This is a vigorous, almost thornless, spring blooming rambler. The blooms start out reddish purple, then turn a dark violet and fade to lilac and blue. Because the blooms are long lasting you see all of these shades of color at the same time. Each bloom also has broad white streaks and is carried in clusters of 10 to 30 blooms.Though this is a once bloomer we feel it is a valuable rose due to the fact it handles extremes of hot and cold well and will tolerate almost complete shade. Our Veilchenblau has ended up in almost complete shade due to large maple tree. It has a sweet and somewhat fruity scent. Give it plenty of room as it is a sizable climber.