Rosa "Dame de Coeur", 2 l pot

• Type: hybrid tea rose (large-flowered)
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Dame de Coeur'
• Origin: bred by Louis Lens (Belgium, 1958)
• Height and spread: 80–120 cm tall, 50–70 cm wide
• Flowering: repeat flowering in flushes from June to autumn; cherry-red, slightly velvety, very large (up to 15 cm) full blooms (26–40 petals), high-centred, mostly one per stem
• Fragrance: light to strong fragrance (sources differ)
• Light: full sun, at least 6 hours a day
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, pH 6–6.5, free-draining
• Hardiness: USDA 4b–5; very hardy for a hybrid tea; in Estonia still mound with soil and cover with spruce boughs, protect from late spring frosts
• Disease resistance: healthy in a good site, but may get powdery mildew in wet summers
• Use: rose gardens, beds, cutting
• Size: potted rose plant

Planting. Potted roses can be planted from spring to early October. Choose a sunny spot (at least 6 hours of sun a day) with good air flow and fertile, loose, loamy, slightly acid soil (pH 6–6.5) that does not stay waterlogged. Dig a 50×50 cm hole and set the graft union 3–5 cm below the surface. Space plants 40–50 cm apart.

Watering and feeding. Water deeply but infrequently — 10–15 L per plant once or twice a week in dry spells, at the base, not over the leaves. Feed with a nitrogen or complete rose fertiliser in spring, a complete feed in June–July, and from late July only potassium and phosphorus without nitrogen so the stems ripen before winter. A compost mulch keeps the soil moist.

Care. In spring, after removing the winter cover, cut stems back to 3–5 buds (15–25 cm) and remove weak and frost-damaged wood. In summer cut spent blooms back to the first full leaf to speed up the next flush. Winter protection is not essential; to be safe, mound the base 15–20 cm high in autumn.

Gardener's tip. Very hardy for a hybrid tea; in Estonia still mound with soil and cover with spruce boughs, protect from late spring frosts. To keep 'Dame de Coeur' healthy (healthy in a good site, but may get powdery mildew in wet summers), plant it in an open, airy spot and clear fallen leaves in autumn.