Rose Ze Pilgrim (The Pilgrim)

English roses for their site are chosen, as a rule, by people with a sense of taste and style. One of the most beautiful and popular representatives of this group of royal flowers can be safely called the Ze Pilgrim variety. This aristocratic culture will make your garden unforgettable and its atmosphere pleasant and harmonious.

History of appearance

The Pilgrim is a 1991 variety bred by British breeder David Austin. This plant received an amazing name in honor of the pilgrims - the heroes of the work of Geoffrey Chaucer "The Canterbury Tales", written in the XIV century and published in the early era of printing. The working name of the variety is AUSwalker. In some information sources it can be found under the name "Gartenarchitekt Gunther Schulze" (translated from German as "Garden architect Gunther Schulze").

The variety was obtained by crossing the varieties of Yellow Button and Graham Tomas roses. Austin set himself the goal of obtaining not only an outwardly attractive, but also a fairly hardy perennial. This task, although not without difficulty, was successfully implemented. The English rose has won at least a dozen awards. In particular, during this period, Ze Pilgrim was repeatedly awarded the title of "Best Modern Scrub" at the AARS (American Rose Society) competitions.

Description of appearance and features

The beauty of the next creation by David Austin is due to the presence of densely double, rosette-shaped, flat, not flashy, but nevertheless spectacular flowers, composed of a huge number of delicate, silky, curling small petals (about 150-170 pieces). The central part of the buds has a yellow tint, gradually giving way to creamy. The outer petals are creamy white. This combination gives the flowers a surprisingly soft glow, coming from the inside, as it were. The buds appear in large racemose inflorescences, each of which contains 2-3 flowers. They are not too large in size - they are only 6-8 cm in diameter - but they stay on the bush for a long time without crumbling. Thus, entering the flowering phase, the British woman throughout the summer-autumn season is strewn with flowers, which, by the way, not only delight the eye with a sophisticated appearance, but also smell wonderfully. The rich scent of this English diva is a unique blend of myrrh and tea rose with spicy notes.

Speaking directly about the plant, the Ze Pilgrim variety is a vigorous and at the same time graceful, compact, densely leafy bush. It is formed by straight, sturdy shoots, and its leathery leaves are bright green and glossy. The height of the perennial is actually 80-100 cm.However, by providing the bush with support and growing it as a climbing variety or shrub, you can achieve more impressive dimensions of the culture, ranging from 2 to 3 meters. Of course, in this case, The Pilgrim looks the most advantageous.

The English beauty is characterized by good immunity to diseases, average resistance to rain and low air temperatures (the shoots of the plant are not afraid of frosts down to -23 ° C).

Growing and care

Britons with delicate creamy yellow flowers should get enough sunlight throughout the day. For this reason, the rose should be placed in a well-lit area, but only so that the perennial is not exposed to prolonged exposure to the burning direct rays of the sun. It is impossible to place a rose bush in a lowland, where cold air stagnates, provoking the occurrence of fungal diseases, and water after rains, which causes rotting of the root system.

Ze Pilgrim prefers humus-rich soils. The best option is to plant the plant in black soil or loam. In any case, the soil should be moderately moist, loose, light, with a slightly acidic reaction (5.6 - 6.5 pH). It is pre-fertilized with peat, humus and compost.A planting hole for a rose is dug to a depth of 70 cm, but its width should be at least half a meter. The bottom of the hole is lined with a layer of gravel. Immediately before planting, the roots of the plant are soaked in water for several hours.

Perennial is picky about the frequency and quality of irrigation. Especially abundantly, the soil under the English beauty must be moistened during the first few days after planting. The plant needs to be provided with up to 5 liters of water per day. When the culture takes root, watering is carried out as the top layer of the soil dries up a few centimeters. The frequency of this procedure: 1-2 times a week. An adult The Pilgrim shrub needs 10-15 liters of settled, not cold water at a time.

Top dressing begins to be produced from the second year of the plant's life. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied under the shrub to stimulate growth and the appearance of numerous leaves, during the period of bud formation on the rose, a mineral concentrate is added to the organic matter - for example, calcium nitrate. During flowering, a complex fertilizer is used for feeding. At the end of summer, phosphate-potassium concentrate is used.

Like any other rose, the Ze Pilgrim variety needs periodic weeding, loosening the soil under the bush and mulching the zone of the trunk circle. Particular attention should be paid to pruning. First, weak, as well as diseased and dried branches are removed, and then formative pruning is carried out, if necessary. True, the latter is shown to the plant in spring, but not in autumn - with the onset of cold weather, the perennial is relieved of dead and damaged stems, and strong shoots are shortened.

It is easy to protect the culture from the possible occurrence of fungal and bacterial diseases if you do not flood the soil under a delicate flower and prevent the bush from thickening. To prevent attacks of insect pests, the plant is treated with an insecticide several times during the summer season.

It is imperative to cover a beautiful rose for the winter. Dry leaves, spruce branches, roofing material will perfectly cope with the role of insulation.

Use cases

The Pilgrim is able to make every corner of the garden attractive, as well as add charm to the flower garden. It is grown on a green grass lawn alone and in groups. The culture is included in mixed garden compositions, where it successfully coexists with catnip, delphinium, foxglove, verbena, veronica, sage, lavender, thyme, bells. In addition, catnip, phlox, clematis, irises, geranium, aconite can become good companions for this plant. One- and perennials with inflorescences of blue, white, lilac, purple, blue and pink shades look great with the owner of delicate creamy yellow flowers. The British is suitable for cultivation in mixborders and ridges. She is also magnificent in the company of conifers. The rose looks great at the main entrance, against the background of the facade of the dwelling and near the gazebo. When grown as a shrub, Ze Pilgrim can be used to create a spectacular and fragrant hedge.