1954 The Rose Annual, UK
p55. My Masterpiece (symposium). C. Camprubi Nadal, Llobregat, Barcelona.
Thirty -five years dedicated especially to Rose growing and our affection for Roses led us to try hybridising and in the course of the 25 years in which we have been engaged in the crossing of Roses we have obtained various new varieties which are thought highly of in Spain.
Our first success, put on sale in 1931, was Recuerdo De F. Camprubi, named after our grandfather, the founder of our dynasty of horticulturists. We have produced since then, among others, the variety Violinista Costa, which is well known in England.
One of our varieties most widely known in Spain, which is found in every garden and of which an immense number of bushes are planted in all the districts devoted to the cultivation of Roses for cut-flower sale, and which is especially used for early and summer flowering in the
open air and also under glass, is the Marquesa de Urquijo. It won the Trial Ground Certificate of the National Rose Society in 1938, and owing to the special circumstances through which our country was passing at that time, we were unable, for our personal safety, to give it the name of Marquesa de Urquijo, and we therefore temporarily used the maiden name of this lady, namely Pilar Landecho, under which name it is perhaps better known in England and America. Until quite recently it was our greatest success. It was a variety which we had to keep under observation for several years before launching it on the market, as each year it continued to improve until we were certain it had reached its maximum and was stabilised.
In 1950 we put on the market the variety Cecilio Rodriguez, of dark velvety red colour, which is having a great success in our country, because in colour, perfume, and quality it is admirably suited to the open-air cut flower trade. It was the first Rose to be patented in Spain.
It was followed by the variety Andres Battle of Tyrian purple colour and of magnificent growth, which will possibly also prove a success for the cut flower trade. It is a variety patented in Spain.
And as the latest variety which we are putting on the market this year, we have Tristeza (Tristesse), lilac or grey in colour, a really rare variety with its unique colour and which we hope will be the first step in the creation of a series of new colours in the shades cafe-au-lait, chocolate, etc. At the Rose shows held in Barcelona and other cities in Spain, it has always been the sensation among all Roses for its uniqueness of colouring and its grace of form.
We are continuing tirelessly in search of perfection in the Rose, and not only as regards colour, but as regards habit, perfume, and shape of flower, which, in our opinion and in that of the Spanish public, are the four qualities which must always be united.