Recently, there has been a great surge of interest in
old roses. These consist of all the classes
that were in existence before 1867, when the first hybrid tea rose
called "La France" appeared. Gardeners of today are in
love with the disease resistance, wonderful fragrance, hardiness and
old-fashioned flower forms of the many beautiful varieties that are
now widely available.
Alba Roses
Albas comprise an ancient group of roses that have
been in existence since classical times and were widely grown in the
Middle Ages for medicinal purposes. They are thought to have been
brought to Britain by the Romans. A natural hybrid between the
damask rose and rosa canina, they are tall, shrubby plants, disease
proof, and extremely winter hardy. Although they bloom only once a
year, in the late spring or early summer, they are very vigorous and
pest resistant. aThe word Alba means white, but this lovely rose also
comes in shades of pink. Albas have a tall, slender and upright
growth habit reaching heights of 6 to 9 feet. They are wonderfully
fragrant and have distinctive grey-blue green foliage. They have an
ability to grow well even in the most difficult of situations,
including light shade. However, they do require dormancy in the
winter. Albas can be trained to grow as climbers, and appreciate
some pruning of the longest and oldest canes once grown into a
mature bush. This will result in new canes being produced from the
bottom of the bush. Some Albas have showy autumn hips.
Examples of Alba roses:
Felicite Parmentier
Small Maiden's Blush
Semi-Plena
Queen of Denmark
Celestial
Damask Rose
The Damask rose also dates back to ancient times. It
seems that it originated from the Eastern Mediterranean, and was
introduced to the Europeans by the Crusaders. Egyptians, Greeks,
Persians, and Romans all grew this extraordinarily fragrant,
perfume-like rose. Although Damasks are thought to have a mixed
parentage, it is likely that they originated from a natural hybrid
between the Gallica rose and a wild rose species. They are quite
hardy, very thorny and have a rather lax and arching growth habit
reaching 3 to 7 feet. To show off the lovely pink or white blooms of
the Damask rose, staking may be necessary. Most varieties only bloom
once a year, and require good fertile soil if they are to look their
best. Damask roses are pruned after flowering.
Examples of Damask roses:
Madame Hardy
Ispahan
Semi-Plena
Celsiana
Gallica Roses
Gallica roses are the oldest cultivated species that
is still available today. Grown by the Persians as early as the 12th
century B.C. they were also loved by the Greeks and Romans. These
most ancient of roses have in some way influenced the development of
all other families of roses. Empress Josephine's famous rose garden
at Malmaison was mainly comprised of Gallicas. Even though they
bloom only once a year in early summer, they give an amazing show.
They are heavy bloomers and almost all Gallicas are fragrant. They
are fairly hardy, and quite tolerant of poor soils. They have a
strong, dense and upright growth habit of 4 to 5 feet. However, they
are quite prone to mildew and have a tendency to spread by
underground suckers. This can be annoying for the smaller garden;
growing a variety that has been bud grafted onto an understock will
alleviate that problem. Gallicas come in many shades of pink, deep red, purple,
marbled and striped with white. In the fall you will be rewarded
with beautiful, round, red hips. Mature Gallicas will benefit by
pruning out some of the old wood to encourage new growth, and by
shortening all the other canes by 1/3.
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