributes:
Great in a large container. You can see the one my husband built for me out of scrap wood we had lying around.
Winter hardy. She was left out all last winter in said container. Zone 6b, south facing, sheltered location.
Incredibly fragrant! To my nose, a powerful, fruity perfume.
Flowers are very large on stiff stems that hold up well in a vase.
Flowers fade beautifully and petals drop cleanly.
Blooms in flushes throughout season. Spring and fall are the best. (Rest period in heat of summer.)
Relatively disease resistant. Good cultivation should help with blackspot. See more below.
Did I forget to mention that she’s gorgeous?
I love this rose and I must extend a big thanks to @colegriffin who recommended it to me. (If you don’t follow him on Insta, go check him out. He has a beautiful garden in the frosty north.)
However, the first year, PCdeM and I were off to a really shaky start with blackspot galore and almost total defoliation. The flowers were gorgeous, though, so I kept her. I think this is important to share because I’ve had this experience a few times with other roses in the past and have learned that occasionally they just need some time to establish before they can get their act together. Fingers crossed she doesn’t let me down.
If I could plant a new garden tomorrow, ‘Princesse Charlène de Monaco ®’ would not only be included, I’d probably get another! Do you grow this rose? If you feel up to it, please share your experiences in the comments. 🙂
To learn more about ‘Princesse Charlène de Monaco ®’, visit this information page on Help Me Find.
She really is a winner in the garden but man, do I wish I’d built that big container a little better! Those pressure treated offcuts can get a little persnickety!
Silly billy it’s absolutely fine! <3
This rose is a favourite for me too. Your pictures are truly lovely! I ordered a few bouquets of her from Grace Rose Farms last year and was so impressed with her fragrance and vase life. A truly fabulous rose.
Oooh I bet those bouquets were lovely. What a great way to be introduced to a new rose!
This makes me happy to hear! I’m glad this rose settled down and is performing so well for you guys. When I read your post about Olivia Austin Rose I resonated with your analysis too. Although Olivia is hard to beat for impact in the landscape and is the healthiest rose I’ve ever grown, so there’s that! But, it’s true that roses like Princesse CDM do have that “x” factor that most roses don’t. What surprises me is that I’m growing two Hybrid Tea roses now (gasp), that are truly incredible, this being one. True confessions, I have 9 plants of this rose. Thanks for the shoutout as well on IG, that was really nice of you!
Wow, 9 plants! What’s the other Hybrid Tea you’re growing that you love? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m also starting to appreciate HT’s more. 😉
I have really grown to love another Kordes Rose ‘First Crush’. It is bullet proof for disease and it blooms fairly well. There is just something about it that is charming. One interesting thing is that the centers are often blown, which I personally like because it looks less like a hybrid tea often and also makes for variety. The fragrance is incredible!!!
I had a feeling you were going to tell me it’s a Kordes rose! They’re so good, aren’t they? Thank you so much for the recommendation. She sounds like a beauty! 😀
They are toughest the Kordes.roses.nut Elina , Heather Rumsey( a relishing like sport Roy found and named.after.his good lady wife. And Christian dior are three really good tough roses. But my experiences says plant the Graf under the ground for two reasons it helps them in dry.times.if They are on their own roots .if you have a savage frost or wind or fire and it is on its own roots it will.sur give.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, Laurie! I love hearing your analysis of a rose. I am putting this rose on my list of future rose purchases. Your photography is absolutely lovely too!
That is so kind of you, Heidi! Thank you!
What are the dimensions of the container your husband built for you?
Thank you!
Kimi
2.5′ tall x 1.5′ wide. Hope this helps!
This is an excellent rose. I have two of these. We live in a very hot dry valley in NorCal so disease is never a problem with any roses. The Meillland roses in general are always the healthiest of all my roses. After two years these roses bloom constantly and survive the heat as well or better than most. Mine are quite upright and tall. They are at the back of a bed so I prune them at waist height. Definitely a very romantic soft colored fragrant rose for cutting and showing well in the garden.
Fantastic testimonial, Mary! I bet yours look amazing in that California sunshine! 🙂
Beautiful
I have two that I’m trying to decide where to place. How does she do in partial shade I’m 6b but my front is west facing and can be hot. Would it do better on back side facing east?
Thanks
Hi Leigh, I have one growing in our new garden where it gets morning sun (facing east) for about 5 hours and is in partial shade for the rest of the day. It’s doing well so far so I imagine yours will also be good with that location. 🙂
Hello, I realize this was from a few years ago, but I bought this rose as a bare root last fall. I planted it and the spring, It’s quadrupled in size and loaded with flowers. I don’t know if it’s because it is young, but the stems are not really strong enough to keep the flowers upright. Not sure if I’m doing something wrong. This has become one of my favorite flowers in the garden. Thank you.
Hi Julie! You’re not doing anything wrong. The flowers on mine also “nod” a bit because they’re just so large and full of petals. I think this is a rose that would do best with a bit of support. I like to tie it into an obelisk to train the canes and keep them from flopping. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
I just got this rose as a barefoot the end of April. Today my first bloom completely opened. It is so beautiful. It’s grown to about two feet tall already. I have it in a big pot in partial sun. It seems to like it just fine so I am going to leave it right there.
Thanks so much for your review!
How wonderful! Thank you for being here, Sydney! 🙂