KÖNIGIN VON DÄNEMARK – pink historic Alba rose - Booth
As a premium historic Alba shrub in the pharmaROSA® NEONATAL range, KÖNIGIN VON DÄNEMARK gives you reliable own‑root structure for speciality propagation, with uniform 3–6‑month tray‑rooted cuttings that integrate cleanly into nursery systems. Its almost thornless stems, medium‑vigorous bushy habit and matt grey‑green foliage suit park, hedge and specimen production where handling efficiency and shaping are important. Once‑flowering, very full rosette blooms offer a classic mid‑pink to pale wash colour transition and an exceptionally strong, garden‑filling fragrance, underpinning high‑value exhibition‑grade and collector‑focused lines. Own‑root plants support long‑term, low‑replacement hedge and bed projects, providing predictable capacity for thematic historic rose collections in public and private schemes, even in colder sites where good winter and wind tolerance supports UK‑wide logistics. Planned as bush‑trained with discreet support in 5–7 L premium containers, the development arc from root establishment in year one, framework building in year two and full ornamental value from year three simplifies crop scheduling and release planning for specialty channels.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- Historic 5–7 L collector shrub – Premium bush-trained, discreetly supported plants in 5–7 L, focused on intense fragrance and historic character, serve as flagship items in premium container, specialty ranges – target audience/channel: retail/collector.
- Curated park and specimen line – Own-root, medium-vigorous shrubs selected for form and winter hardiness, supplied in step-up containers for landscape use in thematic rose gardens – target audience/channel: public-realm suppliers and landscape nurseries.
- Fragrant exhibition heritage series – Batch-selected plants with optimal flower form and stem quality for exhibition historical shrub rose and fragrant cut-flower promotion, branded within a heritage series – target audience/channel: specialist nurseries and show-focused partners.
- Cold-climate heritage hedge pack – Multi-unit offer optimised for hedge and boundary projects, leveraging hardy own-root stock for long-lived, low-replacement lines – target audience/channel: nursery networks serving northern and high-exposure sites.
- Gene-bank and collection stock – Verified-origin own-root plants positioned as maintenance and back-up stock for historic rose collections, supporting long-term cultivar conservation – target audience/channel: botanic gardens, estates, and specialist collection holders.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
KÖNIGIN VON DÄNEMARK, also traded as Queen of Denmark, a historic Alba/Centifolia shrub rose within the Historic rose collection; unregistered variety with verified identity for professional own-root use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Selected by James Booth from a seedling of ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ (R. × alba), bred around 1816 in Flottbeck, then Denmark (now Hamburg), and introduced commercially by James Booth & Sons Nursery in 1826. |
| Awards and recognition |
Holds the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, first granted in 1993, confirming reliable garden performance and ornamental value under practical conditions relevant to professional UK production and planting. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy shrub with 120–180 cm height and 100–160 cm spread, moderately dense, matt grey-green foliage and almost thornless shoots, giving a manageable yet substantial framework for hedging, beds and specimen roles. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, very full rosette flowers with 40+ petals, solitary on stems; blooms once per season rather than repeating, offering a concentrated, classic historic rose display suitable for specialist and collection-focused use. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Pale, powder-pink overall with slightly deeper centre; ARS Lp and RHS 65D outer, 65C inner; opens pastel pink, then fades towards almost white, with stronger colour retention in cooler weather and faster lightening in strong sun. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very strongly scented, garden-filling classic rose fragrance, full-bodied and traditional in character; highly suitable where scent is a primary selection criterion for premium historic shrub, exhibition or collector-driven product lines. |
| Hip characteristics |
Hip production is generally poor due to very double flowers; where formed, hips are ovoid, orange-red (RHS 40A), around 14–22 mm in diameter, with limited relevance for commercial fruit or decorative hip production. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Moderate tolerance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust, suited to professional regimes with regular care; hardy to approx. -32 to -29 °C (USDA 4b, RHS H7, Swedish Zon 5), enabling reliable use in colder UK and northern sites. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best used as specimen, park, hedge or bed shrub; medium maintenance, needing regular pruning and feeding to sustain bloom quality; recommended as bush-trained with discreet support in 5–7 L premium containers for specialty channels. |
KÖNIGIN VON DÄNEMARK offers hardy, fragrant historic shrub performance with almost thornless, well-structured growth on own roots, supporting predictable, long-lived stands for premium specialty ranges; please contact us to align capacities and scheduling.
