Kiftsgate rose or Rosa Amaglia
by Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association
Latin name: Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' or 'Amaglia'
Note: Rosa ‘Amaglia’ is similar to R. ‘Kiftsgate’ with single creamy white slightly fragrant flowers but much slower growing
Photos: Rosa filipes "Amaglia"
Photo courtesy of: Kay Howard
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Form: |
Shrub (vigorous climbing, deciduous shrub) |
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Foliage: |
Form: pinnate, 8–14cm long, with 5-7 leaflets Arrangement: alternate Texture, Venation Heavily veined, leathery, pinnate venation Compound leaf: Odd, pinnate |
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Height/Width: |
Robust, vigorous, rampant, fragrant, rambler best suited to climbing into trees, covering buildings or a very large pergola or walls. Large thorns Height: 8 to 12+ meters Width: 4 to 8 meters |
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Hardiness Zone: |
Zone 5A (-20 to -15 C) |
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Exposure: |
Full sun, partial shade |
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Flower colour: |
It bears massive heads of small, creamy cup shaped white flowers 2 to 2.5 cm. in diameter with a strong, musky fragrance. They are held in beautiful, flat-topped, cascading clusters – known as corymbs – with each flower facing outwards and up to 100 flowers in the corymb.Masses of small, oval shaped, coral-red hips follow the flowers. These are 8 to 15 mm in diameter. |
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Leaf colour: |
Light green |
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Flower time: |
June to August |
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Preferred soil & watering: |
Sand, clay, chalk, loam but prefers fertile humus-rich soil pH: Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
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Other: |
Pruning Requirements: Prune in the autumn after the flowers start to fade. First remove dead, diseased or dying branches. Tie in any new shoots and remove any really old branches if the plant is heavily congested - this will stimulate new growth. Prune side branches growing from the main framework, cutting them back to leave two to three leaf buds.
Landscape Uses: It is occasionally grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, valued for its fragrance and unusually large clusters of flowers compared to other roses, sometimes also for its size, and its ability to climb into trees. For those that have the room for it to reach its full potential, this is a superb variety. Pest Susceptibility: May be subject to black spot, rose rust, powdery mildews and downy mildew |