Pulaski County Home and Garden
Gardening by Beth Phelps
Reds Add Beauty and History to the Garden
Roses not only beautify our gardens, their history is woven into human
history. The Chinese began cultivating roses in 500 A.D. The Persians
established a profitable trade in Attar of Rose, the oil distilled from the
petals. The Greeks grew roses for perfume and medical purposes. They dedicated
two deities to the Rose – Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty and Dionysus,
God of Revelry. Hundreds of varieties of rose were created in hopes of being
selected by Empress Josephine for the gardens she created at Malmaison and roses
became all the rage.
The American Rose Society classifies those introduced before 1868 as heritage
roses. While most rose enthusiasts consider any rose introduced before 1918 an
old garden rose. No matter when you choose to draw the line, 1868 remains
important in the history of the rose because in the midst of the Civil War 'La
France', the first hybrid tea, was introduced. The hybrid tea roses gave
gardeners bright colors, large flowers on long stems and continuous blossoms
spring through fall. Thus the old garden roses faded from favor until recently
when the desire for fragrant blooms and tough, disease free plants suitable for
mixing with perennials in the landscape began their new rise in popularity.
Whether you call them old garden roses, heritage roses or antique roses they
will prove to be tough plants that perform consistently in the landscape with
minimal maintenance. However, just because it is considered an old or antique
rose does not mean it is problem free. Variety selection is the key to success -
make sure your choice is disease resistant.
The following are some favorites of experienced gardeners in central
Arkansas. 'Marquise Bocella' introduced in 1842 and also sold as Jacques Cartier
has powerfully fragrant, pink powder puff blooms from spring to fall. It is a
shrub rose reaching five feet.
'Dutchess De Brabant', 1857, also a shrub five feet tall, produces fragrant
pink flowers from spring to the first freeze of winter. 'Duchess De Brabant' was
the favorite rose of Teddy Roosevelt who often wore a bud or flower as a
boutonniere.
'Marie Pavie' is a very versatile rose that can be used in the perennial
garden, container or as a three to four foot hedge. It's blush to almost white
flowers are produced in clusters and are intensely fragrant. 'Marie Pavie' was
introduced in 1888 and blooms freely all season.
'Souvenir de St. Anne' introduced in 1916, produces it's delicate pink
flowers on a small bush. Named for St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus, this rose
does well in Arkansas. The flowers open beautifully unlike it's close relative
'Souvenir de la Malmaison' whose flowers tend to ball and not open in the heat
and humidity of the southern garden.
'Cecile Brunner', 1881, is commonly called the sweetheart rose. The fragrant,
perfectly formed tiny pink roses are produced in sprays that make a wonderful
addition to a fresh garden bouquet. Along with the bush form, which grows to
about four feet tall, there is a climbing 'Cecile Brunner' reaching 20 feet or
more. Although this rose produces its heaviest bloom in the spring a few flowers
will open all summer.
Another wonderful climber is 'Zephirine Drouhin' putting on a spectacular
spring show with cerise flowers on its thornless stems. The flowers of
'Zephirine Drouhin', an 1868 introduction, have a delightfully fruity, raspberry
fragrance.
There are fewer yellow or white flowered old garden roses. 'Lady Banks',
1807, is a thornless climber covered in tiny yellow flowers for several weeks in
the early spring, and although rarely seen, there is a white flowering form.
Unfortunately, 'Lady Banks' is not very tolerant of cold winters and central
Arkansas is about as far north as it will survive.
'Mermaid', a large climber with sulfur yellow flowers, was first planted in
1918 but unlike ' Lady Banks' this rose has treacherous thorns and is best
planted well away from garden visitors. 'Mermaid' does flower from spring
through fall making it worth the occasional scratch.
'Lamarque' is an 1830 rose with white blooms, a wonderful fragrance and dark
green foliage. Even though it only flowers in the spring, the dark green foliage
insures this plant is an asset in the landscape even when not in bloom.
With the increased popularity of the heritage roses many modern garden roses
have been developed with the same characteristics. The key to success for the
Arkansas gardener is to read the variety description planting only those with
exceptional disease resistance, flowers that do not ball but open fully in humid
growing conditions and tolerate winter temperatures in Zone 6 or lower.
A climber that cannot be beat for its delicate pink blooms, blackspot
resistance and tough vigorous growth is 'New Dawn', 1930. When growing over a
fence or arbor, 'New Dawn' produces a blanket of light pink flowers in May. And
even though a modern rose, you'll never have to spray. 'New Dawn' is a vigorous
grower with lots of thorns so give it plenty of space.
'The Fairy' aptly named as it flowers with clusters of tiny pink blossoms was
introduced in 1936. And, although not fragrant 'The Fairy' at 3 feet tall fits
nicely into even a small perennial flower bed blooming all summer long.
When purchasing a rose bush it is always best to select those growing on
their own root system. Unfortunately grafted plants may be all that is
available. In general roses are easy to propagate. Many roses are pasted from
one generation to the next by cuttings taken from Grandma's garden, rooted and
lovingly planted. They bring flowers and family memories.
Even with careful selection blackspot can be a problem. The symptoms are
yellowing leaves, which on closer inspection have black spots with feather
margins. Blackspot will also cause dark, sunken lesions on the stems. Severe
blackspot can kill the plant but more commonly it just causes the leaves to
yellow and fall off. The result is an ugly bush that does not flower well. There
is no cure for blackspot, however, periodic sprays of Immunox, Funginex or any
systemic fungicide will slow its spread.
Although they require less maintenance than hybrid tea roses, heritage roses
do require some care. Fertilize them a couple times a year - early spring and
late summer. Many rose enthusiasts have their own special recipe but any
general-purpose fertilizer will work.
Many of the old garden roses have survived in cemeteries and abandoned home
sites in part because they are drought tolerant. However to keep your garden
roses flowering and the foliage lush, weekly watering is necessary once the
spring rains stop. Watering early in the morning insures the leaves will dry
quickly thus farther reducing the occurrence to disease.
Garden roses do not require the precise pruning needed by hybrid teas. As a
general rule bush garden roses can be pruned back by about one third in the
early spring. With climbers only the dead and unwanted canes should be remove.
In the fall many old garden roses produce beautiful red fruit called hips. Rose
hips are favored by many birds and add color to the winter garden.
Add old garden roses to you garden and enjoy the beauty, fragrance and
history they bring.
This articles was Originally Published in
Active Years
Magazine
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