Gray-Flowering Rose Plants

Grey Pearl

• The "Grey Pearl" hybrid tea was first known as “the mouse” due to its unusual bloom color. It was bred in the early 1940s by Sam McGredy. Gene Boerner of Jackson & Perkins purchased the rose, gave it the official Grey Pearl name and introduced it in 1945. It begins blooming in late spring and continues until autumn. The flowers should be removed as they fade. Grey, or Gray, Pearl produces 4-inch-diameter double blooms that are generally gray, but the color is quite variable. They can be shades of tan-gray or tend more toward a pale mauve. The blooms have a mild, sweet fragrance and are produced singly, or one per stem. The shrub grows to a height of 2 1/2 to 4 feet and width of 3 feet with dark glossy green foliage. Grey Pearl is not readily commercially but can still be found.

Hybrid Teas

• Rosa “Korgi“ or “Blue Girl” produces pale silver-lavender flowers. The lightly fragrant double-form blooms are produced singly from late spring to first frost. This Kordes hybrid was introduced in 1964. Rosa “Stainless Steel” blooms in pale silver-gray lavender. The double-form flowers usually are produced singly from early summer until autumn. They have a strong rose fragrance. Stainless Steel is the result of a Blue Nile x Silverado cross by hybridizer Tom Carruth that was introduced in 1997. These plants grow to a mature height of 4 to 5 feet and width of 2 to 4 feet.

Grandiflora

• Rosa “Lagerfeld” officially is listed as having mauve flowers but they generally are a very pale silvery-gray lavender color. Lagerfeld was bred by Jack Christensen and introduced in 1986. It is the result of a Blue Nile x (Ivory Tower x Angel Face) cross. The sweetly fragrant flowers are double-form and produced in sprays or candelabra formation.The plant grows 4 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide.

Floribunda

• Rosa “Grey Dawn” is a LeGrice hybrid that was introduced in 1975. It was the result of a cross between the "News" floribunda and "Brownie," whose pollen parent was Grey Pearl. The official bloom color is listed as mauve and mauve blend. However, the flowers can be mauve-gray, lavender-gray, stone gray, pale golden tan or gold and can have light pink or gold tints on the outside of the flower petals. The fragrant flowers are double-form and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They are produced singly and in small sprays from spring until autumn. This is a small rose plant that grows to less than 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

Miniatures

• Rosa “Winter Magic” is a miniature rose that blooms from spring until autumn. The bloom color officially is listed as mauve or mauve blend but the flowers generally are silver-lilac or lavender-gray colored. The miniature fragrant flowers are double-form and can be produced on single stems or in clusters. This is a hybrid cross between "Rise ’n’ Shine" and "Blue Nile" that was bred by B.A. Jacobs and introduced in 1986. "Café Ole" is a sport or naturally occurring mutation of "Winter Magic" that was introduced in 1990 by hybridizer Ralph Moore. Its official color is listed as russet. The double-form flowers are pale tan when they first open, fading to creamy gray as they age. These miniatures grow to a mature height of 2 feet or less.