european-roses
The Old European Roses
If you are looking for a shrub that is as cold hardy and carefree as the common lilac, but less likely to lose its bloom to early freezes, then an Old European Rose might be just what you are looking for. They are tough, winter hardy, usually disease resistant, and often form good looking landscape shrubs when not in bloom. They vary from small, rounded, dense shrubs about 2 or 3 feet tall such as some gallicas to large shrubs 10 feet tall and wide. They are the roses that were grown in Europe before the introduction of China and Tea roses. A document that puts in words the way many Old Rose enthusiasts feel about old garden roses can be found here.
The albas have been with us for a long long time.
For instance,
The large, white flowered Alba Maxima has been around since the 1400's,
and was used to represent the house of York.
The typical alba has beautiful bluish grey foliage and white or pale
pink flowers. They usually have upright growth habit, and generally
don't spread as much by suckering as gallicas. The bushes are dense and
can get up to 10 feet tall (Banshee). And the hips are long and red.
They are very hardy and usually wonderfully fragrant.
The centifolias have been around for
at least 300 years. The name
Centifolia means hundred leafed, and implies that these roses
have a hundred petals. They are the large cabbage flowers that are
often seen on victorian wall paper and such. They grow about 3 to
6 feet high with arching branches on open bushes that can take up
quite a bit of garden space. The branches are covered with large
hooked thorns and dull, serrated foliage. They are almost always wonderfully
fragrant. Zone 4 winters are not a problem for them.
The damasks damasks are famous for
their use in creating the Attar of roses.
The flowers often have short stems and rather weak necks and come in
colors ranging from white to rosy red. The shrubs can be from 3 to
8 feet high, with arching thorny canes. Like the other European
roses, they are quite hardy here.
The gallicas are an ancient group.
Some, such as the Apothecary's Rose,
were thought to have medicinal properties.
They are often referred to as the "Mad Gallicas" since they are known for
their wild colors. They come in stripes, spots, purples, reds, pinks -
mainly the darker rose colors. They usually
grow 2 to 4 feet high, although some reach 6 feet, with upright stems
that have thin prickles rather than thorns. The leaves are rough, dull and
medium to dark
green. The buds are blunt rather than tapered. They often produce
good sized red hips in abundance. Very Very hardy, with almost no
winter die back even after a winter with temperatures down to minus
20 F.
Most of the moss moss roses came from
a sport from the centifolias. They
have an abundance of tiny glands on the sepals resembles moss and
gives off a pleasant herbal scent when touched. Some say it smells
like balsam (if balsam is the scent of Herbal Essence Shampoo, then
I agree.) They also have an abundance of thorns. The blooms come
in colors ranging from white to pink to deep crimson and purple. They
vary in height, from about 5 feet on up to about 10 feet.
There are some that will bloom more than once a year. The once
blooming mosses are as hardy as the other once blooming
old European roses, the repeat blooming ones less so.
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