Double Delight – red-and-white hybrid tea rose – Swim & Ellis & Ellis
Fragrant and visually striking, Double Delight is a classic hybrid tea that offers generously sized blooms for cutting and garden display, with reliable repeat flowering across the season. Its bushy habit suits modest front gardens and small borders, while its proven disease resistance keeps care pleasantly simple in typical British conditions, even where summer air is humid and diseases can easily spread in still, damp weather. As an own-root plant it settles in securely and builds long-term stability, rewarding steady care with a dependable, long-lived presence. Plant it in beds, borders or a large 40–50 litre container for a focal-point feature that also provides wonderfully perfumed stems indoors. Over the first three years it steadily strengthens – first rooting, then top growth, and finally full ornamental impact – giving you time to shape it to your garden. Thoughtful deadheading and light pruning help maintain a tidy outline in compact family spaces.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Front-garden focal point by the entrance |
Planted as a single specimen by a path or doorstep, Double Delight’s large, high‑centred blooms and strong perfume create an immediate sense of welcome in a small front garden. Regular deadheading keeps the plant neat and encourages repeat flowering, without the need for complex pruning, making it ideal for busy homeowners and beginners |
| Classic hybrid tea rose bed |
In a dedicated rose bed, its bushy structure and repeat flowering give a traditional hybrid tea look with less fuss, thanks to good disease resistance that reduces spraying needs. Space plants at about 65 cm to allow air movement and easy access for deadheading, suiting those who want a structured, reliable display for families |
| Cutting garden for perfumed roses |
The long, straight stems and large, high‑centred flowers are excellent for cutting, and the very strong, sweet‑spicy fragrance is notable even in a vase indoors. Plant a small group of three to five bushes to have a regular supply of blooms throughout summer, appealing to fragrance lovers and home arrangers as well as enthusiasts |
| Mixed cottage-style border |
Among perennials and cottage favourites, its cream and carmine-red bicolour flowers add drama without overwhelming a small plot. The moderately dense, glossy foliage offers a solid green backdrop between flushes, while own-root growth ensures the bush matures steadily in its final position, reassuring style-focused gardeners |
| Feature rose in a large container |
In a generous 40–50 litre pot with good drainage, Double Delight performs well as a patio centrepiece, where its fragrance can be enjoyed at close quarters. Container planting also helps manage heavier clay soils, making it easier to provide the free‑draining, enriched compost this variety appreciates for urban and suburban owners |
| Low-intervention family rose corner |
Good resistance to powdery mildew and black spot, combined with moderate watering needs, allows for a relatively low‑intervention planting that still looks refined. Once established on its own roots, the shrub maintains shape and recovers well from minor neglect, suiting family spaces where time for detailed care is limited for households |
| Sunny border with partial shade periods |
Double Delight tolerates some partial shade, so it suits borders that receive strong morning or afternoon sun but are shaded at other times. In such spots it still flowers reliably, and its colour holds well, with the red deepening attractively in bright light, giving flexibility in siting for smaller plots and newcomers |
| Weather-resilient ornamental planting |
Its strong constitution and H7 hardiness cope well with typical UK winters, while sound disease resistance helps it stay tidy in humid summers when fungal problems often rise in British gardens. This resilience, combined with own-root longevity, supports long-term, low-maintenance planting choices for pragmatic, long‑view buyers |
Styling ideas
- Cottage Contrast – Combine Double Delight with Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’ and airy perennials for a loose cottage feel where its striking bicolour blooms punctuate softer textures – ideal for romantic, informally inclined gardeners
- Entrance Accent – Plant a single bush in a neat bed by the front door, underplanted with low lavender or catmint, to frame the path with fragrance and colour – well suited to compact front gardens seeking easy impact
- Patio Showcase – Grow it in a 40–50 litre terracotta or stone-effect container, paired with trailing thyme or silver foliage, to enjoy scent and cut flowers close to the house – perfect for balconies, terraces and small urban spaces
- Classic Rose Row – Arrange several plants in a straight or gentle curved line along a lawn edge, trimmed with low box or hebe, to create a traditional hybrid tea rose display – appealing to lovers of formal, ordered planting
- Fragrant Nook – Position Double Delight near a favourite bench with soft grasses and late perennials so its perfume and repeat blooms enrich a quiet seating area – designed for those who value evening relaxation in the garden
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as ANDeli, marketed as Double Delight hybrid tea rose ANDeli; exhibition category exhibition hybrid tea and cut flower, ARS exhibition name Double Delight. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred in the United States in 1976 by Herbert C. Swim with A. E. and A. W. Ellis at Armstrong Nurseries; ‘Granada’ × ‘Garden Party’, introduced and registered in 1977. |
| Awards and recognition |
Highly decorated variety: Baden-Baden and Rome Gold Medals (1976), Geneva Most Fragrant Rose (1976), All-America Rose Selections Winner (1977), World’s Favourite Rose (1985), James Alexander Gamble Fragrance Award (1986). |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy hybrid tea shrub 110–150 cm high and 75–105 cm wide, with moderately dense, glossy medium-green foliage and moderate prickliness; forms a balanced, upright bush suitable for beds, borders and specimen planting. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, high-centred, pointed-budded blooms with 26–39 petals, typically borne singly on stems; classic hybrid tea form suitable for exhibition and cutting, with good stem length and repeat flowering through the season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Cream-white petals edged with intense carmine red (ARS RB, RHS 53A, 155D); red deepens in strong sun while colour generally fades little, with successive stages showing cream, raspberry-red edging and gentle salmon-pink and yellowish tones. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very strong, sweet-spicy perfume, often detectable from a distance; a key feature of the cultivar and widely recognised in fragrance awards, primarily ornamental rather than pollinator-focused due to the full double flower form. |
| Hip characteristics |
Hip set is usually scant because of the double, many-petalled flowers; where present, hips are small, spherical, about 10–14 mm in diameter, with a red colour, adding only minor autumn interest in most seasons. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Good resistance to powdery mildew and black spot, moderate rust susceptibility; hardy to approximately –26 to –23 °C (RHS H7, USDA 5b, Swedish Zone 4), reliably overwintering in typical UK conditions with normal garden protection. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with fertile, well-drained soil; moderate heat and drought tolerance but benefits from regular watering in dry spells. Deadhead spent blooms, prune annually, and allow space per planting guidelines for air circulation and vigour. |
DOUBLE DELIGHT – red-and-white hybrid tea rose - Swim & Ellis & Ellis offers award-winning fragrance, repeat flowering and resilient, own-root growth for long-term enjoyment; a refined yet practical choice for a well-used family garden.
