aka HARquick. Can anyone comment on this mini? It looks like it might be a polyantha hybrid.
I grow it – got it from Pickering last fall. It is a vigorous, but short, groundcover-type rose and throws flowers all along the lateral stems, which csn be attractive. Canes tend to lay on the ground. No disease at all here. One inch flowers last only one or two days, at most. However, it seems to always have some new blooms on it, so that’s not too much of a fault. I haven’t tried any breeding, and don’t know its parentage. I haven’t seen any hips on it.
Kathy
Interesting rose. The petals, the colors and the creator’s past make me think it is somehow related to either Baby Faurax or Escapade. The photos look deceiving because it looks like a true shrub even though it is some type of miniature creation.
I love a lot of the Harkness work but I really disliked the entire Floorshow series of landscape shrubs they recently introduced. Everything about them, except that they kept in bounds, was u g l y and non-descript. btw, if anyone is looking for an easy, pretty red floribunda then I highly recommend Red Abundance from Harkness. I was very impressed with it.
Violet Mist, per the photos, looks like a decent investment. The name is a bit decieving since it is on the pink side of mauve but it looks nice none the less. I have had decent luck with the Harkness patio types. I am growing out their Keep In Touch. Its kind of like a chinese scarlet floribunda version of a miniflora, much like Rosy Future is. That is not to say that Harkness does not have its fair share of duds though but they produce a decent share of good roses for temperate, humid areas of the world. That is always something to keep in mind when buying a rose from Harkness, Cocker or Dickson – including Violet Mist. They may or may not be suited to high heat or dry air.
Ack, sorry for the double post but I just recalled two things. One is that I remembered to note that it seems that the folks in Spain seem to either have an abundance of rose growing masters or the climate there is wonderful for roses. I noticed that when looking at some Harkness roses on HMF. Also, note the crepe paper texture of Violet Mist. I doubt that would be friendly in somewhere like Arizona. Escapade, for example, is brilliant and beautiful in NW Oregon but it would be all plant and no bloom in other areas – NW Oregon has the humidity in the air and the temperatures appropriate enough to maintain petal substance in roses with thin, delicate petals.
I’m looking for something to breed with diploids. not necessarily a mini. I like the look of flowers along laterals.
I dont think it is possible to know ploidy and fertility yet. It is way too new and obscure for most North Americans. The only people that would likely know are hybridizers in the UK or maybe Europe.
Oso Easy Fragrant Spreader, Laura ashley, Elfinglo or Baby Rambler may be better choices. My bet would beon Oso Easy Fragrant Spreader. Its very flat, branches well, sweet scented (not strong), not all that prickley, and it has really beautiful foliage. It should be a diploid.
Violet Mist is likely a real mixed bag of genetics. It would be difficult to even guess. Someone could have it tested though.
I’ve had Escapade since the early 80s, in the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Valley and at the beach, and it’s been wonderful in all three climates. It’s the parent of my Little Butterflies, a very disease resistant shrub Ashdown introduced of mine some years ago. I LOVE Escapade, always have. Harkness wrote it was his favorite of his creations, and, though I’ve never had one of his I didn’t really enjoy (never had the Floorshows, they didn’t look interesting), I agree with him. It’s shade tolerant, relatively healthy and flowers like a weed.
It was among my favorites from my old garden. It refused to set seed for me though. It was almost thornless though. It had a few big ones randomly placed but that was all. It was kind of similar to Eva in a lot of ways, except it wasnt ugly, LOL. There’s a big plant of Eva at Joy Creek Nursery. I seriously have no clue why some folks even used it. Did they know it would produce orange tones? I can only assume they found an upright, cluster-flowered rose unusual fo its time. I’m kind of amazed no one crossed it directly with Crimson Glory back then.
Even Fragrant Cloud will marr purple. A lot of the orange-red roses will. When Proud Mary’s blooms would last into December, the ribbed petal veins would turn purple lol. That rose refused to let go of its petals. Think: Ole on steroids and blackspot 
That’s how you make russet…deep orange petals which “blue” with age. Brown Velvet is brilliant orange in high heat. When the weather cools, the petals form a purple haze over the orange. How I first described it was, “milk chocolate velvet swirling around a glowing ember”. Jocelyn and Victoriana did it as does Hot Cocoa. Hot weather inhibits it, but cool temps, including putting them in the refrigerator over night, brings out the “blue” or purple.