PlantFiles: Polyantha Rose
Rosa 'The Fairy'

This rose is small and delicate looking, but like others have mentioned it is very hardy. It blooms a lovely pink that fades in my desert sun. It does well in partial shade here. I had some ground cover try to choke it. I was happy to see that the Fairy just sent out a runner about 3 feet away. That runner, came back and bloomed the next year as nicely as the original had done. So even though I lost the original one, I was not even one growing season without the lovely Fairy blooming. And yes, I am more diligent about keeping the ground covers away from its roots.

I grew this rose for years at the Jersey Shore. I had a group of 8 that lined a sandy bank as a ground cover. The soil was poor, but they bloomed their heads off, anyway. I now live in farm country in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I plan on planting a group this spring here, too.Far colder here. I'm hoping it does as well.. Terry

I found this lovely rose at a big box store. It looks so dainty.. nice addition to my garden.

From HGTV.com's list of carefree roses by Mary C. Weaver:
'The Fairy': With a name like that, you might think 'The Fairy' delicate. Don't let this polyantha's diminutive, cupped double pink blooms fool you: this plant is nearly indestructible. Introduced in 1932 by Ann Bentall of England, one of the few female hybridizers in the rose world, 'The Fairy' begins blooming somewhat late in the season but keeps on going into fall. Clusters of blooms form along the entire length of the shrub's prickly canes. The foliage is tiny, medium-green, glossy and disease-resistant. If you live in a warm climate, make sure 'The Fairy' gets some afternoon shade--the soft-pink flowers will fade in hot sun. Hardy to Zone 4. A low and spreading shrub 2 to 3 feet in height and 3 to 4 feet in width.

I am nursing two in black pots on my front porch, facing southwest, so they get plenty of heat but not as much sun as they would like, and probably not enough air circulation. They are tougher than nails; I forget to water, they defoliate and then start over. They just keep getting bigger, and they bloom pretty much constantly whenever I am remembering to water. The blooms are white all summer, pink in spring and fall.

I do have major trouble with powdery mildew, though! Anybody else see this in The Fairy?

Waiting to see if they will stop getting sick when I put them in the ground in full sun.

This is an awesome rose. However, I am starting to believe that different companies are breeding different strains of this rose.

I have two from Weeks Roses that are doing very, very poorly. All of my others are from Jackson & Perkins and are wonderful growers and absolutely blooming machines. Up until last year, all of my fairies were from J&P and all of them are excellent. The ones from Weeks were planted last year and are just not doing anywhere nearly as well as the J&P. I will not purchase any more Weeks stock, that's for sure.

ETA on June 5, 2008: ETA on June 5, 2008: Don't bother purchasing any of these unless you are getting the Jackson & Perkins cultivars. I made the mistake of getting some propagated by Weeks Roses, and they were just that...weak! One of them never bloomed and the buds always looked like they had bud blast or somethiing, and it didn't survive the winter. The other survived but never took off and established like the J&P cultivars I had previously. After giving it three full years to establish, I just finally shovel pruned it and discovered that it had never really even put down good roots. I'll be sticking with J&P when it comes to these roses from now on.

A neighbor had this and did not want it any more, so gave it to me. It was large and needed pruning to get the dead out. I just cut it all the way back, planted and watered it, and by spring (he gave it to me in late summer/early fall) it was growing and blooming. The blooms tend to take on a faded look quickly in hot weather. It does much better with cooler temperatures.

Fabulous rose. Mine blooms almost continuously most of the year, and the foliage is so pretty.

This is certainly a lovely rose, but it is much more vigorous than I'd anticipated. It has sent out long canes that root wherever they touch the ground. In one year it has spread 6' in all directions! I love the flowers and the disease resistance, but will have to find a different place for it--a bed it is free to take over. When I pruned it back this morning, I dug up and potted 18 rooted sections. Anybody want a plant?!

Shade Tolerant. Disease susceptibility: Disease resistant

Fantastic rose bush - hard to find roses that do well here in z5. This one is exceptional. We have several bushes planted strategically in sunny spots in our yard, and they never cease to amaze us. Lovely baby pink blooms, reminds me of Cape Cod summers.

‘Paul Crampel’ x R. ‘Lady Gay’ (Bentall 1932)

You can always count on the Fairy to be in bloom. I use organic methods and never have had a problem with black spot, but I have had to hand pick those pesky Japanes Beetles from the flowers.

This rose is the hardyest in my garden with no bugs or disease, and blooms with dozens of flowers at a time.

Grown in full sun has gotten taller than my chain link fence. Puts on a wonderful display of flowers in the spring. It is a rose I would recommend to someone who wants roses without having to continuously spray for diseases.