Félix Leclerc

Rose

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Marie Victorin'

Summary: Anthocyanin colouration of the young shoots is weak for 'Félix Leclerc' while it is strong for 'Marie Victorin'. 'Félix Leclerc' has darker green leaves which are thin and flexible while those of 'Marie Victorin' have a leathery texture. 'Félix Leclerc' has prickles on the flower receptacle while 'Marie Victorin' does not. Flower colour for 'Félix Leclerc' is dark blue pink while it is light purple red fading to light blue pink for 'Marie Victorin'. 'Félix Leclerc' has weaker reflexing of the petal margins than 'Marie Victorin'.

Description:

'Félix Leclerc' is a climbing rose variety with a bushy growth habit. The young shoots have weak, reddish brown anthocyanin colouration. The stems have a few short prickles and an average number of long prickles. The prickles/thorns are gray green to yellow green and concave in shape. The upper side of the leaves is dark green with moderate glossiness. There are five to seven leaflets per leaf. The terminal leaflets have a thin, flexible texture, obtuse shaped base and serrate margin.

'Félix Leclerc' has at least two flowering periods, the first beginning early and each lasting from one to four weeks. There are a moderate number of flowers per flowering shoot and the flower pedicel has only a few prickles. The flower bud is ovoid in shape and the sepal extensions are absent to weak. 'Félix Leclerc' has double type flowers which are dark blue pink and have a weak, musk fragrance. When viewed from the side, the shape of the fully opened flower is flat on the upper part and concave to flat on the lower part. When viewed from above, the fully opened flower is irregularly rounded in shape. The flower center is open. The petals have a very small, yellow green petal spot at the base on the outer side and a small to medium sized, yellow green spot at the base on the inner side. The margin of the petals is weakly reflexed with weak to moderate undulation. The outer stamen filaments are yellow to orange. The style is long, yellow and has dense pubescence on the upper half. The stigma is positioned below the level of the anthers. The receptacle is small, pear shaped in cross-section and there are no prickles. 'Félix Leclerc' is resistant to mildew and blackspot.

Origin and Breeding: 'Félix Leclerc' originated from a controlled cross between the two rose lines 'L25' and 'D25' which took place at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Canada. The cross was conducted by the breeder, Mrs. Félicitas Svejda, in 1977. It was evaluated for a few years but due to lack of interest the variety was set aside. After the retirement of Mrs. Svejda, all vegetative material was transfered to another breeder at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in l'Acadie, Québec, Canada. Further selection and evaluation were conducted by Mrs. Claude Richer beginning in 1995 and in 1998, 'Félix Leclerc' was selected based on its plant growth habit, hardiness, resistance to disease, flower size and colour, and length of flowering season. Evaluation of this variety continued until 2003.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Félix Leclerc' originated from a controlled cross between the two rose lines 'L25' and 'D25' which took place at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Canada. The cross was conducted by the breeder, Mrs. Félicitas Svejda, in 1977. It was evaluated for a few years but due to lack of interest the variety was set aside. After the retirement of Mrs. Svejda, all vegetative material was transfered to another breeder at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in l'Acadie, Québec, Canada. Further selection and evaluation were conducted by Mrs. Claude Richer beginning in 1995 and in 1998, 'Félix Leclerc' was selected based on its plant growth habit, hardiness, resistance to disease, flower size and colour, and length of flowering season. Evaluation of this variety continued until 2003.

Tests & Trials: The test and trial for 'Félix Leclerc' was conducted at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in l'Acadie, Québec during the summer of 2005. The trial consisted of 4 plants of the candidate variety and 2 plants of the reference variety. The trial plots were 2.2 x 4.5 metres for the candidate variety and 2.5 x 1.0 metres for the reference variety. The plants were spaced 1 metre apart. All colour characteristics were determined using the 1986 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart and measured characteristics were based on 6 plant measurements for the candidate variety and 3 plant measurements of the reference variety.

Comparison tables for 'Félix Leclerc' with reference variety 'Marie Victorin'

Overall flower colour (RHS)

Colour of outer side of petals (RHS)

Colour of inner side of petals (RHS)