DELABY – orange climbing rose – Georges Delbard
Planted by a cottage gate or arched over a terrace, this rose creates a softly perfumed backdrop for afternoon tea, combining romance, warm colour and rich fragrance with a reassuringly easy-going nature. As an own-root climber it offers long-term stability, quietly rebuilding itself from the base if weather or pruning are less than perfect, and settling in reliably even where strong winds and rain ask a little more of garden plants. Vigorous yet manageable growth makes it simple to guide along fences, arbours or pergolas, while its remontant flowering habit gives generous flushes of blooms through summer. In an average family garden you can enjoy this dependable structure-builder from the first season in the ground, with roots establishing, shoots extending and full character unfolding over the first few years as it becomes part of your everyday routine.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Arbour or pergola in a family seating area |
The strong, fruity-citrus perfume and warm orange to peach-pink blooms create a storybook frame for a seating area, while its vigorous climbing habit quickly clothes an arbour without demanding complex care, ideal for relaxed beginners. |
| Romantic cottage-style front garden |
Trained on a house wall or beside the front door, this upright climber gives repeated colour through the season, with good disease resistance reducing the need for spraying, suiting those who want charm and impact with modest effort, especially busy homeowners. |
| Flowering screen on fences and boundaries |
Used at 120–200 cm spacing, it forms a tall, decorative screen with moderately dense, glossy foliage and long-lived own-root durability, so the hedge keeps its ornamental value year after year, reassuring practically minded families. |
| Feature rose on arches and pillars |
Clustered, medium-sized blooms and flexible, climbing canes are easy to tie in along arches or pillars, giving a traditional cottage-garden look with repeating flushes and minimal specialist pruning, attractive for romantic-style gardeners. |
| Warm, sunny side of small to medium patios |
This heat-tolerant climber thrives against a warm wall, needing only regular watering in prolonged dry spells to maintain flowering, offering reliable colour and scent near everyday living spaces for time-pressed residents. |
| Large containers for rented or paved spaces |
In a 40–50 litre or larger container, its upright climbing habit can be trained onto a freestanding obelisk, giving vertical interest and fragrance where borders are limited, a flexible solution appreciated by mobile tenants. |
| Cutting garden and kitchen-garden edge |
Very full, cup-shaped flowers on clustered stems make attractive scented stems for the house, while the plant’s own-root stamina and remontant flowering support years of repeat picking, rewarding creatively minded flower-lovers. |
| Exposed family gardens needing resilient structure |
With proven disease resistance and solid hardiness down to around -20 °C, this climber copes well in ordinary British gardens where wind and rain can be persistent, giving a steady, low-fuss backbone for cautious starters. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage-Arbour Romance – Train DELABY over a wooden arbour, underplant with lavender and soft pink perennials for a dreamy cottage entrance – ideal for nostalgic homeowners seeking a storybook feel.
- Kitchen-Garden Edge – Let it climb a rustic fence beside herbs and vegetables, providing scented cut flowers and gentle screening between productive and play areas – suited to family cooks who love homegrown abundance.
- Terrace Tea Corner – Grow it on a pergola above a small patio table, pairing with pots of lavender and herbs for an intimate, fragrant tea spot – perfect for busy couples wanting easy, atmospheric colour.
- Soft-Privacy Screen – Space plants along a boundary and weave canes onto wires to form a floral curtain that softens views rather than fully blocking them – appealing to neighbours who value privacy with charm.
- Paved-Court Obelisk – In a large 50-litre tub, train stems up an obelisk among pale roses and hydrangeas for a warm focal point – a good option for urban gardeners working mainly with hard landscaping.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
DELABY – orange climbing rose – Georges Delbard; commercial climbing rose in the Fragrant Memories of Love collection, also known in exhibition circles as Papi Delbard, classified as a large-flowered climber. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Georges Delbard before 1992 in Malicorne, France; parentage not recorded. Introduced in 1995 by Pépinières et Roseraies Georges Delbard / Georges Delbard SA as a vigorous, scented climbing garden rose. |
| Awards and recognition |
Highly regarded exhibition climber with multiple awards: Gold Medal Baden-Baden 1992, Gold Medal Monza 1992, Silver Medal Courtrai 1994, Certificate of Merit Orléans 1998, confirming strong ornamental value. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Vigorous, upright climbing habit with rambling tendencies, forming long canes for training on walls, pergolas and arches. Moderately dense, slightly glossy, mid to dark green foliage offers a balanced, decorative canopy. |
| Flower morphology |
Very full, double blooms with 26–39 petals, cup-shaped with a slight rosette character. Medium-sized clustered flowers, typically 3–5 per stem, delivering a generous display in each flush through the growing season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid mid-orange with peach undertones; buds deep orange-red. RHS 67B outer, 24C inner; colour softens from rich orange to peachy-pink and lighter pastel tones as blooms open, with moderate overall colour retention. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Strong, pronounced perfume with rich, fruity notes combining citrus and peach over a classic rose base. Densely double flowers hide stamens, so pollinator value is modest and the variety is grown mainly for decoration. |
| Hip characteristics |
Forms small, ornamental red hips around 5–10 mm across; hips add discrete seasonal interest in late season but are not recommended for human consumption or culinary use, remaining primarily a visual feature. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Shows good disease resistance, reported resistant to powdery mildew, black spot and rust. Hardy approximately to -20 to -15 °C (RHS H6, Swedish zone 1–2, USDA 6b), performing reliably in many temperate regions. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in warm, sunny, not scorching positions with regular watering during prolonged heat. Medium maintenance; space 120–300 cm depending on use, and provide sturdy support, tying in new canes to shape the framework. |
DELABY – orange climbing rose – Georges Delbard combines vigorous, easy-to-train growth, richly scented repeat flowering and the long-term resilience of an own-root climber, making it a thoughtful choice for lasting garden structure and pleasure.
