Alexander Mackenzie rose
Alexander Mackenzie Rose: A Stunning, Hardy Red Beauty for Your Garden
The Alexander Mackenzie rose is a robust, versatile shrub bred as part of Canada’s renowned Explorer Series. Known for its striking red blend flowers, this rose combines beauty and resilience, making it an excellent choice for gardeners seeking low-maintenance yet visually appealing roses. With its climbing and arching growth habit, the Alexander Mackenzie can be used in various ways, from landscape shrubs to a striking climber.
Vivid Red Blooms with a Raspberry Fragrance
This rose showcases vibrant red blooms with yellow undertones, adding depth to its color palette. Each cupped bloom has 40 to 50 petals, giving the rose a whole appearance. The flowers bloom in large clusters of 5 to 15, emitting a moderate raspberry-like fragrance that adds a delightful sensory element to your garden. The 3 inches in diameter blooms are a standout feature against the backdrop of glossy, dark green foliage.
A Rose That Keeps Blooming
This hardy shrub offers repeat blooming throughout the growing season, providing continuous bursts of color in your landscape. The flowers open from deep raspberry-red buds, creating sprays that stand out against newly emerged red-tinted leaves. As the foliage matures, it turns a glossy dark green, contrasting the red flowers. Occasional repeat blooms later in the season ensure that your garden remains vibrant even into fall.
Resilient and Disease-Resistant
The Alexander Mackenzie rose is well-known for its toughness. It thrives in USDA zones 3b and warmer, making it an excellent choice for colder climates. The rose is disease-resistant, requiring minimal maintenance and occasional pruning to remove dead wood. While the plant may be susceptible to black spots in the latter half of summer, proper care and regular deadheading will help prevent this issue.
Versatile Growth Habits
Reaching 5 to 8 feet and spreading up to 7 feet wide, the Alexander Mackenzie rose can be trained as either a climbing rose or left to grow as a shrub. Its upright and arching growth habit makes it suitable for various uses in your garden. It can be planted as a focal point, used for hedging, or grown along fences or trellises for a climbing effect. This flexibility makes the Alexander Mackenzie rose a valuable addition to any garden design.
Characteristics
- Color: Red blend with yellow undertones
- Bloom Size: Medium, 3 inches in diameter
- Fragrance: Moderate, raspberry-like scent
- Bloom Form: Cupped, 40-50 petals, very full
- Growth Habit: Arching, upright, and climbing, 5-8 feet tall, up to 7 feet wide
- Foliage: Glossy, light green, dense
- Bloom Season: Continuous blooming with occasional repeats later in the season
- USDA Zones: 3b and warmer
- Disease Resistance: Very disease resistant
- Uses: Suitable for landscape, shrub, or climbing purposes
A Tribute to Alexander Mackenzie
This rose was named to honor the famous Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie, who was the first to explore British Columbia’s Pacific coast. Like its namesake, the Alexander Mackenzie rose is known for its resilience and strength, standing tall and proud in any garden setting. Its blend of beauty and hardiness makes it a perfect choice for gardeners seeking a low-maintenance yet stunning addition to their outdoor space.
