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 Pre-1800 Pre-1815 Pre-1850 Pre-1867 Pre-1880 Pre-1900 The rose has been associated with man for ages, but it isn't until the mid-1800's that hybridization of the rose into modern, reblooming (remontant) forms really accelerated. This was due in large part to the discovery of remontant roses hybridized in China for hundreds of years. Once European growers obtained specimens of China roses during the last years of the 18th century, it took several years before they were able to successfully hybridize the European roses with the China. Their efforts eventually paid off and enabled us to obtain the first roses with characteristics modern gardeners would recognize, including true red and the ability to rebloom. Many warriors throughout history played a role in the discovery and preservation of roses. Sultan Mehemet, the Conqueror of Constantinople in 1453, had a miniature portrait done, showing him sniffing a red Gallica rose, perhaps 'Officinalis'. The crusaders and other visitors to the Ottoman court brought home many roses, including Damasks, for their medieval gardens. The Emperor Nero spent a fortune on roses and Heliogabalus showered his banquet guests with so many rose petals that many were actually suffocated where they sat! The phrase, sub rosa, came from a rose suspended over a Roman couch, indicating to the guests that conversations at supper were confidential. This convention was maintained well into the Middle Ages. Roses were so important to Romans that they created a feast called Rosalia to celebrate the rose, which occurs on the 23rd of May. The wife of Napoléon, Empress Joséphine, collected all the roses she could for her gardens at Malmaison. She commissioned P.J. Redouté to paint them, creating the extraordinary volumes of Les Roses, 1817-1824, which was the starting point for our scientific knowledge of roses and rose classes. Joséphine's patronage started a brilliant expansion in rose breeding in France, which made them the leaders in rose breeding throughout the 19th century. When Hybrid Teas were developed in 1867, the older rose varieties almost went the way of the dinosaurs. But, in 1902, Gertrude Jekyll extolled the virtues of old cottage shrubs, including Centifolias and Gallicas, in her book, Roses for English Gardens. In 1920, the Rev. Joseph Pemberton began raising his beautiful Hybrid Musk roses, despite the public's concentration on raising Hybrid Teas for exhibitions. And in 1936, Edward Bunyard traced the history of the rose in Old Garden Roses. All of these efforts kept at least a few of the older roses alive. Recently, Graham Thomas has been a proponent of old roses and done a great deal of work for the National Trust in England to preserve older varieties. Peter Beales has continued the work and sells many old roses through his nursery in Attleborough, Norfolk. Hybridizer David Austin has even created a new class of roses, the English roses, which have the form and fragrance of the old roses, and yet are disease resistant and reblooming. In the United States, the Texas Rose Ruslters and other heritage rose groups have saved many old roses from extinction by gathering them from cemeteries and abandoned gardens. There are a growing number of sources for obtaining old roses. Unfortunately, most writers and even some gardeners are not aware of the fascinating history of the rose. Historical novels often contain references to roses which simply were not available during the timeframe of the story. Probably the most egregious error is blithe descriptions of yellow climbing roses in early 19th century. To help avoid turning historical gardens into settings more appropriate to alternate universes where yellow roses existed--without blackspot--from time immemorial, I've taken the liberty of creating some pages with information on which roses were available at which point in history. For interested writers , there are sections on various classes of roses, on the Classes page, as well. The rose page lists roses I personally grow. Click on the rose names to see pictures taken from my garden, which may give you a better idea of the type of bloom and growth habit you can expect from each specific rose.
Roses Roses before 1867 (cut off for Old Garden Roses) Roses before 1900 (birth of modern Hybrid Tea-era roses)
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A lady rose smuggler meets her match...
SMUGGLED ROSE was awarded 4 stars by the Romantic Times! ...a witty, refreshing read...
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