Mutabilis, Tipo Ideale, the Butterfly rose

I have just returned from Goondiwindi, 22okms south west of Toowoomba in Qld. You should see Mutabilis! It was growing in many of the gardens and so full of flowers! I grow it myself and love it. It was the first prize in the plant raffle at the garden club and you could see that people were eager to win it. No wonder.
Does anyone else love this rose? I once saw ten plants of it late in the afternoon growing around a lake in a country garden, with a dinghy in the foreground and a fountain as well. At close to sunset it was so memorable. Sometimes the general public remark "That is not a rose" and that is why we need to keep growing the older varieties and types and shapes other than the classical HT form. Do you agree?
Bonita

'Mutabilis' does well here and looks good all year round. I find that the rabbits here also love it They will search it out and destroy it in preference to all other roses making it hard for me to establish new plants. My main plant is 4 years old and is slowly building up to a bush about 3ft high and wide so far. I am hoping it will get very much larger in the years to come. I have a number of seedlings from it this year too using it as a pollen parent. I'm with you! It's an amazing rose

I don't grow it myself, but it is very popular around here and grows into a very big bush indeed.
Maree

Pretty sure I have a spare plant around somewhere, Maree. If you drop me a PM I'll have a look for it and will send it out a little later. I'll need to wait until it flowers. Somehow I got the pots mixed up with my 'Comtesse du Cayla' cuttings and they look identical. Flowers will solve the problem straight away and then I can get it out to you.

A few weeks ago Big W up our way had about 100 of them for sale. They all went pretty quick (only $4.95 for a 6 inch pot and they actually looked like own root plants)).

They are a good plant. We have one up under the big gums up the back. Never gets any attention or water and is about 1.5 metres high and round and just keeps flowering in all its glory and range of colours.

.

Thank you for the kind offer, Simon, but I am not actually looking for a plant. I will sound like a tosser, but it doesn't fit in with my colour scheme! I fully recognise its good qualities and recommended to my younger sister when she was looking to add roses to her garden. She loves hers!
Maree

Simon is absolutely right. Mutabilis is rabbit caviar. I've bought three plants so far and none of them has lasted in the ground longer than a month despite chicken wire protection.

Well we Queenslanders don't have to worry about rabbit. I once hired two from a licenced kindy for my youngest daughter''s Peter Rabbit birthday party. The idea was that the children would get to nurse the rabbits. They were so nervous that they did ;nothing but wee and poo so the only way the braver children could nurse the rabbits was when I put plastic bags around their bottoms.! I have never had a rabbit eat anything - thanks to the Rabbit fence. I must admit that one time Harriet Hare had a go at a couple of roses but that didn't last long. The electric fence keeps the possums away whether or not it is turned on or off. But I suspect the noisy miner birds break off some of my flowers.

I'm on a mission 2-nite... it's wabbit season!

evwey body be vewy vewy quite! Simon's huntin wabbits!!!!!

(Best I can do to spell out an Elma Fudd accent!)

Will give you extra marks if you can spell out his laugh

I've had Mutablis for 3 yrs now and I love it more and more. I now have the rabbit guard off and although the lowest bits are chewed the top is in full bloom at the moment.

And for a laugh, because we didn't have a huge number of rose entries in our Ag Show, I entered a Mutablis in the single rose class. It didn't place but I thought it good for people to realise there is a range of bloom forms.

I think I got a second with one of my Duet blooms. And I put a Mme Alfred C in the Heritage rose class - for a 2nd. They weren't super but having a display was more important.

Yes I agree Bonita !8, Mutabilis is a fantastic rose !
Good idea Autumn Damask. When is your show on each year ? The only one displaying species or old fashioned roses, or even David Austin roses at our country show in March the last few years, is me.

Mutabilis has given rise to many similar and equally spectacular roses. 'Mateo's Silk Butterflies', 'Dancing Butterflies', 'Rayon Butterflies'. Unfortunately I don't think any of these are available in Australia. Isn't this always the way? Simon, hopefully you'll be able to fill this void with some of your seedlings in future!

The local Catholic school has got a mass planting of Mutabilis all along the front entrance. Often a sight to behold. The bright colours are always very eye catching.

I have 'Trier' x 'Mutabilis' and 'Wild Rover' x 'Mutabilis' up and growing now In the first cross I am trying for something like [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and the second cross I'm hoping to switch the red for purple so Iget a yellow/purple colour shift. The 'Wild Rover' x 'Mutabilis' seedling has flowered last year but I don't recall what it looked like... it was unspectactular as a little seedling. It may improve as it ages or it may look better as a massed effect... either way it's staying for now as it seems quite healthy. I don't think I was successful in retaining the purple though.

I have a desire to cross 'Rouletii' with 'Mutabilis' too in an attempt to make a mini version of 'Mutabilis'.

huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh

Do I get an A?

I bet you sat there and did the laugh aloud to try and work that one out too didn't you, Gary

Yep over and over and over.

Oh I really do love mutabilis and I hope it will do well in our cold climate in Switzerland
What happened with the crosses you've tried?
I orderet mutabilis and alba 'Maxima' and rugosa 'Rotes Phänomen', bowth would be really interesting to cross them with mutabilis. Also 'Veilchenblau' would may give a interesting Rambler...and of course a cross with Triest might be worth to try....

Philipp