Hybrid Musk Rose 'Ballerina': Bentall's 1937 Dancing Sprite

Introduced in 1937 by Ann Bentall, 'Ballerina' is a hybrid musk that dances through the garden with clouds of small, single, pink flowers—each a perfect five-petaled wild rose blossom, produced in such abundance that the plant becomes a pink cloud.

Botanical Profile

The flowers are small, 1.5 inches, single, a clear pink with white centers and prominent golden stamens. They appear in massive panicles from late spring to frost. The fragrance is light, sweet musk. The plant forms a dense, bushy shrub 4-5 feet tall and wide, with small, polished, disease-resistant foliage. 'Ballerina' is widely considered the finest hybrid musk—compact, floriferous, healthy, and charming. It dances in the border, in the hedge, in the container. The name captures its essence: light on its feet, endlessly blooming, a sprite in pink. A rose that doesn't walk—it dances.