Of all of the roses in my yard, one of my favorites has to be Souvenir de la Malmaison. If there was ever an old garden rose that could out-bloom most modern roses, this is it. With lovely, light pink to almost white blooms that have the classic quartered appearance of old garden roses, this old rose remains a small plant. My ten-year-old plant is still three feet high by four feet wide. Add to that a nice, spicy fragrance, and you have a rose that is tough to beat.

Souvenir (French for 'memory') de la Malmaison was named to honor Malmaison, the former home of the real rose queen, the French Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her love of the rose helped to ensure the future of the species more than any other person in history. Malmaison was a rose and plant showcase from 1798 through 1814. She hired one of the top gardeners in France, Aime Bonpland, and one of the top botanical painters, Pierre-Joseph Redoute, to preserve the memory of many a rose that might have been lost in obscurity (Eastman - Kodak was not on the scene yet). It was said that even though her husband was at war with the world, the opposing navies would allow her ships filled with plants to pass through the harbor barriers unmolested.

Since intentional hybridization was relatively a new practice, Josephine encouraged the top breeders in France to create new species using her collection of over 250 roses. Prior to that time, hybridization was done naturally by insects and self-pollination. The participants represented the "who's who" in rose history: Dupont, Cochet, Laffey, Prevost and Vilmorin. Unfortunately, Josephine did not live long enough to see the fruits of her labor.

Souvenir de la Malmaison is a bourbon rose that was introduced in 1843 by Beluze. According to Modern Roses, Souvenir was a cross of the 1831 bourbon, Madame Deprez, and a tea rose, which would explain the tenderness and constant blooming ability of this rose. In mild winter years, Souvenir will not stop blooming. It is not unusual to see over 50 blooms on the plant during peak times. Souvenir is also a good show rose. Behind Marchesa Boccella, this rose was my second top winner of the ARS Dowager Award at many rose shows.

Unfortunately, Souvenir is not without its faults. Although it grows very well in the non-coastal areas of Southern California, it is tender in the colder climates of the United States. Also, the blooms tend to ball in wet, damp weather, and the plant will slightly mildew if you don't spray. The rose takes 2-3 years to mature, but when it does, it will reward you with an abundance of blooms.

There is a climbing version of Souvenir (1893, Bennett) which is quite vigorous and blooms very well. The bush and climber are available from several old garden rose mail order nurseries.

There are several sports or seedlings of Souvenir worth mentioning. A semi-double form of Souvenir was found by Hilling in 1950 called Souvenir de St. Anne's. This rose is very popular in the deep south. Leveson Gower (1845) by Beluze, is also called Souvenir de la Malmaison Rose, which is a medium orange-pink or rose color with similar full, cupped blooms. Kronprincessin Viktoria (1887) is a pale yellow sport from Vollert that has fewer petals. Unfortunately, Kronprincessin seems to be more disease prone, especially to powdery mildew.

If you want a small OGR that will outbloom most hybrid teas, is fragrant, and could win the Dowager Award at shows, this is the one!

Photo courtesy of Steve Jones