Chicago gardeners interested in Chicago history may want to grow the Rosa ‘Louis Jolliet’ in their gardens. The rose is named for explorer Louis Jolliet who traveled the Chicago and Great Lakes regions in 1673 with Father Jacques Marquette. It might also be fun to have an Explorer Rose in your garden.
Rosa ‘Louis Jolliet’ is a shrub rose with a trailing tendency that is winter hardy and grows in Hardiness Zones 3-9. It is a cultivar with a complex parentage, and it’s derived from R. Kordesii ‘Red Dawn’, ‘Suzanne’ and ‘Champlain’. It was introduced to the gardening world in 1990.
This showy rose has a height of 4’ to 5’, and a spread of 4’. The semi-glossy leaves are medium green in color. Its mid-sized leaves have oval-shaped leaflets. The large, pink flowers (3 in. across) contain over 30 petals and grow in clusters of 3-10. Its profuse flowers are fragrant, bloom almost continuously from spring to summer and attract bees. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its stems are prickly like other shrub roses. Depending on the quality of its care, this rose resists Black Spot and mildew. Near the ground it can be leggy, and it doesn’t like standing water.
Chicago gardeners can use this rose as a short climber or a pillar in full sunlight. They can allow it to tumble over a wall, or they can tie it to an arbor, trellis or fence. It can be used in mass plantings for a hedge or screen. Since it’s leggy, other plants can be used in front of it to hide the stems.
If you would like to grow this rose, search online for nurseries that carry it.
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