Old Garden Roses

An Old Garden Rose is defined as any rose belonging to a class which existed before the introduction of the first Modern Rose, La France, in 1867.^[3] In general, Old Garden Roses of European or Mediterranean origin are once-blooming woody shrubs, with notably fragrant, double-flowered blooms primarily in shades of white, pink and red. The shrubs' foliage tends to be highly disease-resistant, and they generally bloom only on two-year-old canes. The introduction of China and Tea roses from East Asia around 1800 led to new classes of Old Garden Roses which bloom on new growth, often repeatedly from spring to fall. Most Old Garden Roses are classified into one of the following groups.

'Maiden's Blush', an Alba rose (before 1400)

[edit] Alba

Literally "white roses", derived from R. arvensis and the closely allied R. x alba. The latter species is a hybrid of R. gallica and R. canina.^[3] This group contains some of the oldest garden roses. The shrubs flower once yearly in the spring with scented blossoms of white or pale pink. They frequently have gray-green foliage and a climbing habit of growth . Examples are 'Alba Semiplena', 'White Rose of York'.^[4]

[edit] Gallica

Gallica rose 'Charles de Mills', before 1790

The Gallica or Rose of Provins group is a very old class developed from Rosa gallica, which is a native of central and southern Europe and western Asia.^[3] The Apothecary's Rose, R. gallica officinalis, was grown in monastic gardens in the Middle Ages, and became famous in English history as the Red Rose of Lancaster. Gallicas flower once in the summer over low shrubs rarely over 4' tall. Unlike most other once-blooming Old Garden Roses, the gallica class includes shades of red, maroon and deep purplish crimson. Examples are 'Cardinal de Richelieu', 'Charles de Mills', 'Rosa Mundi' (R. gallica versicolour).

'Autumn Damask' ('Quatre Saisons')

[edit] Damask

Named for Damascus in Syria, Damask roses (Rosa x damascena) originated in ancient times with a natural cross (Rosa moschata x Rosa gallica) x Rosa fedtschenkoana.^[6] Robert de Brie is given credit for bringing damask roses from the Middle East to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276, although there is evidence from ancient Roman frescoes that at least one damask rose existed in Europe for hundreds of years prior. Summer damasks bloom once in summer. Autumn or Four Seasons damasks bloom again later, in the fall: the only remontant (repeat-flowering) Old European roses. Shrubs tend to have rangy to sprawling growth habits and vicious thorns. The flowers typically have a more loose petal formation than gallicas, as well as a stronger, tangy fragrance. Examples: 'Ispahan', 'Madame Hardy'.

[edit] Centifolia or Provence

Centifolia roses are also known as Cabbage roses, or as Provence roses. They are derived from Rosa x centifolia, raised in the 17th century in the Netherlands.^[3] They are named for their "one hundred" petals; they are often called "cabbage" roses due to the globular shape of the flowers. The result of damask roses crossed with albas, the centifolias are all once-flowering. As a class, they are notable for their inclination to produce mutations of various sizes and forms, including moss roses and some of the first miniature roses (see below) . Examples: 'Centifolia', 'Paul Ricault'.

[edit] Moss

The Moss roses are based on a mutation of Rosa centifolia, the Provence or cabbage rose, some with Damask roses as another parent.^[3] They bear mossy resin-bearing glands on the sepals that often gives off a pleasant woodsy or balsam scent when rubbed. Moss roses are cherished for this unique trait, but as a group they have contributed nothing to the development of new rose classifications. Moss roses with centifolia background are once-flowering; some moss roses exhibit repeat-blooming, indicative of Autumn Damask parentage. Examples: 'Common Moss' (centifolia-moss), 'Mousseline', also known as 'Alfred de Dalmas' (Autumn Damask moss).

[edit] Portland

The Portland roses were long thought to be the first group of crosses between China roses and European roses, and to shown the influence of Rosa chinensis. Recent DNA analysis however has demonstrated that the original Portland Rose has no Chinese ancestry, but has an autumn damask/gallica lineage.^[7] This group of roses was named after the Duchess of Portland who received (from Italy about 1775) a rose then known as R. paestana or 'Scarlet Four Seasons' Rose' (now known simply as 'The Portland Rose'). The whole class of Portland roses was thence developed from that one rose. The first repeat-flowering class of rose with fancy European-style blossoms, the plants tend to be fairly short and shrubby, with a suckering habit, with proportionately short flower stalks. The main flowering is in the summer, but intermittent flowers continue into the autumn. Examples: 'James Veitch', 'Rose de Rescht', 'Comte de Chambord'.

[edit] China

'Parson's Pink China' or 'Old Blush,' one of the "stud Chinas"

The China roses, based on Rosa chinensis, have been cultivated in East Asia for centuries. They have been cultivated in Western Europe since the late 18th century. They contribute much to the parentage of today's hybrid roses,^[8] and they brought a change to the form of the flowers then cultivated in Europe.^[9] Compared with the older rose classes known in Europe, the Chinese roses had less fragrant, smaller blooms carried over twiggier, more cold-sensitive shrubs. However they could bloom repeatedly throughout the summer and into late autumn, unlike their European counterparts. The flowers of China roses were also notable for their tendency to "suntan," or darken over time — unlike other bloows which tended to fade after opening.^[9] This made them highly desirable for hybridisation purposes in the early 19th century. According to Graham Stuart Thomas, China Roses are the class upon which modern roses are built.^[9] Today's exhibition rose owes its form to the China genes, and the China Roses also brought slender buds which unfurl when opening.^[9] Tradition holds that four "stud China" roses ('Slater's Crimson China' (1792), 'Parsons' Pink China' (1793), and the Tea roses 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China' (1809) and 'Parks' Yellow Tea-Scented China' (1824)) were brought to Europe in the late eighteenth and early 19th centuries; in fact there were rather more, at least five Chinas not counting the Teas having been imported.^[10] This brought about the creation of the first classes of repeat-flowering Old Garden Roses, and later the Modern Garden Roses. Examples: 'Old Blush China', 'Mutabilis' (Butterfly Rose), 'Cramoisie Superieur'.

Tea rose 'Mrs Dudley Cross' (Paul 1907)

[edit] Tea

The original Tea-scented Chinas (Rosa x odorata) were Oriental cultivars thought to represent hybrids of R. chinensis with R. gigantea, a large Asian climbing rose with pale-yellow blossoms.^[3] Immediately upon their introduction in the early 19th century breeders went to work with them, especially in France, crossing them first with China roses and then with Bourbons and Noisettes. The Tea roses are repeat-flowering roses, named for their fragrance being reminiscent of Chinese black tea (although this is not always the case). The colour range includes pastel shades of white, pink and (a novelty at the time) yellow to apricot. The individual flowers of many cultivars are semi-pendent and nodding, due to weak flower stalks. In a "typical" Tea, pointed buds produce high-centred blooms which unfurl in a spiral fashion, and the petals tend to roll back at the edges, producing a petal with a pointed tip; the Teas are thus the originators of today's "classic" florists' rose form. According to rose historian Brent Dickerson, the Tea classification owes as much to marketing as to botany; 19th century nurserymen would label their Asian-based cultivars as "Teas" if they possessed the desirable Tea flower form, and "Chinas" if they did not.^[11] Like the Chinas, the Teas are not hardy in colder climates. Examples: 'Lady Hillingdon', 'Maman Cochet', 'Duchesse de Brabant', 'Mrs. Foley Hobbs'.

Bourbon rose 'Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison' (Béluze 1843 / Bennett 1893)

[edit] Bourbon

Bourbon roses originated on the Île Bourbon (now called Réunion) off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. They are believed to be the result of a cross between the Autumn Damask and the 'Old Blush' China rose, both of which were frequently used as hedging materials on the island.^[3] They flower repeatedly on vigorous, frequently semi-climbing shrubs with glossy foliage and purple-tinted canes. They were first Introduced in France in 1823. Examples: 'Louise Odier', 'Mme. Pierre Oger', 'Zéphirine Drouhin' (the last example is often classified under climbing roses).

Noisette rose 'Desprez à fleurs jaunes' (Desprez 1830)

[edit] Noisette

The first Noisette rose was raised as a hybrid seedling by a South Carolina rice planter named John Champneys.^[3] Its parents were the China Rose 'Parson's Pink' and the autumn-flowering musk rose (Rosa moschata), resulting in a vigorous climbing rose producing huge clusters of small pink flowers from spring to fall. Champneys sent seedlings of his rose (called 'Champneys' Pink Cluster') to his gardening friend, Philippe Noisette, who in turn sent plants to his brother Louis in Paris, who then introduced 'Blush Noisette' in 1817. The first Noisettes were small-blossomed, fairly winter-hardy climbers, but later infusions of Tea rose genes created a Tea-Noisette subclass with larger flowers, smaller clusters, and considerably reduced winter hardiness. Examples: 'Blush Noisette', 'Lamarque' (Noisette); 'Mme. Alfred Carriere', 'Marechal Niel' (Tea-Noisette). (See French and German articles on Noisette roses)

[edit] Hybrid Perpetual

Hybrid Perpetual rose 'La Reine' (Laffay 1844)

The dominant class of roses in Victorian England, hybrid perpetuals (a misleading translation of hybrides remontants, 'reblooming hybrids') emerged in 1838 as the first roses which successfully combined Asian remontancy (repeat blooming) with the old European lineages.^[3] Since re-bloom is a recessive trait, the first generation of Asian/European crosses (Hybrid Chinas, Hybrid Bourbons, Hybrid Noisettes) were stubbornly once-blooming, but when these roses were recrossed with themselves or with Chinas or teas, some of their offspring flowered more than once. The Hybrid Perpetuals thus were something of a miscellany, a catch-all class derived to a great extent from the Bourbons but with admixtures of Chinas, teas, damasks, gallicas, and to a lesser extent Noisettes, albas and even centifolias.^[12] They became the most popular garden and florist roses of northern Europe at the time, as the tender tea roses would not thrive in cold climates, and the Hybrid Perpetuals' very large blooms were well-suited to the new phenomenon of competitive exhibitions. The "perpetual" in the name hints at repeat-flowering, but many varieties of this class had poor re-flowering habits; the tendency was for a massive spring bloom, followed by either scattered summer flowering, a smaller autumn burst, or sometimes nothing at all until next spring. Due to a limited colour palette (white, pink, red) and lack of reliable repeat-bloom, the hybrid perpetuals were ultimately overshadowed by their descendants, the Hybrid Teas. Examples: 'Ferdinand Pichard', 'Reine Des Violettes', 'Paul Neyron'.

Hybrid Musk rose 'Moonlight' (Pemberton 1913)

[edit] Hybrid Musk

Although they arose too late to qualify technically as Old Garden Roses, the hybrid musks are often informally classed with them, since their growth habits and care are much more like the Old Garden Roses than Modern Roses. The hybrid musk group was mainly developed by Rev. Joseph Pemberton, a British rosarian, in the first decades of the 20th century, based upon 'Aglaia', a 1896 cross by Peter Lambert. A seedling of this rose, 'Trier', is considered to the foundation of the class.^[3] The genetics of the class are somewhat obscure, as some of the parents are unknown. Rose multiflora, however, is known to be one parent, and Rosa moschata (the musk rose) also figures in its heritage, though it is considered to be less important than the name would suggest. Hybrid musks are disease-resistant, repeat flowering and generally cluster-flowered, with a strong, characteristic "musk" scent.^[13][14] The stems tend to be lax and arching, with limited thorns.^[4]
Examples include 'Buff Beauty' and 'Penelope'.

[edit] Hybrid Rugosa

Rugosa rose 'Blanc Double de Coubert' (Cochet 1893)

The Rugosas likewise are not officially Old Garden Roses, but tend to be grouped with them. Derived from Rosa rugosa from Japan and Korea beginning in the 1880s, these vigorous roses are extremely hardy with excellent disease resistance. Most are extremely fragrant, repeat bloomers with moderately double flat flowers. The defining characteristic of a Hybrid Rugosa rose is its wrinkly leaves, but some hybrids do lack this trait. These roses will often set hips. Examples include 'Hansa' and 'Roseraie de l'Häy'.

[edit] Bermuda "Mystery" Roses

A group of several dozen "found" roses that have been grown in Bermuda for at least a century. The roses have significant value and interest for those growing roses in tropical and semi-tropical regions, since they are highly resistant to both nematode damage and the fungal diseases that plague rose culture in hot, humid areas, and capable of blooming in hot and humid weather. Most of these roses are likely Old Garden Rose cultivars that have otherwise dropped out of cultivation, or sports thereof. They are "mystery roses" because their "proper" historical names have been lost. Tradition dictates that they are named after the owner of the garden where they were rediscovered.

[edit] Miscellaneous

There are also a few smaller classes (such as Scots, Sweet Brier) and some climbing classes of old roses (including Ayrshire, Climbing China, Laevigata, Sempervirens, Boursault, Climbing Tea, and Climbing Bourbon). Those classes with both climbing and shrub forms are often grouped together.

[edit] Modern Garden Roses

A modern garden rose at University of the Pacific (United States).

Classification of modern roses can be quite confusing because many modern roses have old garden roses in their ancestry and their form varies so much. The classifications tend to be by growth and flowering characteristics, such as "large-flowered shrub", "recurrent, large-flowered shrub", "cluster-flowered", "rambler recurrent", or "ground-cover non-recurrent". The following includes the most notable and popular classifications of Modern Garden Roses:

A 'Memoriam' hybrid tea rose (von Abrams 1962)

[edit] Hybrid Tea

Main article: Hybrid Tea

The favourite rose for much of the history of modern roses, hybrid teas were initially created by hybridising Hybrid Perpetuals with Tea roses in the late 19th century. 'La France', created in 1867, is universally acknowledged as the first indication of a new class of roses. Hybrid teas exhibit traits midway between both parents: hardier than the teas but less hardy than the hybrid perpetuals, and more ever-blooming than the hybrid perpetuals but less so than the teas. The flowers are well-formed with large, high-centred buds, and each flowering stem typically terminates in a single shapely bloom. The shrubs tend to be stiffly upright and sparsely foliaged, which today is often seen as a liability in the landscape. Hybrid teas became the single most popular class of garden rose of the 20th century; today, their reputation as being more high maintenance than many other rose classes has led to a decline in hybrid tea popularity among gardeners and landscapers in favour of lower-maintenance "landscape" roses. The hybrid tea remains the standard rose of the floral industry, however, and is still favoured in small gardens in formal situations. Examples: 'Peace' (yellow), 'Garden Party' (white), 'Mister Lincoln' (red), 'Double Delight' (bi-colour cream and red), and Rosa 'Angel Face' (mauve).

[edit] Pernetiana

Pernetiana rose 'Soleil d'Or', the first of its class (Pernet 1900)

The French breeder Joseph Pernet-Ducher initiated the first class of roses to include genes from the old Austrian briar rose (Rosa foetida) with his 1900 introduction of 'Soleil d'Or.'^[3] This resulted in an entirely new colour range for roses: shades of deep yellow, apricot, copper, orange, true scarlet, yellow bicolours, lavender, gray, and even brown were now possible. Originally considered a separate class, the Pernetianas or Hybrid Foetidas were officially merged into the Hybrid Teas in 1930. The new colour range did much to increase hybrid tea popularity in the 20th century, but these colours came at a price: Rosa foetida also passed on a tendency toward disease-susceptibility, scentless blooms, and an intolerance of pruning to its descendants.

[edit] Polyantha

Literally "many-flowered" roses, from the Greek "poly" (many) and "anthos" (flower). Originally derived from crosses between two East Asian species (Rosa chinensis and Rosa multiflora), polyanthas first appeared in France in the late 19th century alongside the hybrid teas. They featured short plants — some compact, others spreading in habit — with tiny blooms (2.5 cm or 1 inch in diameter on average) carried in large sprays, in the typical rose colours of white, pink and red. Their main claim to fame was their prolific bloom: From spring to fall, a healthy polyantha shrub might be literally covered in flowers, creating a strong colour impact in the landscape. Polyantha roses are still regarded as low-maintenance, disease-resistant garden roses today, and remain popular for that reason. Examples: 'Cecile Brunner', 'The Fairy', 'Red Fairy', 'Pink Fairy'.

[edit] Floribunda

Main article: Floribunda (rose)

Rosa 'Borussia', a modern Floribunda rose

Rose breeders quickly saw the value in crossing polyanthas with hybrid teas, to create roses that bloomed with the polyantha profusion, but with hybrid tea floral beauty and colour range. In 1909, the first polyantha/hybrid tea cross, 'Gruss an Aachen,' was created, with characteristics midway between both parent classes. As the larger, more shapely flowers and hybrid-tea like growth habit separated these new roses from polyanthas and hybrid teas alike, a new class was created and named floribunda, Latin for "many-flowering." Typical floribundas feature stiff shrubs, smaller and bushier than the average hybrid tea but less dense and sprawling than the average polyantha. The flowers are often smaller than hybrid teas but are carried in large sprays, giving a better floral effect in the garden. Floribundas are found in all hybrid tea colours and with the classic hybrid tea-shaped blossom, sometimes differing from hybrid teas only in their cluster-flowering habit. Today they are still used in large bedding schemes in public parks and similar spaces. Examples: 'Anne Harkness', 'Dainty Maid', 'Iceberg', 'Tuscan Sun'.

[edit] Grandiflora

Grandifloras (Latin for "large-flowered") were the class of roses created in the mid-20th century to designate back-crosses between hybrid teas and floribundas that fit neither category — specifically, the 'Queen Elizabeth' rose, which was introduced in 1954.^[15] Grandiflora shrubs are typically larger than either hybrid teas or floribundas, and feature hybrid tea-style flowers borne in small clusters of three to five, similar to a floribunda. Grandifloras maintained some popularity from about the 1950s to the 1980s but today they are much less popular than either the hybrid teas or the floribundas. Examples: 'Queen Elizabeth', 'Comanche,' 'Montezuma'.

Meillandine (a miniature rose) in a terracotta flowerpot

[edit] Miniature

All of the classes of Old Garden Roses—gallicas, centifolias, etc.—had corresponding miniature forms, although these were once-flowering just as their larger forms were. As with the standard-sized varieties, miniature Old Garden roses were crossed with repeat-blooming Asian species to produce everblooming miniature roses. Today, miniature roses are represented by twiggy, repeat-flowering shrubs ranging from 6" to 36" in height, with most falling in the 12"–24" height range. Blooms come in all the hybrid tea colours; many varieties also emulate the classic high centred hybrid tea flower shape. Miniature roses are often marketed and sold by the floral industry as houseplants, but it is important to remember that these plants are largely descended from outdoor shrubs native to temperate regions; thus, most miniature rose varieties require an annual period of cold dormancy to survive. (Examples: 'Petite de Hollande' (Miniature Centifolia, once-blooming), 'Cupcake' (Modern Miniature, repeat-blooming). Miniature garden roses only grow in the summer.

[edit] Climbing and rambling

Rosa 'Zéphirine Drouhin', a climbing Bourbon rose (Bizot 1868)

As is the case with Miniature roses, all aforementioned classes of roses, both Old and Modern, have "climbing" forms, whereby the canes of the shrubs grow much longer and more flexible than the normal ("bush") forms. In the Old Garden Roses, this is often simply the natural growth habit of many cultivars and varieties; in many Modern roses, however, climbing roses are the results of spontaneous mutations.^[3] For example, 'Climbing Peace' is designated as a "Climbing Hybrid Tea," for it is genetically identical to the normal "shrub" form of the 'Peace' hybrid tea rose, except that its canes are long and flexible, i.e. "climbing." Most Climbing roses grow anywhere from 8'–20' in height and exhibit repeat-bloom. Rambler roses, although technically a separate class, are often lumped together with climbing roses. They also exhibit long, flexible canes, but are distinguished from true climbers in two ways: A larger overall size (20'–30' tall is common), and a once-blooming habit. Both climbing roses and rambling roses are not true vines such as ivy, clematis or wisteria; they lack the ability to cling to supports on their own, and must be manually trained and tied over structures such as arbors and pergolas. Examples: 'Blaze' (repeat-blooming climber), 'American Pillar' (once-blooming rambler).

[edit] English / David Austin

Austin rose 'Abraham Darby' (1985)

Although not officially recognized as a separate class of roses by any established rose authority, English (aka David Austin) roses are often set aside as such by consumers and retailers alike. Development started in the 1960s by David Austin of Shropshire, England, who wanted to rekindle interest in Old Garden Roses by hybridizing them with modern hybrid teas and floribundas.^[3] The idea was to create a new group of roses that featured blooms with old-fashioned shapes and fragrances, evocative of classic gallica, alba and "damask" roses, but with modern repeat-blooming characteristics and the larger modern colour range as well. Austin mostly succeeded in his mission; his tribe of "English" roses, now numbering hundreds of varieties, has been warmly embraced by the gardening public and are widely available to consumers. David Austin roses are still actively developed, with new varieties released regularly. The typical winter-hardiness and disease-resistance of the classic Old Garden Roses has largely been compromised in the process; many English roses are susceptible to the same disease problems that plague modern hybrid teas and floribundas, and many are not hardy north of USDA Zone 5. Examples: 'Mary Rose', 'Graham Thomas', 'Tamora'.

[edit] Canadian Hardy Roses

Developed for the extreme weather conditions of Canadian winters, these roses were developed by Agriculture Canada at the Morden Research Station in Morden, Manitoba and the Experimental Farm in Ottawa (and later at L'Assomption, Québec). These two main lines are called the Parkland series and the Explorer series. These programs have now been discontinued; however the remaining plant stock has been taken over by private breeders via the Canadian Artists series. Derived mostly from crosses of native Canadian species and more tender roses, these plants are extremely tolerant of cold weather, some down to −35C. A wide diversity of forms and colours were achieved. Examples include 'Morden Centennial', 'Morden Sunrise, 'Winnipeg Parks' and 'Cuthbert Grant'.
Other notable Canadian breeders include Frank Skinner, Percy Wright, Isabella Preston, Georges Bugnet and Robert Erskine.

[edit] Landscape Roses

An example of a shrub rose

This is a modern category of rose, members of which were developed mainly for mass amenity planting. In the late 20th century, traditional hybrid tea and floribunda rose varieties fell out of favour with many gardeners and landscapers, as they are often labour and chemical intensive plants susceptible to pest and disease problems. So-called "landscape" roses have thus been developed to fill the consumer desire for a garden rose that offers colour, form and fragrance, but is also low maintenance and easy to care for. Most landscape roses having the following characteristics:

• Lower growing habit, usually under 60 cm (24 inches)
• Repeat flowering
• Disease and pest resistance
• Growing on their own roots.

Principal parties involved in the breeding of new Landscape Roses varieties are: Werner Noak (Germany), Meidiland Roses (France), Boot & Co. (Netherlands), and William Radler (USA).