 Gallica, Damask,
Alba, Centifolia, Moss,
China, Tea, Portland,
Noisette, Bourbon, Hybrid
Perpetual, Hybrid Tea, Polyantha,
Rugosa, Ramblers, Species,
English Shrub
Roses
before 1800, Roses
before 1815, Roses
before 1850, Roses before 1867, Roses before 1880,
Roses before 1900
Roses are generally divided into
classes, with the most well known class today being the Hybrid Teas.
Despite the prevalence of this type of rose, there are other forms, and
some may be more suited to today's gardens than the formal, 1950's looking
Hybrid Teas. Certainly, many of the older varieties are much more hardy
and thrive on neglect. Gallica roses in particular hate to be
sprayed...
Briefly, here are the rose classes...
Gallica
Gallica roses are among the
oldest roses. Their intense, deep wine red colors and outstanding scent
made them popular in medieval gardens. 'Officinalis' was probably grown by
the Romans and may be the red rose painted in one of the murals in
Pompeii. There is one legend that it was brought to France from Damascus
in the 13th century by the author of Le Roman de la Rose, Thiebault
IV. There are many brilliant paintings of Gallica roses in medieval
paintings, particularly in the altarpiece in Ghent Cathedral, painted in 1430 in
Italy.
The great English botanist/gardener,
John Parkinson, listed twelve varieties in 1629, and a little later, the Dutch
began raising seedlings to create new varieties. This effort continued in
France, as well, where large scale breeding occurred and the class was given its
official name, Gallica. By 1800 there were over a thousand
varieties.
The Gallicas were much beloved
by gardeners in England's Regency period (early 19th century) and the Empress
Josephine grew over 150 varieties in her extensive gardens at Malmaison.
They are short, compact plants that
have a strong tendency to spread by runners to form a thicket. The canes
are thin and wiry, and have few thorns, although they do have small
prickles. The leaves are rather leathery and generally a flat, matte
green. Blooms are generally in colors ranging from pale pink through deep
purple. Typically, Gallicas are known for their strong rich shades
of deep pink, purple, violet and mauve. They bloom once, in the spring.
Damask
Damask roses are almost as
old as Gallicas. Many historians say the Crusaders brought back Damask
rose specimens to Europe.
Damasks are large shrubs,
often reaching past six feet in height with equal spread. Long canes
arch out gracefully and if pegged (canes spread out horizontally to the ground
and anchored by stakes a foot or so above the earth) they will produce flowers
along the entire length of the cane. The foliage is generally gray-green
and fairly rough in texture. The canes have large, sharp prickles.
The flowers are generally pale blush or pink, or white. They have an
intoxicating, rich perfume and are often used for perfumes.
Within the Damask group,
there are Summer Damasks and Autumn Damasks. Both bloom
during spring or early summer while the Autumn Damasks may occasionally
bloom again in the fall.
Alba
Albas may be more recent
than the previous two classes, but as they are also ancient, it is difficult
to be sure. Alba roses appear in illustrations during the
Renaissance, so they date back at least that far. This class is often
reported to be a cross between the 'Dog Rose' (Rosa canina) and a Damask.
White roses were the symbol for
chastity and purity and often accompanied portraits of the Virgin Mary in the
Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Albas are a thorny shrub
which tends to be tall (six feet or taller). It has blue-gray foliage
and pale pink to white flowers. The roses are generally fragrant. Albas
are spring blooming only.
Centifolia
Centifolia may be the cross
between Damask and Alba roses in 17th century France or
Holland. There is a dispute in many rose histories as to whether this is
the same class of roses that is described by ancient Romans as the hundred-petaled
roses in the first century, or not. This class of roses are sometimes
called the "Rose of Provence" (but should not be confused with the
"Rose of Provins" which refers to the Gallica rose).
Centifolias are often called
"cabbage roses" in Europe because of their large, globular,
petal-packed flowers. The roses are extremely fragrant. The bushes
tend to be medium-sized (four to five feet) and are typically thorny, with
flexible canes. The foliage tends to be a soft and pale green.
They bloom once in the spring (June
in England).
Moss
Moss roses are a sport--or
mutation--of Centifolias. They first appeared in the 17th
century. Mossing refers to a feathery growth along the flower stem,
known as the pedicel, and it generally extends up to the sepals. The
mossing is generally green or brown and may be either very soft or a little
stiff. It tends to be somewhat sticky and smells wonderfully of balsam.
Moss roses have more variety
due to extensive breeding during the Victorian period when they were at the
height of their popularity due to the "cosy" appearance of the
flowers nestled into their soft, mossy sepals.
Generally, Moss roses are
large shrubs with lax, arching canes covered with thorns. They typically
have soft foliage that is grayish green. Most Moss roses are once
blooming, but there are several remontant varieties available, including the
beautiful rich pink 'Salet' which were bred in the later years of the 19th
century.
Bloom colors range from white
through medium pink to deep wine red.
China
The first China roses
appeared in Europe in the middle of the 18th century. They caused a
revolution in the world of roses because China roses rebloomed.
The Chinese had been hybridizing roses for centuries and created beautiful,
fragile-looking specimens which are quite different than the European varieties.
China roses are small to
medium-low (three feet) shrubs with narrow leaves in deep green. The
canes tend to be twiggy and furnished with some prickles, although varieties
such as 'Old Blush' have very few thorns.
The flowers are small and loosely
semi-double. They are generally produced in large, airy clusters held
aloft from the plant.
Colors range from white to pink, to
the first true scarlet which was a color unknown in European roses
until the introduction of the China roses. Flowers generally get
darker in color as they age. The fragrance is also totally
different--not at all the typical rose fragrance--as it is a light, peppery
smell.
Once the China roses were
introduced.....
Tea
Tea roses were developed in
southern China and first appeared in Europe during the early years of the 19th
century. There is speculation that the name either relates to their
tea-like fragrance, or their association with the tea trade.
Tea roses tend to be large
(five to six feet tall) shrubs that build up over time. They have thin,
twiggy wood, and the canes are red-bronze when new and covered with large
thorns. New growth is reddish purple while mature foliage is a shiny,
deep green. They are not very winter-hardy and can only be grown in mild
areas.
Flowers tend to be fairly large and
often produced in clusters of three to five, with fragile stems. Colors
range from white through pink with a few light yellows and some scarlets.
Tea roses often have flowers showing a blend of colors that become
darker as they age, for example pink flowers with a white reverse, which age
to deep pink. The fragrance tends to be light with fruit and tea
overtones.
Tea roses rebloom and will
often bloom through the spring, summer and fall seasons.
Portland
Portlands were one of the
first classes which combined the old European roses with the repeat-blooming China
and Tea roses. The first Portland was discovered
around 1800 and named after the second Duchess of Portland.
These roses are upright-growing
shrubs with dull green foliage, thorny canes and large flowers presented on
short stems. The roses range in color from white, to pink, to rich
crimson. The fragrance is "old rose".
Portlands repeat bloom and
are among the first to combine repeat-blooming with cold-hardiness and a true
crimson color.
Only a few Portlands were
bred during the 19th century.
Noisette
John Champney, a South Carolina
rice planter, has the honor of hybridizing the first repeat-blooming rose
created by crossing a European rose, the 'Musk Rose', with a China rose,
'Old Blush' in 1812. This new class was called the Noisette and Champneys gave the specimen to Philippe
Noisette whose family propagated it in the family nursery in Paris.
Noisettes tend to be very
large (ten feet) shrubs with small flowers produced in large clusters.
They are generally white or pale pink. The early Noisettes were
crossed with Tea roses, which produced climbing forms with large flower
clusters in colors of white, pink and yellow. They generally have the
spicy tea fragrance.
They are not cold-tolerant,
although they do well in the South.
Bourbon
The first specimans of Bourbon roses
were discovered growing on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
At that time, it was a French possesion and called the Îsle de Bourbon.
Speculation is that these roses were a chance crossing of 'Autumn Damask' and
'Old Blush' since both were growing on the island in the hedgerows.
Seeds were sent to France and used extensively in hybridizing efforts.
Bourbon roses are large
shrubs or short climbers (ten feet). The long canes are flexible with
large thorns and deep green foliage. The flowers range in color from
white to deep pink, and there is a rich, strong rose perfume. There are
a few much shorter varieties which may be back-crosses to China roses.
Hybrid Perpetual
It took nearly forty years to get
past the genetic barriers to crossing the old European roses with the new China
and Tea roses, but in the 1840's the Hybrid Perpetuals were
starting to appear in gardening catalogs. By 1900, some 4,000 had been
developed. No other rose was as popular in the last half of the 19th
century.
Hybrid Perpetuals are very
large (often seven feet tall) shrubs with large flowers produced at the end of
the canes. Colors include white, pink, deep red and purple. Most
will rebloom, although there are few blooms during the summer months.
The largest flushes of blooms occur in the spring and fall.
Hybrid Tea
Tradition lists the first Hybrid
Tea as 'La France', introduced by Guillot in 1867. If this date
seems familiar to you, it is the cutoff for the Old Garden Rose class in
American Rose Society exhibitions, since this is the year that Hybrid
Teas--the darlings of the rose shows--came to market. It was thought
to be a cross between a Hybrid Perpetual and a Tea rose.
This is the rose class that is well-known today.
Hybrid Tea roses are
moderately tall-growing shrubs (four to five feet) with blooms in all colors
except blue and black. Because of the extensive breeding efforts, the
foliage, bloom form, color and fragrance (or lack thereof) differ from variety
to variety.
Today's Hybrid Tea roses had
lost much of the charm--and fragrance--of the older forms, due in large part
to the concentration on the form of the flower: the high-pointed rose so
beloved by florists and rose exhibitors. Unlike older roses which are at
their most beautiful when fully opened, the Hybrid Tea are most
beautiful when still at the bud or half-opened stage.
Polyantha
The first Polyantha rose was
'Pâquerette' introduced by Guillot of Lyons in 1875. It was bred from a
dwarf, reblooming form of Rosa multiflora. Polyantha roses
were used as low-growing, reblooming bedding roses. They tend to have
twiggy canes and small flowers displayed in large clusters. The foliage
is shiny, deep green. There is almost an infinite variety of flower form
and color, except yellow. They typically have little or no fragrance.
Rugosa
Rosa rugosa is a native to
Manchuria, China, Korea and Japan. It does well in coastal areas and can
stand sea-spray and sandy soil.
They were introduced to Europe at
the beginning of the 19th century and were popular due to their hardiness,
repeat bloom and fragrance. They are medium-sized (four feet) shrubs
with many thorns and will send out runners to form thickets. The foliage
is deep green, rough and crinkly. (The Latin rugosus translates
to wrinkled.)
Rugosa roses come in all
colors, including: white, pink, red and yellow. They will bloom
continuously, and do not need to be deadheaded to do so! In the
fall, they produce a crop of brightly colored hips containing a high level of
vitamin C.
Ramblers and Climbers
Ramblers and Climbers are
actually two different styles of roses. Ramblers came from Asian
species such as Rosa multiflora and R. wichuraiana.
They tend to be larger-growing than Climbers and they have thin canes
that use thorns to grab onto other shrubs and trees to pull "ramble"
over them. They produce flowers on new growth from the last season, and
are generally only bloom in the spring.
Climbers have been produced
from almost the other classes of roses including China, Tea, and
Hybrid Tea, and are just roses that grow taller, generally in the range
of ten to fourteen feet. They require assistance in the forms of ties to
attach to supports.
Species
There are somewhere around 250 Species
roses occurring world-wide, indigenous to the northern hemisphere. A
species is defined as a plant that is geographically and reproductively
isolated from other members of the genus and that breeds true from seeds.
All Species roses have five-petaled
flowers. To produce flowers with more petals, a rose must convert the
male reproductive organs, stamens, into petals, thereby rendering the rose
less reproductively viable. Double forms do occur, but they typically
die off naturally unless a human intervenes.
English Shrub
England's David Austin began
breeding English roses approximately thirty years ago in an effort to
bring back to beautiful forms and fragrance of the old roses. His goals
were to create plants that incorporated the lovely pale yellow, apricot and
peach shades, as well as improve disease resistance. When he crossed the
Floribunda 'Dainty Maid' with the Gallica 'Belle Isis', he
produced the gorgeous, popular 'Constance Spry' in 1961. This is a large
(ten to fourteen feet) shrub or climber bearing large roses in glowing
pink. This shrub was only once flowering, however, so he continued to
cross it back to other recurrent flowering varieties.
Eventually, he as able to create
reblooming roses in a wide variety of blossom shapes and soft colors.
Due to the various breeding combinations, the leaves, blossom shapes and other
characteristics tend to be variable.
English shrub roses have
become so popular that shrub roses in generally have been seeing a lot of
activity, including the Romantica roses and other breeders varieties.
The rose page
lists roses I grow. Click on the rose names to see pictures taken from my
garden.
Roses
Roses
before 1800
Roses
before 1815
Roses
before 1850
Roses before 1867
(cut off for Old
Garden Roses)
Roses before 1880
Roses before 1900 (birth of modern
Hybrid Tea roses)
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