WALTZ TIME™ – mauve hybrid tea rose – Delbard-Chabert
Step outside for a few minutes of calm and you will understand why WALTZ TIME™ has charmed gardeners for decades: a classic hybrid tea in soft mauve-pink, perfect for an Irish cottage border or a small city front garden. Its bushy, compact habit fits neatly into family plots, while its own-root planting gives reassuring stability and a naturally long, dependable life. Large, cupped blooms open one by one on strong stems, ideal for cutting, and carry a gentle, rose-scented fragrance that never overwhelms. Designed for those who like things orderly but not fussy, it asks only moderate care and occasional grooming of spent flowers. Over time it settles confidently into typical Irish conditions, coping well with cool summers and the kind of rainfall that brings soft green light to the garden. Plant once and enjoy a graceful development – roots establishing in year one, bolder shoots and flowers in year two, and full ornamental character by year three – rewarding your quiet patience with long-lasting, sentimental beauty.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Feature rose in a cottage-style front garden bed |
Its bushy, upright habit and refined mauve blooms give an instant “grown-up girly” focus near the front door, looking well with low perennials and a painted gate – perfect for homeowners who enjoy gentle colour and romance, especially beginners. |
| Cut-flower row along a sunny path |
Extra-large, solitary flowers on strong stems are made for vases, and regular cutting encourages more blooms through the season, offering reliable bunches for the kitchen table – ideal for those who like bringing garden flowers indoors, including hobby-gardeners. |
| Mixed border in a small to medium family garden |
Moderate height and dense, dark foliage help it sit comfortably among shrubs and perennials, adding structure without overwhelming the space – suiting busy families who want tidy beds with minimal fuss, especially homeowners. |
| Single specimen near a seating area |
Planted as a solitary rose at 90 cm spacing, it develops into a graceful, long-lived bush that you can enjoy at eye level, the subtle scent and changing mauve tones rewarding quiet moments outdoors – appealing to reflective, nature-oriented buyers. |
| Informal low hedge along a path or driveway |
At 50 cm spacing it forms a soft, flowering line that guides the eye without creating a hard barrier, and own-root plants regrow well if cut back after a tough winter – useful for practical, low-maintenance-minded gardeners. |
| Large container on a sunny urban terrace |
In a 40–50 litre pot with good drainage, its compact footprint and repeat flowering give months of colour on balconies or paved yards where borders are not possible – ideal for city-dwellers turning small outdoor spots into retreats, especially urbanites. |
| Rose bed in typical Irish clay soil |
With sensible drainage and mulching, its moderate vigour and own-root resilience suit heavier soils and cool summers, maintaining ornamental value even when the weather is changeable with frequent soft rain – reassuring for weather-conscious Irish gardeners. |
| Sentimental “memory corner” planting |
The timeless hybrid tea form, long flowering season and gentle colour shifts from mauve-pink to silvery tones make it fitting for a quiet corner, where long-lived own-root plants provide continuity over many years – comforting for reflective, memory-keeping owners. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage-Romantic Trio – Combine WALTZ TIME™ with Lychnis alpina ‘Magenta’ and dwarf artemisia for a soft mauve–silver palette – for cottage-garden lovers wanting a feminine yet grown-up front border.
- Cutting-Row Elegance – Plant a straight line of bushes with easy access on both sides to harvest XL blooms for vases – for home florists who enjoy arranging their own garden roses.
- Silver-Accent Corner – Pair its dark foliage and mauve flowers with blue globe thistle and other silver-leaved perennials – for gardeners who appreciate structured, contemporary planting with a romantic twist.
- Doorstep Welcome – Place one plant in a 40–50 litre pot by the front step, underplanted with low herbs or violas – for busy urban households seeking a simple, tidy splash of colour.
- Memory-Bed Harmony – Group three plants at recommended spacing to frame a bench or small ornament, letting their long-season blooms mark the passing months – for those creating a reflective, sentimental corner in the garden.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as DELtos, traded as WALTZ TIME™ hybrid tea rose DELtos; American Rose Society exhibition name Saint-Exupéry, from the Rós taehibride commercial group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by André Delbard-Chabert in France, 1961, for Delbard; parentage (Christopher Stone × Marcelle Gret) × (Holstein × Bayadère [1951]); initially distributed by Georges Delbard SA. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy hybrid tea shrub 85–120 cm high and 50–70 cm wide, with dense, slightly glossy dark green foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a well-filled, upright plant in borders or as a specimen. |
| Flower morphology |
Large solitary cupped blooms over 10 cm, fully double with 26–39 petals, on medium-height hybrid tea stems; remontant habit with a generous second flowering flush, but weak natural self-cleaning of spent flowers. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Mauve-pink flowers with silvery-lilac sheen; buds medium-dark mauve pink, opening to pastel mauve then fading to powdery lavender-pink, with colour lightening and slightly fading in strong sun to a silvery tone. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Delicate rose fragrance with mild intensity, noticeable at close range but not overpowering, making it suitable for seating areas and cut flowers for indoor enjoyment without overwhelming sensitive noses. |
| Hip characteristics |
Produces a small number of ovoid, orange-red hips about 10–14 mm in diameter; hips are mainly ornamental in late season and of limited significance for wildlife or culinary use in typical gardens. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (H7, USDA 6b), with moderate resistance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust; benefits from routine care and occasional plant protection in humid, disease-prone seasons. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun, in well-drained but moisture-retentive soil; recommended 60 cm spacing for beds, 50 cm for low hedges, 90 cm as solitary plants, about 2.8–3.2 plants/m² in formal mass or hexagonal layouts. |
WALTZ TIME™ offers large mauve blooms for cutting, graceful structure in small gardens and the quiet reliability of a long-lived own-root rose, making it a thoughtful choice if you would like enduring, gently romantic colour.
