Commercially available

39 favorite votes.  
Average rating: EXCELLENT-.  

Light pink Hybrid Wichurana.
Registration name: May Queen (Rambler, Van Fleet, 1898)
Exhibition name: May Queen

Bred by Dr. Walter Van Fleet (United States, 1898).
Introduced in United States by Conard & Jones Co. in 1898 as 'May Queen'.
Introduced in Australia by Hawter’s Nurseries in 1909 as 'May Queen'.

Hybrid Wichurana, Rambler.  

Lilac-pink.  Strong, apple, fruity fragrance.  Average diameter 3".  Medium, full (26-40 petals), cluster-flowered, flat, quartered bloom form.  Once-blooming spring or summer.  

Climbing.  Glossy foliage.  

Height: 15' to 30' (455 to 915cm).  

USDA zone 4b through 9b.  Can be used for ground cover.  Hardy.  shade tolerant.  Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.  Prune after flowering is finished.  

See References to track the mixup about the breeder of this rose. Brent Dickerson's The Old Rose Adventurer debunks the existence of a 'May Queen' bred by W.A. Manda. The 1898 catalog of Conard & Jones accurately describes 'May Queen' as bred by Dr. W. Van Fleet. The American Rose Annual in 1916 lists it among Dr. Van Fleet's roses, while no such rose is listed for W. A. Manda. However, by Modern Roses V in 1958, 'May Queen' was attributed to Manda, an error subsequently perpetuated and corrected in Modern Roses 12 in 2007.

The September 2007 issue of The New Zealand Heritage Rose Journal reports how New Zealand rosarians compared the rose in commerce there as May Queen to Edmond Proust in Sangerhausen and la Roseraie de l'Häy. It appears the rose called May Queen in New Zealand is actually Edmond Proust.