ALL ABOUT ROSES
"I know a rose-tree springing Forth from an ancient root,This old Christian hymn, first published in Germany in 1599, is sung to the tune Rosa Mystica and uses a rose-tree as an allegorical symbol. But what kind of rose is it? Subsequent stanzas give further clues. It was an ancient rose, one that bloomed "in the cold of winter" and was "blossom-laden" with a "fragrance tender" that filled the air with sweetness. What rose was so sublime that it could could serve as a symbol of God incarnate?
As men of old were singing, From Jesse came the shoot
That bore a blossom bright Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night."
The crusading knights who brought Rosa damascena from Persia back to France were enraptured by its virtues. (According to one account, it was a chevalier named Robert de Brie who, between 1254 and 1276, brought the first Damask Rose to France). Not only did this rose possess a rare perfume and plentiful and lovely blooms, but had a further distinction: the wondrous ability to bloom twice in one season, a quality unseen in the Gallica, Alba and Centifolia roses cherished in Europe. They saw in the Damask's recurring bloom a symbol for eternal life, the central tenet of the Christian faith. Now the rose was more meaningful than ever. All of its graces -- its vigor, beauty, healing merits, glorious perfume and fruitfulness -- were enhanced by the appearance of a second cycle of bloom in Autumn. Since the rose was already exalted and idealized in European life and culture, the idea of a repeat-blooming rose was to make quite an impact.
But the Rose of Damascus had already been grown and revered for centuries, and figured prominently in sacred mysteries and rites, healing, and the arts of the Middle East. It was known and celebrated by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and throughout the Islamic world. Its characteristics and culture were mentioned by classical authors such as Virgil, Herodotus, Theophrastus, Cato, and Pliny. The Damask rose and the attar (essential oil) distilled from it was an important trade item for the ancient Romans. The exquisite scent of the Damask Rose and its second bloom season had made it one of the most important plants in recorded history and also ensured its future importance to hybridizers -- as a parent to remontant offspring such as Portlands and Bourbons.
But the Rose of Damascus had already been grown and revered for centuries, and figured prominently in sacred mysteries and rites, healing, and the arts of the Middle East. It was known and celebrated by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and throughout the Islamic world. Its characteristics and culture were mentioned by classical authors such as Virgil, Herodotus, Theophrastus, Cato, and Pliny. The Damask rose and the attar (essential oil) distilled from it was an important trade item for the ancient Romans. The exquisite scent of the Damask Rose and its second bloom season had made it one of the most important plants in recorded history and also ensured its future importance to hybridizers -- as a parent to remontant offspring such as Portlands and Bourbons.
Could the Damask rose have been a cross between Rosa gallica and a species rose such as Rosa phoenicia? This is still a subject for conjecture. One thing is certain: this renowned rose has an assured future, for it is a long-lived, vigorous shrub that is still widely grown by lovers of old roses.
Damask roses are large shrubs that reaches 5 to 7 feet, with thorny, lax canes and long, pointed, gray-green leaves that can be downy or prickly. Their flowers occur in sprays of very double blooms in clear, luminous, rich pinks and whites. Damask roses are hardy to Zone 4, disease-resistant, and floriferous. They are easy to care for, requiring nothing more than good garden loam, plenty of sun and consistent watering. Their blooms are unsurpassed for cutting and potpourri, but their floppy canes can appear straggly. This tendency, along with their thorniness and large size can make them unwieldy garden subjects, but there are situations where they can be used advantageously. They can be grown in a cutting garden, or combined with perennials in a cottage garden or toward the back of a mixed border. Their flexible canes can be trained along a fence railing or up alongside a post, pillar or tuteur. Or they can be planted to create an informal hedge.
Notable Damask Roses
Autumn Damask (Quatre Saisons, Rose of Castile, R. damascena bifera, R. damascena semperflorens) was the first repeat blooming rose introduced into Europe. Because the rose had already attained profound romantic, artistic, literary and spiritual meanings, this discovery was laden with great significance, and Autumn Damask attained great fame. It has thorny, weak canes and prickly leaves, with an abundant show of attractive pink blooms of intense fragrance in June and again in September.
Could the Damask rose have been a cross between Rosa gallica and a species rose such as Rosa phoenicia? This is still a subject for conjecture. One thing is certain: this renowned rose has an assured future, for it is a long-lived, vigorous shrub that is still widely grown by lovers of old roses.
Damask roses are large shrubs that reaches 5 to 7 feet, with thorny, lax canes and long, pointed, gray-green leaves that can be downy or prickly. Their flowers occur in sprays of very double blooms in clear, luminous, rich pinks and whites. Damask roses are hardy to Zone 4, disease-resistant, and floriferous. They are easy to care for, requiring nothing more than good garden loam, plenty of sun and consistent watering. Their blooms are unsurpassed for cutting and potpourri, but their floppy canes can appear straggly. This tendency, along with their thorniness and large size can make them unwieldy garden subjects, but there are situations where they can be used advantageously. They can be grown in a cutting garden, or combined with perennials in a cottage garden or toward the back of a mixed border. Their flexible canes can be trained along a fence railing or up alongside a post, pillar or tuteur. Or they can be planted to create an informal hedge.
Notable Damask Roses
Autumn Damask (Quatre Saisons, Rose of Castile, R. damascena bifera, R. damascena semperflorens) was the first repeat blooming rose introduced into Europe. Because the rose had already attained profound romantic, artistic, literary and spiritual meanings, this discovery was laden with great significance, and Autumn Damask attained great fame. It has thorny, weak canes and prickly leaves, with an abundant show of attractive pink blooms of intense fragrance in June and again in September.
Celsiana's soft, pale pink, double blooms are presented in graceful sprays. Its silky, tissue-thin petals exude a delectable fragrance. It has a less lanky, more rounded form than the average Damask, and is popular with modern rose growers.
Hebe's Lip (R. damascena rubrotincta) was named for Hebe, the Virgin Goddess of Immortality. Like her, its beauty is understated. Its claim to fame are its blush white, double blooms tipped with crimson.
Ispahan (Pompon des Princes) An unusually attractive shrubby form and a long period of bloom -- one of the longest of any once-blooming rose -- distinguish Ispahan, named for an ancient city in Persia. Ispahan displays huge quantities of fragrant, clustered, warm pink blooms. The city of Ispahan still exists and has its own website.
Hebe's Lip (R. damascena rubrotincta) was named for Hebe, the Virgin Goddess of Immortality. Like her, its beauty is understated. Its claim to fame are its blush white, double blooms tipped with crimson.
Ispahan (Pompon des Princes) An unusually attractive shrubby form and a long period of bloom -- one of the longest of any once-blooming rose -- distinguish Ispahan, named for an ancient city in Persia. Ispahan displays huge quantities of fragrant, clustered, warm pink blooms. The city of Ispahan still exists and has its own website.
Kazanlik (R. damascena trigintipetala) is a straggly, but very floriferous shrub. Its pure pink flowers are incredibly fragrant and will perfume the entire garden. Its petals are the source of precious attar of roses. Along with Rosa gallica, this is the best rose for potpourri. (Kazanlik is still grown in Bulgaria for the perfume industry).
La Ville de Bruxelles presents very large, very double blooms of beautiful form. Its glistening, satiny petals are a clear blush pink and imbued with a rich fragrance. The shrub itself is well-foliaged and attractive.
Leda (Painted Damask) Like Hebe's Lip, Leda's blooms have fragrant, milky-white petals edged with crimson, with a button eye for a garnish. Leda is named for the Goddess Lat ("Lady") and is smaller and more compact than most Damasks.
Mme. Hardy One of the greatest of all heirloom roses, Mme. Hardy is a healthy and shapely shrub of about 6 feet high. In June, it covered with clusters of large, perfectly-formed, very double, pure white blooms -- each with a green button eye -- which emit a rich, lemon-infused scent. Mme. Hardy was the wife of the chief horticulturist at Empress Josephine's renowned rose gardens at Malmaison.
York and Lancaster (R. damascena versicolor) This is a large, open shrub with great sprays of small, fragrant, semi-double blooms that range in color from pink to white. It is the only variegated rose among the Damasks. While not the most attractive shrub, York and Lancaster is of historical interest and provides good roses for cutting.
SOURCES
Austin, David. Old Roses and English Roses. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collector's Club, 1992.
Rose, Graham and Peter King. The Love of Roses: From Myth to Modern Culture. London: Quiller Press, 1990.
Mme. Hardy One of the greatest of all heirloom roses, Mme. Hardy is a healthy and shapely shrub of about 6 feet high. In June, it covered with clusters of large, perfectly-formed, very double, pure white blooms -- each with a green button eye -- which emit a rich, lemon-infused scent. Mme. Hardy was the wife of the chief horticulturist at Empress Josephine's renowned rose gardens at Malmaison.
York and Lancaster (R. damascena versicolor) This is a large, open shrub with great sprays of small, fragrant, semi-double blooms that range in color from pink to white. It is the only variegated rose among the Damasks. While not the most attractive shrub, York and Lancaster is of historical interest and provides good roses for cutting.
SOURCES
Austin, David. Old Roses and English Roses. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collector's Club, 1992.
Rose, Graham and Peter King. The Love of Roses: From Myth to Modern Culture. London: Quiller Press, 1990.
Look to the Rose that blows about us--"Lo,
Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow,
At once the silken tassel of my Purse
Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw."
-- Omar Khayyam, The Rubiyat, ca. 1200 AD
Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow,
At once the silken tassel of my Purse
Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw."
-- Omar Khayyam, The Rubiyat, ca. 1200 AD
"Attar-of-roses, a yellow-green oil extracted from the petals of the most fragrant damask roses, is used in making perfume. It is a volatile oil concentrated in the cells at the base of the petals just before the rose opens. The roses must be picked at the first light of dawn because by noon 30 percent of the oil is lost to evaporation and 70 to 80 percent is lost by 4 pm. The picking of the petals is finished before 10 am, and they are processed the same day. It takes a ton and a half of fresh-plucked rose petals to produce a pound of attar-of-roses. The price of a pound of attar-of-roses fluctuates between two and three times the price of a pound of gold."
