WALTZ TIME™ – mauve hybrid tea rose – Delbard‑Chabert
Step outside after rain and imagine a narrow garden path lined with mauve blooms: WALTZ TIME™ brings a soft, silvery-lilac elegance to compact urban plots while coping reliably with typical British weather – including brisk coastal winds and frequent showers. This medium-height, bushy hybrid tea forms a well-shaped plant that slips easily into a small London front garden, or into a generous 40–50 litre pot by your doorstep, without demanding complex pruning routines. As an own-root rose, it builds strength steadily, giving you reassuring stability and the capacity to regenerate from the base if ever cut back hard, so its ornamental value remains consistently balanced over the years. In its first year it focuses on roots, in the second on sturdy shoots, and by the third it typically reaches full character, rewarding you with a refined, repeat-flowering display of cupped blooms for relaxed summer enjoyment in an easy-care family garden.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Small London front garden specimen |
Its upright yet bushy habit and compact 85–120 cm height make WALTZ TIME™ ideal as a single focal shrub by a front door or bay window, providing clear structure without overwhelming limited space, especially for the busy city homeowner audience. |
| Rainwater‑friendly mixed planting |
Planted in a slightly raised, free-draining bed, this rose suits gardens that capture and slow rain runoff, partnering well with perennials that enjoy moisture yet cope with occasional waterlogging typical of urban heavy clay conditions audience. |
| Own‑root long‑term family feature |
Being grown on its own roots, rather than grafted, supports a long lifespan, stable form and reliable regrowth from the base after harsh pruning or winter damage, which reduces future replacement and renovation work for household gardeners audience. |
| Low‑effort flowering border |
Medium maintenance with moderate disease resistance means that, in a sunny spot with decent air movement, you only need basic deadheading and occasional plant protection to sustain a refined, repeat-flowering show for many summers audience. |
| Cut‑flower row for home vases |
Large, cupped, double blooms on long, straight stems and a classic hybrid tea shape make this variety ideal for cutting, providing elegant mauve stems for table arrangements without needing specialist floristry skills at home audience. |
| Coastal or wind‑exposed family garden |
The bushy structure, dense foliage and moderate hardiness allow it to perform well where wind and frequent showers are common, provided the soil drains reasonably, so front gardens near the coast still enjoy dependable colour audience. |
| Large container on balcony or patio |
In a 40–50 litre pot with peat-free compost and regular watering, this rose keeps a tidy outline and offers repeat flushes of colour, giving structure and romance to balconies and small terraces with limited planting space audience. |
| Romantic “girly” mauve accent in pastel schemes |
The soft mauve-pink petals with a silvery sheen sit beautifully among light pastels and grey foliage, adding a refined, feminine note that feels composed rather than sugary, well suited to stylish townhouses and design‑conscious gardeners audience. |
Styling ideas
- Front‑door duet – Pair WALTZ TIME™ with lavender in a slim border by the path for mauve-on-mauve harmony and gentle scent – ideal for townhouse owners wanting a welcoming, low-fuss entrance.
- Pastel promenade – Combine with soft pink roses, Nepeta and pale grasses to create a dreamy, feminine “walk-through” bed – perfect for those seeking a romantic, photogenic front garden.
- Silver spotlight – Underplant with Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’ and other silver foliage to emphasise its lilac sheen – suited to design-led urban gardeners who like a cool, contemporary palette.
- Balcony statement – Grow a single plant in a 50 litre pot with trailing thyme and low sedums for texture – great for flat-dwellers needing maximum impact from limited container space.
- Cutting corner – Dedicate a sunny bed to WALTZ TIME™ with upright salvia and Echinops for contrast – attractive to home florists who want reliable stems for vases and bouquets.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as DELtos, marketed as WALTZ TIME™ and also known on the show bench as Saint-Exupéry; commercial hybrid tea type intended for garden and cutting use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by André Delbard-Chabert in France from complex hybrid tea parentage, introduced by Georges Delbard SA in 1961, representing classic mid‑20th‑century French breeding tradition. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, upright plant reaching about 85–120 cm high and 50–70 cm wide, with dense, dark green, slightly glossy foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a well-filled, balanced shrub outline. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, cupped hybrid tea blooms with 26–39 petals, mostly borne singly, remontant with a generous second flush when deadheaded; flowers typically 7–10 cm across under garden conditions. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Mauve-pink blooms with a silvery-lilac sheen; buds medium-dark mauve, ageing through soft silvery mauve to powdery lavender-pink, with colour lightening and slightly fading under strong sunlight exposure. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Delicate, classically rosy fragrance of mild intensity, noticeable at close range rather than across the garden, lending a refined scent that complements, rather than dominates, nearby aromatic companions. |
| Hip characteristics |
After flowering, can form small, ovoid orange-red hips around 10–14 mm across; hips are decorative rather than prolific and may be reduced by regular deadheading for repeat blooming. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7, USDA 6b), with moderate resistance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust; benefits from good air flow and routine preventive care in humid seasons. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Prefers full sun and fertile, well-drained soil; plant 50–60 cm apart in beds or 90 cm for specimens, water during dry spells, deadhead and prune annually to maintain shape and flowering performance. |
WALTZ TIME™ offers refined mauve blooms, dependable structure and the regenerative, long-lived advantages of an own-root rose; consider it if you would like lasting elegance with manageable care.
