Prickles: few , thin, brown
Foliage: pointed, medium green, matte
It is with great sadness that this rose has been named. Chris Manheim, who, with her husband Rick, hosted us a number of times on our visits to Asheville, North Carolina, USA, was our friend Gene Waering’ sister, and who, after a long and painful battle with cancer, finally succumbed last fortnight. She was courageous, quirky, loving, witty, supportive, compassionate, helpful, someone with a very high I.Q., but who wore her knowledge lightly – Viru and I became very fond of this couple, having long conversations late into the nights, when we, Gene and us, stopped by for a few days each time on our many long drives from New York to Florida. They grew our ‘Magic East’ (‘Bodhisattwa’) rose splendidly. When it became obvious that Chris had not much time left, Gene contacted me to ask if I would be willing to name a rose for her, and when I readily agreed, he said he had just the right one – Viru’s seedling codenamed VIRAUSSIE (a cross between ‘Reve d’Or’ and ‘Aussie Sixer’) which he had been growing for some years and there were plants of this seedling with Pam Greenewald’s Angel Gardens. Like Aussie Sixer, this is a Tea rose, in a lovely dark cream to butter yellow, and with a nice Tea fragrance and very few thorns, on a three foot high shrub. It is a seedling from 2010 which Viru had been testing for a long time, and while we had sent plant material to the US and to Japan and Europe, somehow we had never named it. Perhaps it was waiting for just this moment.
Chris was a professional writer and producer, having written the scripts for the TV series, Monk, and Murder She Wrote, though she is most well known for Xena: Warrior Princess, which she wrote and produced. When we were thinking of names for this rose to memorialize and honour our dear friend, Chitra, our daughter, came up with this name – “Christopher Camille, Warrior Princess”. Rick and Gene loved the name and they were able to tell Chris before she passed that Viru’s rose was being named for her. A very sad rose connection between two dear people who are no longer with us.
