R. mutabilis - crocus co. U.K.
Some shrubs almost look like trick plants, because they flower in several colors at any given time in their blooming period.
The truth is that the flowers on these shrubs change color as they mature, often going from pale to deep, and sometimes from a deep color to a pale one.
Rose Bushes
Roses are particularly good at this trick. Several of them burst forth in a symphony of shades that amaze the eye.
- Seven Sisters is the most notorious, so named because it can show as many as seven different shades of pink ranging from near white (the oldest blossoms) to near red, the color of the newest buds to burst forth. This is an extremely hardy plant that roots easily from cuttings. It is a form of Rosa multiflora, but with flowers that are bigger than the species and fully double. It can have as many as seven flowers per truss. This rose is so hardy and vigorous that it may eventually be looked on as a weed – but it is gorgeous in bloom time.
- Rosa chinensis mutabilis is another old garden rose – a China rose not hardy above zone 7. It opens pale yellow and progresses from there to peach, then pink, then hot pink to nearly crimson. The flowers are single, but plentiful, almost appearing as though a flock of parti-colored butterflies alit on its branches. It first appeared in Italy around 1896, but no one knows for certain where it originated. Unlike most of the color-changing roses, this one has a lovely scent. This one can get huge, quickly reaching 6-8 feet high and wide.
- Mrs. Dudley Cross is also an heirloom rose, a hybrid Tea that has been around (in commerce) since 1907. Blooms emerge golden yellow and then go through several changes until its finish in pink and white. This is a thornless rose, whose most intriguing characteristic is that the flowers actually change in form as they age. It is hardy to zone 5. This lovely lady also has a fragrant tea scent.
- Rainbow Sorbet is a floribunda rose, introduced in 2006, which is hardy to Zone 5 (Zone 4 with protection). It not only changes color progressively, but the individual flowers are also multicolored. The young flower has a deep lemon center that intensifies to orange and finally, at the edges, a glowing hot pink.
Climbers
- Joseph’s Coat is a climbing rose, but it is an amazing Technicolor dream, with flowers running the gamut from orange to yellow to red and pink. However, the growth habit of this plant is relatively restrained and so may fit into a small garden more easily than most climbers. It can reach 10 feet high but can be trained to four feet. It is hardy from Zones 6-9.
- Eden rose is another climber that looks like an antique rose, with fully double blossoms so heavy that they nod downward, so that even the flowers at the tip of the trellis may be appreciated from below. This gorgeous flower was introduced by Meilleland in response to the renewed popularity of heirloom roses and the clamor for those introduced by David Austin. The blooms emerge from a light green bud to a creamy white flower that almost resembles a cabbage, so packed is it with petals. It then develops a pink blush before transforming itself one final time into pure white. Hardy from zones 4-9 it can reach 12 feet in height.
Copyright Carol Wallace. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Carol Wallace - For nearly 25 years I trudged reluctantly off to the University to teach - and if the weather was nice chances were excellent that I stood ...
