PERLA NEGRA – dark red hybrid tea rose - Delbard
With its velvety, almost black-red blooms, PERLA NEGRA brings a sense of theatre to even modest family gardens, creating a romantic backdrop that feels made for afternoon conversations and quiet evenings. This hybrid tea rose flowers repeatedly from early summer, producing large, high-centred, cut-rose style blooms ideal for vases and home arrangements. Grown on its own roots, it develops steadily into a durable garden feature, with an easy-care rhythm that suits busy households. Plant once and enjoy a long-lived shrub that forms deep, anchoring roots and copes reliably with exposed spots where strong winds and driving rain can test less robust varieties, while the bushy, upright habit and dark foliage give year-round structure and a classically romantic presence.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Main rose bed in a family garden |
Large, high-centred, dark velvety blooms give a classic hybrid tea focus in a mixed rose bed, with remontant flowering keeping colour returning through the season for dependable structure and display, ideal for hobby gardeners. |
| Feature by a seating area or arbour |
The almost black-red flowers read as “Black Pearl” accents, adding drama without overwhelming small spaces; the bushy, upright habit frames benches and arbours beautifully, creating a romantic, storybook atmosphere for cottage-style lovers. |
| Cutting corner near the kitchen door |
Solitary, long-stemmed, high-centred blooms are perfect for cutting; repeated flushes mean you can take stems for the house without stripping the plant, making it a rewarding, low-effort flower source for home arrangers. |
| Container on terrace or courtyard |
Its upright, compact spread works well in a substantial pot; in a 40–50 litre container with good drainage, it provides vertical accent and season-long colour for smaller urban gardens, suiting busy city homeowners. |
| Part-shaded cottage-style border |
This variety tolerates partial shade, so it can be used where walls, fences or shrubs cast shadow for part of the day, extending rose planting into trickier spots for space-conscious gardeners. |
| Mixed planting with cottage perennials |
The dark red, velvety flowers stand out against pale or airy companions such as yarrow and verbena, fitting seamlessly into a “girly” English-countryside palette that appeals to romantic traditionalists. |
| Exposed, wind-prone front garden |
With a bushy, upright framework and own-root stability, the shrub anchors well over time and offers a reliable display even where strong winds and driven rain are common, reassuring for coastal homeowners. |
| Low-maintenance long-term planting |
Own-root growth offers a long lifespan and easy regeneration: roots build first, shoots strengthen in the second year and by the third season you can enjoy full ornamental value, ideal for patient planners. |
Styling ideas
- Tea-table drama – Plant PERLA NEGRA near a small bistro set with soft cream cushions, letting dark blooms contrast with pale textiles – perfect for homeowners who like refined afternoon tea moments.
- Cottage tapestry – Weave it into a mixed border with Achillea and verbena, adding dusky depth among pinks and pastels – ideal for fans of informal English cottage planting.
- Courtyard focus – Grow one shrub in a 40–50 litre terracotta pot, underplanted with low herbs, to create a focal point by the back door – suits compact urban and courtyard gardens.
- Evening glow – Pair its velvety burgundy-red flowers with soft outdoor lighting and pale gravel or paving so blooms read clearly at dusk – appealing to those who use the garden after work.
- Front-garden welcome – Line a short path with spaced specimens, underplanted with low catmint, to form a welcoming, traditional approach – attractive to families wanting classic kerb appeal.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as DELurt, traded as PERLA NEGRA / Perle Noire; dark red, exhibition-type flowers classified within the Hybrid Tea commercial and rose group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Georges Delbard, Roseraies Georges Delbard, France, from complex hybrid tea parentage including ‘Impeccable’, ‘Papa Meilland’ and others; introduced and registered in 1976. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, upright shrub 85–115 cm tall and 50–70 cm wide, with moderately dense, matte dark green foliage and moderate prickles; spent blooms need deadheading as self-cleaning is weak. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, high-centred blooms with 26–39 petals, borne mainly singly on stems; pointed, cut-rose style buds and prolific repeat flowering with a strong second flush in season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Deep, velvety dark red tending to black; ARS dR, RHS 187A/53B; colour holds well in sun, later softening towards muted mauve while retaining a rich, velvety surface on the petals. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very weak scent with a delicate, classical rosy character only lightly noticeable on close inspection; chosen primarily as an ornamental variety for flower form and colour impact. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hips form only occasionally because of the double flower form; where present, small 10–14 mm ellipsoid, orange-red hips may appear later in the season in limited numbers. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to about −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7, USDA 6b, Swedish zone 3); good heat tolerance with watering in long droughts; black spot resistant, moderate to powdery mildew and rust. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Use as specimen, in beds, hedging rhythm or containers; spacing 50–90 cm, 2.8–3.2 plants/m²; moderate care with occasional plant protection and regular deadheading for best display. |
PERLA NEGRA offers velvety dark blooms, reliable repeat flowering and a stable, long-lived own-root shrub for small to medium gardens, making it a cultured choice if you wish to invest once and enjoy it for years.
