Arthur Bell Floribunda Roses

Arthur Bell Floribunda Rose Bushes

Arthur Bell is dense, upright plant with beautifully formed buds (good for buttonholes) that open to large bright yellow, bowl-shaped flowers that gradually fade to cream as they age. All of these yellows (you can get young blooms and older ones on the same flowerhead), are gentle: none of the brassy, brash shades of some of the more modern floribundas. Along with continuous flowering and good scent, it is this loveliness of colour, together with its health and reliability that make Arthur Bell our first choice for a medium-sized yellow floribunda rose.

The foliage is glossy, healthy and contrasts well with the flowers, which stand up to rainy weather well.

Browse all of our Rose varieties here, or our other floribunda roses here.

Features:

• Type: Floribunda
• Colour: Gold fading to cream
• Flower shape: Classic fully double
• Fragrance: Good
• Final height and spread: 3ft x 2ft
• Flowering season: All summer
• Repeat Flowering: Yes
• Disease resistance: Good
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Arthur Bell Roses

All floribundas prefer good soil in a sheltered, sunny spot, however, they grow on roots descended from some of the hardiest wild roses in the UK, so a bit of cold or wet is no real problem. Still, good light levels are necessary for them to achieve their flowering potential.

Arthur Bell is big enough to look good in the middle of your rose border, and we recommend planting them in a triangular group of three with a 60-80cm spacing.

He is one of the best roses for lining a path, where his non-stop production of flowers and strong scent can be best appreciated.

How to plant Arthur Bell Roses

You can order bareroot roses at any time and plant them from November to April, or container roses are available all year round.

Choose a spot in the border with good light. Dig a hole deep enough so that the rose will be planted with the graft union just below soil level and with plenty of room for its roots. Improve the soil from the hole by removing roots, weeds, large stones and other detritus and mixing in a good measure of well rotted compost or manure. Add Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi in the bottom of the hole so it will make contact with the roots. If planting pot grown roses gently loosen some roots out of the ball before planting.

Position your Arthur Bell rose so its roots are spread out and backfill the hole with soil, firming it gently as you go. Water in thoroughly.

Feed and mulch with well rotted manure in spring and keep really well watered during dry periods for the first year.

Floribundas are pruned in late winter, when the strongest shoots can be cut back to an outward facing bud 30-40 cms above soil level and the weakest shoots are removed altogether. Arthur Bell should be deadheaded throughout the summer to encourage continuous flowering.

Did You Know?

Bred in Ireland in 1959 by Sam McGredy IV (1932-2019). The parents are Cläre Grammerstorf and Piccadilly. Arthur Bell (1825–1900) was the founder of the famous Bell's Scotch whisky; Sam named several of his roses after alcoholic drinks, reputedly as a clever (and successful) ploy to receive gifts from the manufacturers of his favourite tipples. This probably would not have been agreeable to Mr Bell himself: a deeply Christian and modest man, he refused to use the Bell & Sons company name as branding on his products during his lifetime: it was added by his sons a few years after he died.

It was 1967's Most Fragrant Rose at the Belfast Rose Trials, winning the R.J. Frizzell Award, and won a Royal National Rose Society Certificate of Merit in 1964.