The intensity of the colors will vary depending on the climate. The more sunlight, the more striking the crimson edging will be. But even in cooler more overcast areas, Double Delight is still a beautiful rose. While it does bear a slight passing resemblance to that other old favorite, Peace, this has much stronger coloration and fragrance.
About Double Delight
Last spring I was visiting some friends that had moved into a new house, and of course I couldn’t resist looking around the garden… at the roses in particular.They were unsure what ones they had as none of them were tagged, so I was trying to identify them.
One bush that was just starting to come into bloom caught my eye, and from a distance the flowers looked much like Peace. But as I got closer, it was obviously Double Delight. The stronger sharper colors gave it away. And as soon as I put my nose to one of the blooms, any doubts disappeared. For some reason, I have never been able to detect much scent with Peace, but have always found Double Delight to be wonderfully fragrant. We grow this at home (as a standard, not shrub), so I’ reasonably familiar with it
What can make identification a little difficult, is the fact that the colors can vary a great deal, even on two plants in the same garden. On more than one occassion, I have had people tell me “that is my Peace rose” when in fact it wasn’t. It just looks vaguely similar, so they just assume they have Peace, when in fact they have Double Delight.
Peace v Double Delight. Description
During the initial stages, the flowers can be almost plain white (although this is not always the case!). Towards maturity a red hue starts to develop on the edges of the petals changing into a cherry red as it moves towards the centre of the flower. This looks fairly similar to another red blend rose, Fire and Ice. This “red-spread” is controlled by the amount of ultra-violet light falling on the rose and is a clear sign that it favors the sunnier climates. The blossoms are relatively large and blooms mostly as single flowers, however it is not uncommon to find two or three blossoms at the end of a sturdy stem.
As for the confusion with Peace. The scent test is always a giveaway I think. Even if you are one of those that can detect the fragrance of Peace, it will never be as strong as Double Delight. Next, the yellow center… with double Delight this is a stronger color. The red edging is also different, and Peace tend to appear more “washed out” in comparison. A blush pink. Also, Peace does have larger blooms.
Growing Double Delight
As already mentioned, this will be at its best in hotter sunnier climates. But even in cooler climes, if you plant it where it gets full sun it will still give a great display.
It’s not particularly prone to disease, although it might suffer from powdery mildew if the conditions are favorable for that. But a quick spray with a fungicide should keep it under control.
- Parentage: Granada x Garden Party
- Awards: Rose Hall of Fame, 1985