PlantFiles: Floribunda Rose
Rosa 'Simply Marvelous!'

Purple roses are difficult for me, but Simply Marvelous is, well, simply marvelous. The blooms are small and the plant is not as floriferous as some other floribundas, but the blooms are a very attractive purple color (on the red rather than the blue side of purple). Officially, I think they say it's mauve, and maybe that's the right word, but I think that in the cooler Wisconsin climate, maybe the blooms are a bit darker, and purple is a good word to describe them. The growth habit is more erect (rather than spreading) when compared to many other floribundas. It doesn't have a lot of thorns.

I only wish that it could be a little more hardy. I have had it about five years and have gotten it through four or five Wisconsin winters by burying it in ground, but only a couple of inches at the bottom of a few stems survives the winter. This means that it has a lot of "catching up" to do every year. It does grow vigorously, but because of the slow start it gets, it generally doesn't look really good until August.

My "Simply Marvelous" is on its 4th month - - - and covered with blooms. It's a pretty full plant now, considering it was bareroot when planted March 2005 and it's growing in a container. I love its fragrance. I don't know much about roses yet to give a good description, but it's not intense (unlike "Double Delight" or "Fragrant Cloud").

This is a wonderful little floribunda. It blooms quite a bit and has a great old rose fragrance. It's hardy in zone 5.