ALL ABOUT ROSES
Old Garden Roses and Older Roses
Old Garden Rose Novelties
By Steve Jones
One of the things I love about Old Garden Roses (OGRs) is the tremendous variety of colors, shapes, bloom, and fragrance. I have heard complaints that all OGRs are pink and they all look alike. It is true that pink, like in Modern roses such as hybrid teas and miniatures, is a very common color, but not all roses are pink. There are several OGRs that are different, unusual, and some that one might consider bizarre.
Green Rose (1845 China) is also known as 'Rosa chinensis viridiflora' and 'Rosa chinensis monstrosata.' The petals of this rose reverted back to leaves (petals are modified leaves). The rose also has no sex organs, so it can not be used in breeding programs. Love it or hate it, this rose is very popular for landscaping and a great filler material for rose arrangements. The 3' plant continually "blooms."
Green Rose (1845 China) is also known as 'Rosa chinensis viridiflora' and 'Rosa chinensis monstrosata.' The petals of this rose reverted back to leaves (petals are modified leaves). The rose also has no sex organs, so it can not be used in breeding programs. Love it or hate it, this rose is very popular for landscaping and a great filler material for rose arrangements. The 3' plant continually "blooms."
There are a large variety of different and unusual colors other than "green." Stripes are very popular. The striped once-blooming OGRs are Variegata di Bologna (1909 Bourbon), Rosa Mundi (ancient Gallica), York and Lancaster (1629 Damask), Georges Vibert (1853 Gallica), and Village Maid (1829 Gallica). Repeat blooming striped OGRs include Five-Colored Rose (1844 Tea), Mme Driout (1902 Cl. Tea), Honorine de Brabant (unknown date, Bourbon), and Ferdinand Pichard (1921 Hybrid Perpetual).
There are OGRs whose blooms change color as they age. This trait comes from the China roses. Most of these blooms start off as yellow or light pink blooms, then turn to red or crimson before the petals fall. Mutabilis (1894 China), Archduke Charles (1837 China), and Miss Lowe (unknown date, China) are good examples. It's amazing to see different colored blooms on the same plant.
There are also multiple colors in OGRs. Rosette Delizy (1922 Tea) blooms have different shades of yellow, red, and pink.
The blooms themselves can be unusual. There are hundreds of 'single' roses (having 5 - 12 petals), such as Mermaid (1918 Hybrid Bracteata); but there are also some odd-shaped blooms, such as the scattered petals of Green Rose, or the square blooms of Omar Khayyam (1893 Damask) or General Schablikine (1878 Tea).
The "Mad" Gallicas are well known for their rich and bold colors, especially mauve, red, crimson, purple, deep red (almost black), and violet. Hulthemia persica (1790 "species") has a darker colored ring around the center of the blooms, similar to the "halo" series introduced by Ralph Moore.
Rose foliage can likewise be very interesting or different. One of my favorite species rose is Rosa stellata mirifica (1916 Species), or the 'Gooseberry Rose.' The foliage reminds one of parsley, and most people do not believe it is a rose. The very small foliage of Rosa minutifolia (1910 Species) is unique, along with the bamboo like foliage of Rosa multiflora watsoniana (1870 Species), and the willow-shaped leaves of Rosa palustris (1726 Species). The heavy furrowed leaves on Rosa rugosa and their subspecies is likewise unique and quite disease resistant. The foliage of Albas is blue-gray and Rosa glauca (1830 species) is reddish.
The foliage of many of the species roses is fern-like, such as Mrs. Colville (unknown date, Hybrid Spinosissima). The foliage could also be fragrant. Rosa eglanteria (1551 Species) foliage has the scent of apples when rubbed between the fingers or just after a rain. The foliage of Rosa primula (1910 Species) has an incense scent and Rosa glutinosa (1821 Species) is pine scented. Some rose foliage is almost evergreen, such as Rosa banksaie subspecies and Félicitée et Perpéetue (1828 Hybrid Sempervirens).
The mossy growth on moss roses is also unique and different. It is fragrant when rubbed between the fingers, and has a pine scent. Deuil de Paul Fontaine (1873) is one of the heavier-mossed varieties. Mosses were sports of centifolias and a few damasks.
The mossy growth on moss roses is also unique and different. It is fragrant when rubbed between the fingers, and has a pine scent. Deuil de Paul Fontaine (1873) is one of the heavier-mossed varieties. Mosses were sports of centifolias and a few damasks.
Thorns can be differently shaped and colored. The winged thorns of Rosa sericea pteracantha (1890 Species) are translucent and red in color before turning gray with age. There are several "thornless" roses including Zephirine Drouhin (1868 Bourbon) and its sport, Kathleen Harrop (1919).
Most people think old garden roses are huge shrubs, but there are several "minis", including the continually blooming Rouletti (1818 China), the 12" Rosa spithamea, and Pink Pet (1928 China).
Of course, the fragrance of old garden roses is considered a novelty of its own compared to many of today's roses. Rose attar, or the fragrant oil from roses, has been distilled from OGRs for centuries. Autumn Damask, Alba semi-plena, and Kazanlik were some of the OGRs used for attar. The "myrrh" fragrance common in some of today's English Roses was known prior to their introduction from Splendens (1837 Ayrshire) and Rosa soulieana (1896 Species). The most popular of all fragrances is the damask or "Old Rose" scent common to most of the damasks, and the "musk" scent from the Rosa multiflora subspecies. Archduke Charles has a lemony scent; both Gruss an Teplitz (1897 Bourbon) and Souvenir de la Malmaison (1843 Bourbon) are spicy, and the Rosa foetida subspecies scent is similar to linseed oil and is offensive to some individuals. Other rose scents are the white hyacinth from Maiden's Blush (1738 Alba), strong fruit from Zephirine Drouhin, and nasturtium from Georg Arends (1910 Hybrid Perpetual).
