About Lady Ann Kidwell Bare-Root Rose Bush

Rosa ‘Lady Ann Kidwell’ — Lady Ann Kidwell
🧬 Breeder: Alfred Krebs (1948)
🌹 A rare and romantic “sweetheart polyantha” with elegant cerise blooms, graceful sprays, and old-world charm.

Lady Ann Kidwell is a truly enchanting antique-style Polyantha rose, beloved by collectors for its airy sprays of deep pink to cerise blooms, long elegant buds, and wonderfully graceful growth habit. Often compared to the famous Cecile Brunner, this rare beauty offers slightly larger flowers with a more dramatic, richly colored presence.

The blooms open from pointed, elongated buds into softly quilled, loosely double flowers with a charming, ribbon-like appearance. Their color shifts beautifully through the seasons — from bright cerise pink to deeper magenta-purple tones in warmer weather — giving the plant a luminous, ever-changing quality in the garden.

💐 Plant & Flower Traits

🌹 Rose Type: Polyantha / “Sweetheart Polyantha”
🎨 Color: Deep pink, cerise, and magenta tones
🌸 Bloom Form: Loosely double blooms with quilled petals and elegant, airy sprays
🌼 Petal Count: Approximately 17–25 petals
📏 Bloom Size: Approximately 2.5–4 inches depending on climate and season
🌼 Fragrance: Mild to moderate sweet fragrance
🔁 Flowering Habit: Exceptionally repeat flowering and nearly continuous blooming
🌿 Foliage: Dark blue-green to deep green healthy foliage
✂️ Cut Flower Use: Excellent for cutting — blooms hold beautifully in arrangements

🏡 Growth & Garden Habits

🌱 Growth Habit: Vigorous, graceful shrub with arching canes and airy form
↕️ Height: Approximately 5–6 ft, larger in warm climates
↔️ Width: Broad, fountain-like spread
☀️ Light Requirements: Full sun to partial sun
❄️ Hardiness: USDA Zones 6–9
🛡️ Disease Resistance: Noted for strong disease resistance in many climates
🌿 Garden Use: Cottage gardens, antique rose collections, cutting gardens, and informal hedges

💛 Why Grace Rose Farm Loves It

Lady Ann Kidwell has an almost storybook quality in the garden. The blooms appear like loose satin bows floating above graceful foliage, creating movement and softness that few roses can match. Its nearly constant flowering, elegant buds, and romantic coloration make it a rose that feels both nostalgic and endlessly charming. This is the kind of rose that invites you to slow down, cut a few long sprays for the house, and fall in love with antique roses all over again.

🌿 Growing & Care Recommendations

Planting Site: Full sun with fertile, well-drained soil
Spacing: Allow room for its graceful, arching growth habit
Watering: Moderate watering during establishment; deep watering during dry periods
Pruning: Minimal pruning needed — shape lightly and remove old wood as desired
Maintenance: Low to moderate — vigorous and generous once established