Rose Ruby Wedding (Hybrid Tea) > Reviews (1)

Review of Ruby Wedding Hybrid Tea Rose.

When my late parents celebrated their Ruby wedding anniversary in 1992, my (then) husband and I wanted to give them a gift that would last, something a little bit different. We had organised a big family party for them as part of their present, but when I spotted this aptly named rose in our local garden centre, it seemed to fit the bill admirably. Mum and Dad were both keen gardeners and had a large garden, so there was no doubt that the rose bush would find a home with them.
We duly bought the Ruby Wedding rose and it was well received and planted in a flower bed beneath my parents dining room window.

Time has moved on and both my parents have now passed away. My husband and I parted company (hooray!) and I am now happy with a new partner. I have inherited my parents home along with the Ruby Wedding rose!
It will be 20 years old this month and is still going strong.

The Rose

As the name implies, Ruby Wedding is a red rose, it is a hybrid tea rose. Hybrid tea rose is the name given to these cultivated rose bushes, they come from a cross between hybrid perpetuals and old fashioned tea roses. Many popular hybrid tea roses were originally developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they were grown for their long-stemmed flowers, a wide range of strong colours and for their extended blooming season.
Ruby Wedding produces single flowers on each stem, unlike the floribunda type roses which have multiple headed blooms.

Ruby Wedding certainly does have a long flowering season, we generally have a glorious show of blooms throughout the year, from June well into the autumn and sometimes beyond. Strangely, when my Dad died in November 2006, there was a perfect rose bud on the bush. I cut it and took it with me to Spain, where he died and placed it in his coffin with him, which I thought he would have approved of as he really loved this rose.

Ruby Wedding is a rose that thrives in full sun, the spot we have it planted in is a south facing border underneath the dining room window. This spot does seem to suit the rose. It is a vigorous rose and needs to be pruned back quite severely in the autumn in order to ensure a good show of flowers the following year. The method we use to do this is to remove any dead wood and then snip back the live stems to just above an outward facing growing bud. I think most gardeners have their pet pruning methods, but this is how we do it! We try to keep ours to a height of around two and a half feet which is suitable for the spot it is planted in. The rose will of course grow taller than this, but it is not recommended to let it get too tall as the stems can become straggly and weak.

Like most roses, Ruby Wedding appreciates a rich, fertile soil and adequate drainage to ensure it does not become waterlogged. Roses do need moisture of course, but they should not be over watered.

When choosing a rose bush from a garden centre or other supplier, it is best to chose a specimen with uniform green leaves and no signs of insect damage or disease.

These roses are sold either in a pot or bare rooted. The garden centre should provide information on planting and care of your new rose bush, but if not the general rule of thumb is to soak a bare rooted rose in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting. A pot grown rose can be planted straight away. Dig a hole that is deep enough to accommodate the plants roots and the hole should be prepared with a layer of organic matter before planting. The rose bush should have its roots carefully separated and be placed in the hole and supported as you back fill the hole. Stamp the soil down around the base of the plant to endure good coverage and then gently water in, cross your fingers and good luck!

Ruby Wedding seems to be pretty resilient against pests and diseases. I know my parents had many rose bushes in the gardens at one time, but few years ago they lost several due to a rose fungal disease. Ruby Wedding was unaffected, I'm glad to say.

The Ruby Wedding rose is a prolific bloomer, the velvety textured flowers are a very deep, rich red in colour and they have a really intense scent. The colour is so deep that it is almost maroon, I think it is a very rich, classy colour, not in the least bit garish, as some shades of red can be. The colour does tend to lighten as the flower fades. The rose also has exceptionally dark green leaves which are very glossy. In my opinion, this is one of the nicest roses I have ever come across. The actual flowers are huge, they do make very good cut flowers.

When cutting, care needs to be taken as Ruby Wedding has a very vicious streak! This is a rose with large, sharp thorns!

I used Ruby Wedding roses in my daughter's bridal bouquet back in 2002. Being a second marriage, she had a fairly quiet registry office wedding and was not going to bother with flowers at all, but I couldn't bear the thought of no flowers. To me, weddings mean flowers!

Luckily that year the Ruby Wedding bush had a particularly abundant amount of blooms and I made her a pretty bouquet from the roses and some shop bought gypsophillia. My granddaughter who was 3 at the time, was bridesmaid and I made her a much smaller matching posy. Snipping off all those thorns was a nightmare, but the roses leant themselves very well to be arranged in this way.

I would say that these roses, being red are an ideal addition to a bridal bouquet as red roses traditionally signify love. I have to stress, do de-thorn them, the last thing any bride wants is blood from a pricked finger dripping down her dress. Unless of course it is some strange wedding ceremony with a blood letting element!

Conclusion

Apart from pruning, this rose bush really needs very little attention. I know my father would occasionally treat his roses to a dose of specialist rose feed or a top dressing of farmyard manure or compost. I have to admit that Ruby Wedding does not get quite the same level of nurturing that Dad bestowed upon it!

I would recommend this rose to others, you do not need a huge garden to grow a Ruby Wedding rose bush, pruning will limit the size it grows to, so you can keep it to within the size acceptable for your needs.

The sturdy stems mean it does not need very much support, so it can be planted almost anywhere, although as it is not a patio rose, it does need to be in the ground. The beautiful scent makes this an ideal rose for floral arranging and a couple of Ruby Wedding roses indoors will fill your room with their perfume.

Ruby Wedding is a very popular rose, which has been around for many years. In my opinion, the name makes it ideal as a ruby wedding anniversary gift and or as a present to someone named 'Ruby'.

As mentioned at the top of this review, I gave my parents this rose bush as a 40th wedding anniversary gift in the hope that it would be a lasting memory of their very special day. I think I made the right choice, as the rose is still here and beautiful, 20 years on!

Thank you for reading
© brittle1906 April 2012

N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.