I have been able to find out very little about this Rose. Im not sure why, but there appears to be very little documentation on Horburns, so if anyone can provide details about it?
I came across this rose for the first – and only – time, in 2007. That was in NZ at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. The sign for it stated it is a Hybrid Tea, but I suspect that is not correct. I have to say, it did appear more like a Floribunda to me, with smaller flowers in tresses. I didn’t detect any scent, that I can recall at least.
The color was what attracted me to it, very close to a true purple which is fairly rare in the world of roses.
Very little information appears to be available about Horburns. HelpMeFind lists ‘Horburns’ as a rose and notes that the name may be the registered name of a Colin Horner rose. Another image listing describes Rosa ‘Horburns’ as a cluster-flowered Floribunda shrub rose. This is interesting, because when I saw it at Christchurch Botanic Gardens in 2007, the plant label described it as a Hybrid Tea, although its smaller clustered flowers made it appear more Floribunda-like to me.
It’s a mystery!