VIOLETTE PARFUM – mauve-purple hybrid tea rose – Tantau
Bring a touch of coastal glamour to your garden with VIOLETTE PARFUM, a mauve‑purple hybrid tea rose bred for reliability rather than fuss. Its upright habit and refined, high‑centred blooms make it ideal for a small, sheltered seaside veranda or shingle bed, where it can quietly anchor the planting while coping well with blustery weather and careful drainage management. The very strong, sweet‑spicy perfume adds a sense of luxury to everyday moments – imagine late‑afternoon tea after collecting shells, wrapped in a salty breeze yet protected by a living floral windbreak. As an own‑root plant it offers long‑term stability and dependable regrowth, so after a year focused on roots, a second on building shoots and a third on full ornamental value, you can enjoy seasons of repeat flowering with only light maintenance.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Small coastal veranda container |
Its compact, upright habit fits neatly into a 40–50 litre pot, giving you richly scented mauve blooms at nose level on a sheltered Cornwall or Devon veranda with minimal pruning or complicated care – ideal for the busy beginner. |
| Shingle or gravel coastal bed |
Clustered, high‑centred flowers rise cleanly above light foliage, creating a vertical accent that copes well with breezy conditions where good drainage has been prepared beneath shingle or gravel – well suited to the coastal stylist. |
| Low‑maintenance family flower bed |
Good disease resistance means fewer sprays and less worry in a typical family garden, while remontant flowering keeps colour and scent going through the season for children and guests – reassuring for the time‑pressed homeowner. |
| Scented seating nook windbreak |
The strong, sweet‑spicy perfume and medium height allow you to plant a loose row behind a bench or bistro set, softening wind and wrapping the area in fragrance for evening relaxation – perfect for the balcony dreamer. |
| Cut‑flower corner near the kitchen door |
Long‑stemmed, exhibition‑type blooms with a powerful scent are excellent for cutting, so a small group by the back door can supply vases without taking over the garden, suiting the home bouquet lover. |
| Small group planting with grasses and sea kale |
Planted in threes among Festuca, sea kale and low perennials, its mauve‑lilac flowers stand out against cooler foliage, giving a refined coastal mood while its own‑root vigour promises many seasons of structure – attractive to the design‑aware gardener. |
| Feature rose beside a sunny path |
Remontant flowering with abundant second flushes means regular waves of colour where you pass most often, and the perfume can be appreciated even in brief moments, ideal for the busy commuter. |
| Eco‑friendly, low‑spray front garden |
Resistant foliage helps keep the plant presentable with little chemical input, while its own‑root nature offers long life and reliable recovery in exposed spots with well‑planned drainage and anchoring of the soil profile – valuable for the sustainability‑minded owner. |
Styling ideas
- Seaside veranda trio – Plant one rose in a 50 litre tub flanked by blue pots of Festuca and sea kale for a calm, coastal look – for veranda owners who treasure evening scent.
- Shingle ribbon – Thread a short line of VIOLETTE PARFUM through a gravel strip with Sedum and low herbs – for gardeners wanting elegance along a driveway or path.
- Scented tea corner – Place a single plant near a bistro set, underplanted with lavender and calamint – for those imagining slow weekend teas in a sheltered nook.
- Mauve accent bed – Combine in a small bed with soft pink perennials and silver foliage for a gentle pastel scheme – for family gardens needing a refined focal point.
- Cut‑flower patch – Group three plants in a sunny border solely for harvesting stems for the house – for beginners who want reliable, perfumed blooms with little fuss.
Technical cultivar profile
| Characteristic |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as TANfifum, marketed as VIOLETTE PARFUM – mauve-purple hybrid tea rose – Tantau; ARS exhibition name Blue Parfum, in the hybrid tea commercial group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Mathias Tantau Jr., Rosen Tantau, Uetersen, Germany from unknown parentage; bred 1977, introduced and registered 1978, initially distributed by Rosen Tantau in Germany. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright hybrid tea with medium foliage density and light green leaves; height around 85–115 cm, spread 50–70 cm; moderately thorny stems, forming a neat, vertical bush in most gardens. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, high‑centred, pointed‑budded blooms with 26–39 petals on cluster‑flowered stems; remontant with particularly abundant second flush; spent flowers persist and usually need deadheading. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Deep mauve‑lilac with lavender tones; buds dark violet‑purple; in sun, flowers lighten to silvery lavender with pale centres and silvery edging; ARS code m, RHS 78A outer, 75B inner. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very strong, sweet‑spicy rose fragrance, noticeable from a distance and ideal for scented gardens or cutting; double blooms conceal stamens, so pollinator attraction is generally limited. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hips seldom develop because double flowers and spent blooms are usually removed; any that form are very small, generally 0–6 mm in diameter and not ornamental. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Good resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; hardy to about −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7, Swedish zone 3, USDA 6b); moderate heat and drought tolerance, disliking prolonged dry spells. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny positions with well‑drained soil; planting distance 50–90 cm depending on use; suits beds, containers and small groups; low maintenance, with routine deadheading to keep plants tidy. |
VIOLETTE PARFUM offers powerful fragrance, repeat flowering and disease‑resistant longevity in an own‑root form that matures steadily into a reliable feature; an excellent choice if you favour lasting scent with modest upkeep.
