Roses – The Queen of Flowers
Her Majesty the Queen of Flowers
The title of the "Queen of Flowers" was bestowed on the rose by the Greek poetess Sappho over 2,500 years ago. Since that time the rose has become everyone's favorite flower. The ancient lineage and the romance associated with some of the older roses is an absorbing subject. The development of our modern roses is steeped in history, and many of the older roses used in making the crosses which have eventually given us some of our finest roses are, in themselves, still worthy of a place in today's gardens.
Many of these "old-fashioned" roses demand no more care than accorded ordinary shrubs and most of them thrive year after year without any trouble. It is not uncommon to find them, brought from Europe by early settlers, surviving near old cellar holes on abandoned farms. Many of these have the delightful true-rose fragrance, and the flowers of most of them are showy and are borne in abundance although they do not have the beauty of form possessed by the hybrid teas.
The French rose (Rosa gallica) is said to have been known since the year 1200 B.C. The named varieties of this species at one time reached the astounding number of 1700, but nearly all of them have now been lost to cultivation. There are, however, a couple of varieties which are listed in the catalogs of several growers: the apothecary rose or double French rose (R. gallica officinalis)
Rosa gallica
and Fair Rosamund's rose (R. gallica versicolor) which has its petals striped white and red. For many years this variety was sold as the York and Lancaster rose (see damask rose).
The cabbage rose, sometimes called the hundred-petaled rose (Rosa centifolia)
Rosa centifolia
and mentioned by Herodotus in the fifth century B.C., has been cultivated for 2000 years and is still in the trade. The moss rose (R. centifolia muscosa), so-called because of the moss-like growths that fringe and cover the sepals and pedicels, is believed to have originated in Holland as a mutation (bud sport) of this species. In 1596 it was introduced to England but it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that varieties were introduced in considerable numbers—about 400 according to one authority.
The damask rose is Rosa damascena. A variety of this, R. damascene versicolor, is called the York and Lancaster rose because the red and white flowers blooming on the same plant symbolize the end of the War of the Roses. Rosa damascena trigintapetala, sold under the name KAZANLIK, is, or was, grown extensively in the Balkans for the production of attar of roses used in perfumery. (R. alba and R. moschata are among others used for this purpose.)
The China rose, R. chinensis, was introduced to Europe in 1788 and the Chinese monthly rose (R. chinensis se/liper-florens) arrived a few years later.
Now as a matter of interest, let us take a look at what happens when good roses get together. The Bourbon rose originated in the Isle of Bourbon, now called Reunion. According to M. Breon (former director of the Botanic Garden there), who discovered it in 1817, the Bourbon rose originated as a chance seedling which came up in a hedge belonging to M. Perichon, a planter on the island, who transplanted it in his garden. The plant blossomed the following year and it was seen to be different from the only other roses which were then growing on the island, R. chinensis and R. damascena variety FOUR SEASONS. It is safe to assume that the Bourbon rose is a hybrid between these two roses. It is called R. borboniana and, when crossed with the French rose and the cabbage rose, produced the hybrid Bourbons. These, crossed with the China rose, produced the hybrid perpetuals which were considered the most important garden roses because of the size and beauty of their flowers and their ability to endure cold winters.
Now we have to introduce a new member of the cast, R. odorata, from which the tea roses originated. These, for the most part, cannot endure the winters in those regions where temperatures fall below zero, but their beauty of form and their fragrance commend them in regions where mild winters are the rule. But they were destined to play an important part in the rose saga, for rose breeders immediately got to work crossing them with the hybrid perpetuals with the result that a new group, the hybrid teas, were produced. These quickly became the most popular roses from the last half of the nineteenth century until well into the twentieth century. They are still in favor but are in danger of losing their pre-eminence to the floribundas and grandifloras. It is interesting to note that the first hybrid tea to be patented was LA FRANCE which is still offered by a few nurseries. It was originated by Guillot Fils of Lyons and introduced in 1867. It came from a cross between MME. BRAVY, a tea rose, and MME. VICTOR VERDIER, a hybrid perpetual.
Towards the close of the 19th century, new blood was brought in by Pernet-Ducher who crossed ANTOINE DUCHER, a hybrid perpetual, with PERSIAN YELLOW, a variety of Rosa foetida, and named the offspring SOLEIL D'OR which he introduced in 1900. This variety has flowers that have deep yellow and orange coloring. It is not much grown nowadays, chiefly because of its cantankerous disposition. Amalgamation of SOLEIL D'OR with hybrid teas resulted in a group known briefly as pernetiana. This designation did not last very long because rose breeders quickly set about crossing them with hybrid teas to get glowing colors, and re-crossing the offspring so that it became impossible to determine their ancestry. Unfortunately, along with the increased color range there came a susceptibility to attack by blackspot fungus.
Now the rose breeders have the chore of breeding out this weakness. Among those who set out to produce roses with increased vigor, combined with resistance to zero temperatures and black-spot, are the Brownells of Little Compton, Rhode Island, who started their project about forty-five years ago. By combining rose species, notably R. Wichuraiana, with various hybrid teas they have had considerable success.
The Scotch rose (R. spinosissima) was very popular during the middle years of the nineteenth century when the number of named varieties exceeded one hundred. Most of them have disappeared from cultivation but there is at least one, the Altai rose, R. spinosissima altaica, which can still be obtained.
There are many of these rose species which are particularly valuable in the shrub border or naturalized in semi-wild spots. Among these are the Virginian rose, R. virginiana (which, incidentally, is the first American rose to be introduced to the Old World) capable of growing to 6 feet, with pink- or rose-colored flowers about 2½ inches across. R. setigera or prairie rose is another native wild rose.
Harison's yellow (R. Harisoni) is an old-timer which brightens up the garden early with its semi-double, yellow flowers; Father Hugo's rose, R. Hugonis, and R. primula are early-blooming species with single yellow flowers.
The Japanese rose, R. rugosa, noted for its ability to thrive even when it is exposed to salt spray, is suitable for making a hedge. This has many hybrids, notably F. J. GROOTENDORST, a magenta-red.
Not all of these roses are easy to find in the trade. Many are available from the few specialists in old roses. If you are unable to get just what you want, a bit of sleuthing is in order. Visit local nurseries and tell your wants to the manager. He may know of someone who has the kinds you are looking for. But the method that will give you the greatest amount of pleasure is to keep your eyes open on your automobile trips through long-settled parts of our country and you may spot an interesting variety growing in someone's yard. Don't do anything larcenous—just knock on the door and when the owner appears put on your sweetest smile and, using your most dulcet voice, inquire about the rose. I would not mind betting a wooden nickel that you will be given a "start" before you leave.
Click on the following link if you'd like to see some lovely photos of old roses, here is a site with many photographs.