BLUE MONDAY® – lavender purple tea-hybrid rose - Tantau
Step outside for a moment with BLUE MONDAY® and you meet a soft, lavender glow that feels like a quiet, cheerful escape after the working day, even when Irish skies are grey and showers roll in on the breeze. This classic hybrid tea offers elegant, long-stemmed blooms with a nostalgic, high-centred silhouette, perfect for cutting, while its medium, fruity fragrance lends cottage-garden charm to a compact Dublin front plot. Own-root planting means the shrub matures steadily, keeping its colour and form dependable for years with just simple pruning and deadheading, giving you reassuring stability instead of fussy, high-maintenance care. With reliable remontant flowering and good disease resilience, it copes well with Irish humidity and rainfall provided the soil drains freely, turning a small border into a softly lit, romantic haven. Over time, as roots strengthen and branches build, you will see it progress from a modest first-year plant to a fuller second-year shrub and, by the third season, a richly flowering garden centrepiece.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Cottage-style mixed border in a family garden |
The upright habit and classic hybrid tea form give height and structure, while the lavender tones blend beautifully with traditional perennials in an Irish cottage border; over successive seasons its own-root vigour builds into a long-lived focal shrub for beginners. |
| Front garden feature by a doorway or path |
Compact height, glossy foliage and high-centred blooms create a neat, formal accent that still feels romantic, ideal for greeting guests at the gate or near a front step, offering reliable repeat flowering with minimal care for homeowners. |
| Cutting patch or dedicated cut-flower row |
Long, straight stems and large, high-centred flowers give exhibition-style blooms that last well in the vase, so one or two plants can supply regular indoor arrangements through the season, suiting detail-loving but time-poor urbanites. |
| Single-species rose bed for strong colour impact |
Planted at the recommended spacing, its steady, remontant flowering and uniform habit create a coherent, lavender-purple drift; as the own-root plants mature, the bed gains depth and stability with relatively light routine care for families. |
| Small terrace or patio in a large container |
In a 40–50 litre pot with good drainage, one shrub becomes a portable highlight of lilac-blue flowers and scent, easy to tend from a hard surface and ideal where borders are limited, particularly appreciated by container-focused gardeners. |
| Rose hedge or low dividing line in the garden |
Regular spacing and the upright habit can form a low, semi-formal line that subtly screens spaces without feeling heavy, with repeat lavender flowering softening boundaries over many years for privacy-seeking neighbours. |
| Feature plant in clay soil with improved drainage |
In heavier Irish soils, planting into a raised or well-drained spot lets its disease resistance shine despite humid, showery weather, giving you flowers without constant spraying or fuss, suiting environmentally aware gardeners. |
| Long-term “legacy” rose in a family garden plan |
As an own-root rose, it regenerates well from the base after pruning or weather damage, keeping its true variety traits over many seasons and becoming a stable, sentimental fixture in the garden for forward-planning buyers. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage Charm – weave BLUE MONDAY® between foxgloves, hardy geraniums and soft grasses for a relaxed, romantic cottage feel – ideal for nostalgic, nature-loving households
- Urban Welcome – place a single plant on either side of a Dublin terrace doorway in tall 50 litre containers for a tidy yet fragrant entrance – perfect for busy city dwellers
- Lavender Drift – mass-plant in a narrow bed, underplanting with Nepeta and silver foliage for a cool-toned ribbon of colour – suited to design-conscious homeowners
- Cutting Corner – dedicate a sunny strip with BLUE MONDAY® flanked by Liatris and Crocosmia to provide armfuls of stems for the vase – great for creative flower arrangers
- Evening Retreat – combine with glaucous Carex and white perennials so the silvery blooms catch late light, making a gentle dusk seating area – appealing to relaxation-focused gardeners
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose; registered as TANnacht, traded as Blue Monday® Hybrid tea rose TANnacht, also known in exhibition circles as Blue Moon; premium gold merit rating. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Mathias Tantau Jr. at Rosen Tantau, Germany; cross of ‘Sterling Silver’ seedling × unknown seedling; introduced and registered in 1964, initially distributed by NIRP International. |
| Awards and recognition |
Holds the prestigious ADR designation awarded in 1964, recognising a balanced combination of ornamental value, garden performance and health; National Rose Society Certificate of Merit in the same year. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright hybrid tea shrub, typically 85–115 cm high with a 75–105 cm spread; moderately thorny with moderately dense, dark green glossy foliage, forming a tidy, vertical accent in beds or containers. |
| Flower morphology |
Classic high-centred, pointed buds opening to large, double blooms with 26–39 petals; solitary flowers on stems of cut-flower quality; strongly remontant with a notably abundant second flush in season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Cool lavender-purple tones with silvery tints; ARS code M, RHS 75A outer and 75C inner; colour softens in strong sun, but in cooler weather the lilac-blue hue and greying margins remain attractively persistent. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Medium strength, sweet fruity fragrance typical of classic tea hybrids; noticeable at close range and around seating areas, making it suitable for sensory gardens and cutting for scented indoor arrangements. |
| Hip characteristics |
Due to the double flower form, hips are sparse; when present they are small, spherical, around 12–18 mm, orange-red and globular, offering occasional late-season interest rather than a primary display feature. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated resistant to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (USDA 6b, RHS H7), performing reliably in most Irish gardens with regular watering in hot spells. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with fertile, well-drained soil; recommended spacing 55–100 cm depending on use; water consistently in dry periods, deadhead weakly self-cleaning blooms, and prune annually to renew flowering wood. |
BLUE MONDAY® offers elegant lavender blooms for cutting, dependable disease resistance and long-term own-root resilience, making it a thoughtful choice for those planning a lasting, low-fuss rose in their garden.
