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'Mrs. John Laing' rose Reviews & Comments
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Initial post
14 DEC 21 by
 Le_Not
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No less a gardener than Gertrude Jekyll (in "Roses for English Gardens", 1902) puts 'Mrs John Laing' on her list of the best roses:
"Rosy pink; vigorous. Few Roses have so many good qualities. It is hardy, of good growth, and free-flowering, and almost as good in the garden as in the show."
(And for what it's worth, I think she's right. 'Mrs John Laing' really is a splendid rose: a hybrid perpetual that everyone should grow.)
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What page please, and we’ll add that as a reference.
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#2 of 7 posted
14 DEC 21 by
jedmar
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Thank you Jedmar. Reference added.
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"Gertrude Jekyll (in "Roses for English Gardens", 1902) puts 'Mrs John Laing' on her list of the best roses:"
Back in my younger days I was an acolyte of both GJ and Graham Stuart Thomas and purchased many of the roses they recommended. I purchased 'Mrs. John Laing' in 1993, 2001, 2002, & 2003 from Sequoia Nursery, Heirloom Old Garden Roses, and Vintage Gardens. All four plants failed to thrive and died. I made the assumption that I was purchasing the same clone from the three nurseries and that there was a deficiency in that particular clone. Now that I know someone is happy with their 'Mrs. John Laing', I would be interested to learn where it was purchased.
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#5 of 7 posted
15 DEC 21 by
Le_Not
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I purchased two from High Country Roses this year: one for me, and one for my mother's rose garden. (And yes, of course it was due to the glowing reviews from GST!) Both arrived in excellent shape (far larger than any of the other HCR plants, some of which were tiny), and have thrived. Mine was almost continually in flower from July until our hard frost on October 31st. The real test will be her winter hardiness, of course, but 'Mrs John Laing' certainly is in good shape going into winter.
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#6 of 7 posted
2 JAN 23 by
Le_Not
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Hi Palustris,
It may interest you to know that HCR finally has 'Mrs John Laing' back in stock.
By the way, I can now attest that both my coddled MJL and my mother's (in much harsher conditions) handled last year's challenging winter just fine. (It wasn't atypically cold for Zone 5b, but there was a spring thaw followed by a very punishing hard freeze.)
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Many thanks, it looks like MJL might be worth trying again!
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Ross Roses have 'Mrs. John Laing' listed (in their complete web variety PDF, page 8).
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Initial post
25 FEB 04 by
Unregistered Guest
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Are there any details about Mrs. John Laing the person honoured by the naming of this rose?
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#1 of 3 posted
25 FEB 04 by
Unregistered Guest
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This rose was bred by Bennett in 1887. John Laing was a horticulturalist in London...don't know anything about his wife other than she had a marvelous rose named after her :)
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#2 of 3 posted
20 JUN 15 by
Darrell
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John Hugh Alexander Laing may have been a horticulturist, but he was certainly a doctor from Scotland. He married Florence Mason, who became Mrs. John Laing. They lived on Melville Street in Edinburgh. From the marriage, three boys were stillborn, three girls and another son survived. He died prior to WWI. Florence Laing died during WWII.
For more information, see the article by her granddaughter Rosemary Heather in the November 1989 issue of HERITAGE ROSES IN AUSTRALIA.
--Darrell
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Thank you Darrell. We've added the reference to Rosemary's 1989 article.
We've also added the 2010 reference to her 1889 photo of her grandmother, Florence, just two years after the introduction of Mrs. John Laing in 1887. It is interesting in this latter article Rosemary says one of Dr. Laing's patients was Henry Bennett.
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I live in the hot and humid area of Houston, and have this rose in full sun. I can tell its not happy with my micro-climate. This doesn't seem like a good choice for the gulf coast area. I think it would do better in a cooler climate or perhaps with more shade. It gets lots of rust, has a lot of dieback (even though it is own root), and struggles to bloom. Probably further north it would do better.
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