I previously grew 'Honorine de Brabant' near my back patio, in poorer and more clay-ish soil, and she struggled and died there even though I pampered her as much as possible. I repurchased and replanted her as a rooted band into a mixed border, in fact into a hole dug in the middle of a large clump of Miscanthus sp. grass that was too big to move and had been previously killed with Roundup. Here, with 'Charlotte Brownell' and 'Country Dancer' to gossip with, HDB has come into her own.
'Honorine de Brabant' is reported to be a "discovered" Bourbon, by Tanne of France in 1916. The fat buds seem to promise a rose full of petals but her dainty blooms are merely double and not so full of petals as many Old Garden Roses. She is, however moderately fragrant, and she remains cupped and displays ample golden stamens around her pistil, a lady of some refinement. The petals seem fragile and curl at the tips, but they stand up well to heat and wind. I saw a few blooms from her last year when she was still small, but her rebloom is slow and stingy in my experience here and others report the same thing on GardenWeb.com. She does have a good last Fall flush, however. She is a healthy bush, without a trace of blackspot, and I always welcome the unique blooms of a striped rose. I expect Honorine to top five feet tall and I hope she will retain that vase-like shape seen below on to maturity. Did I mention that she is one of the minority of roses in my garden this year that had no winter damage?
This is one that I never bought but should have. So pretty!
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