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Jocelyn, bred by Edward Burton Legrice, England 1970. Breeding: unknown.

Until last summer, I had only seen photographs of this rose. Last year I was fortunately able to obtain a plant of this cultivar, and seeing the blooms for the first time was a remarkable experience. Rarely do I wax poetic about a variety, but I could stare at a bloom of 'Jocelyn' for hours and lose myself. The color of this rose is almost impossible to capture in a photo, but this image above is a reasonable representation. There is a smoldering deep rust orange hue that is the base color of the fresh blooms, overlaid with a dark cinnamon and Smoke Bush purple color! It is a truly remarkable color combination......one that you will either love at first site, or detest. I think you can tell which opinion I hold. *wink*

This is described as a Floribunda in habit: short growing to about 2.5 or 4 feet, with dark glossy foliage and fairly thorny canes. 'Jocelyn' requires the best of culture to perform to its best ability, but it is well worth the effort. The only thing that would make this rose better would be a strong fragrance, which it almost completely lacks, unfortunately. Oh well....I forgive it every time I see one of these smoky rust buds start to open.

For those of you who lust after the florists variety 'Leonidas', you may want to try this one instead, as it is a much better plant in the garden, and much more likely to produce satisfactory colors. 'Leonidas' rarely does well when grown in the garden, often producing harsh metallic orange blooms rather than the rusty chocolate hues you get from the florist.

ARS merit rating: none given
Personal merit rating: 8.0
Hardiness: Likely USDA zones 6 to 9, zone 5 in a protected location.
Shrub size: 2 to 3 feet tall, depending on climate.
Fragrance: 1.0 little fragrance.

Original photographs and site content © Paul Barden 1996-2006