PlantFiles: Shrub Rose
Rosa 'Morden Blush'

I have 3 or these that I first planted 2 years ago. This is one of the hardiest roses I've found yet! It has survived our hot humid summers, our rather sandy soil (yes - I did add a LOT of organic matter before planting them), and even with no protection made it through last winter's ice storm which took out several of my other plants.

This rose is not immune to black spot. The first year after planting I battled with that constantly. At that time they were planted in full sun with lots of room to breathe and they even had a nice clean mulch to keep the rain from splattering dirt all over them.

I was forced to transplant them in the middle of their growing season this year. The only spot I had for them is shady until late in the morning. I had no time to make soil amendments, and didn't mulch them after transplanting. In spite of this, they are now doing much better, have grown in leaps and bounds, and flowered nonstop. Best of all, the black spot completely disappeared. And the latter half of this summer was one of our wettest ever.

Mine always bloom a delicate shell pink which fades to an off-white color, but still very pretty.

My beautiful Morden Blush Rosa has been planted here in the dry alkaline soil of Stansbury Park for 2 years. It has survived 2 very hot summers and and 1 very cold winter in a shrub rose garden circle on the north and east back yard of the house, mostly morning sun, but hot blistering mid-mornings. It has grown to 2 feet high, 2 feet wide. It blooms sporadically throughout the spring/summer/fall months with double pink blooms that turn pearl white at maturity. Purchased through High Country Nursery Jensen Utah as a substitute for "out of stock" Rosa Nearly Wild.

Canadian-bred Parkland series rose.

This rose has been in my garden for two years. It is very happy and about 3 feet tall. It is covered with blooms that have just begun to open. It is growing against the south side of my house.

This rose was chosen as the favorite Canadian shrub rose by the Canadian Rose Society and got a five-star rating in "Growing Roses in Cold Climates" by Olson, Whitman, and Rickard. As well as being hardy, it is also heat-tolerant. Flower color lightens with higher temperatures during bud formation. Mine usually has light pink blossoms, but they have been ivory in really hot weather.

My experience with Morden has been similar, except for color. She's a few feet out from a north facing wall, and is the darker pink pictured. A friend has one in almost total shade (north of house, tall oaks above) and gets blooms.

It's a keeper for me; I may be partial to her name as my daughter's name is a variant - Morgan.

Very hardy plant, overwinters in my Zone 4a garden with only a little damage at the tips of the branches. It is not overly afflicted with black spot but I wouldn't say it was free from it either.
Excellent flower form. When it is fully open it resembles some of the Austin English roses. Blooms quite heavily. The colour in the first picture supplied is too dark-the flowers in my garden at least are just barely pink. I've actually seen it listed as a white rose, and it is certainly much closer to white than the old rose pink it appears in some pictures. Mine, after two years, is really not much more than 2 ft tall.