DELROSAR – pale pink climbing rose – Delbard
Step out your door into soft Irish light and let Billet Doux, the romantic DELrosar climber, lace your walls and arches with pale pink, delicately veined blooms. Bred by Delbard for its fragrance, it offers a medium, clearly noticeable perfume that turns a simple walk under raindrops into gentle contentment. This large-flowered climber repeats generously, so you enjoy long seasons of colour even in summers that are short and cool, while its own-root form promises a quietly persistent, long-lived presence in your garden. Once planted with decent drainage that copes well with Irish rainfall, Billet Doux settles in, extending plenty of flowering shoots by year two and revealing its full ornamental charm by about the third summer.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Cottage-style front garden arch |
Train Billet Doux over a small metal or wooden arch to frame your front path with romantic, cup-shaped blooms and a medium, noticeable scent that greets you as you pass, especially lovely for fragrance-focused beginners. |
| House wall or sunny fence |
Use its 240–360 cm height and dense, dark green foliage to soften a plain wall or timber fence, enjoying repeat flushes that keep the surface in flower for much of the season, ideal for busy homeowners. |
| Arbour or pergola seating area |
Let its rambling habit and very full clustered flowers spill along beams, creating a private, softly scented corner where petals fall cleanly thanks to good self-cleaning, suiting relaxed garden strollers. |
| Romantic side-return walkway |
In narrow Dublin side passages, fan the canes along tensioned wires so blooms sit at head height, making a short, everyday walk feel special without demanding complex care from time-poor urban gardeners. |
| Feature climber in small family garden |
As a single specimen at around 240 cm spacing, it gives a generous vertical display from limited ground space, perfect where play areas and patios compete for room, well suited to compact-family-garden planners. |
| Partially shaded boundary |
On a boundary that sees morning or late-afternoon light, its tolerance of partial shade still allows good flowering, making softer corners usable for colour without fuss for practical space-conscious owners. |
| Long-lived structure planting |
On its own roots it establishes steadily and, once settled, offers a stable, long-term presence that can recover from pruning or winter damage more easily, reassuring those planning gardens for the long term families. |
| Clay soil garden with improved drainage |
Where Irish clay holds water, a raised planting spot with grit and compost lets its roots thrive; once anchored, it copes reliably through cool, damp spells and frequent soft showers, appealing to realistically minded gardeners. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage Arch Romance – Train Billet Doux over a slim arch with Japanese anemones at the base for a fluttering, pastel cottage look – ideal for lovers of soft, nostalgic gardens.
- Front-Fence Greeting – Fan stems along a low front fence, underplanting with blue sedge for neat contrast and easy upkeep – for tidy, low-maintenance-focused homeowners.
- Pergola Reading Nook – Let its scented blooms drape a small pergola, with Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ adding fiery splashes nearby – perfect for evening readers who enjoy gentle fragrance.
- Romantic Side Passage – Wire a narrow side-return and alternate rose canes with airy ornamental grasses – suited to urban gardeners wanting charm in overlooked spaces.
- Soft-Contrast Wall – Against a dark-painted wall, pair its pale-pink flowers with silver-leaved perennials for year-round texture – attractive to design-conscious cottage and terrace owners.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Large-flowered climbing rose, registered as DELrosar, marketed as Billet Doux in the Intense Fragrances collection; commercial climber type within the Irish Rós dreapadó group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Georges Delbard in France and introduced in 2010, with Pépinières et Roseraies Georges Delbard as breeder and Georges Delbard SA as initial distributor; parentage remains undocumented. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Rambling climber reaching about 240–360 cm high and 90–150 cm wide, moderately thorny, with dense, slightly glossy dark green foliage providing good coverage of supports and screening value. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, 7–10 cm, very full, cup-shaped blooms with 40+ petals borne mostly in clusters; repeat-flowering with an especially abundant second flush and good natural self-cleaning of spent flowers. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Pale pink petals finely striped cream-white (RHS 65C–65D); striping blurs as flowers open, fading to creamy white, particularly in strong sun; overall colour retention is good for a softly toned climber. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Part of the Intense Fragrances collection, offering a medium-strength, pleasantly noticeable scent with a delicately rosy character that is easily appreciated around paths, seating areas and entrances. |
| Hip characteristics |
Moderate production of ellipsoidal orange-red hips, about 10–14 mm in diameter, forming a discreet autumn feature without overwhelming the supporting structure or nearby planting schemes. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Winter hardy to around −21 to −18 °C (H7, USDA 6b, Swedish zone 3); disease resistance is moderate to powdery mildew, black spot and rust, requiring occasional monitoring and timely care. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best on walls, fences, arches, arbours or pergolas, at 140–240 cm spacing; suitable for partial shade; allow 0.4–0.5 plants/m² in mass planting, and use containers of at least 40–50 litres if pot-grown. |
DELrosar offers romantic repeat flowering, a clearly noticeable rosy fragrance and reassuring long life on its own roots, making it a thoughtful choice for Irish gardeners seeking lasting vertical interest.
