First, a Few Musings Regarding the Business of Offering Nonrecurrents for Sale
In our last newsletter I presented what I hope was a strong case for growing some of the once blooming antiques. The later two thirds of the last century was so dominated by large companies marketing new varieties of modern roses like models of new cars that the superb antiques have been endangered for a very long time. It is worth noting that when the large companies did offer a few antiques many companies tended to offer nearly the same varieties. Many people have at least heard of Cardinal de Richelieu, Charles de Mills, and Henri Martin (a.k.a. Old Red Moss), not just because they are great roses, which they are, but because they were mass marketed for decades by several large companies.

The Earth Kind roses are a more recent example of mass marketing techniques applied to both selected antiques and a few relatively obscure modern roses, the goal being to convince the public to buy varieties that are mass produced and preselected for them. It is much more cost effective to mass market tens of thousands of just a few varieties than it is to produce a few clones yearly of a thousand or two varieties.

What the public has yet to learn is that there are countless roses, both antique and modern that perform beautifully in various climates and can be relied upon to be healthy. The numerous antiques that are available today, from companies like ours, did not survive because someone was spraying them throughout the growing season or because they were mass marketed. Many were grown as cuttings under fruit jars in someone’s yard and passed along, some traveling along the trails to the West and surviving along those trails even when they were tossed out to lighten the wagon load. Harison’s Yellow which survives in thickets along the Oregon Trail is a case in point.

Among the nonrecurrent bloomers there are roses that are legendary for a beauty and fragrance that is unsurpassed and unique even today: Great Maiden's Blush, Kazanlik, Hebe's Lip (Rubrotincta). Among roses that fill the modern demands for tough, healthy plants that demand little of the gardener, the Albas and the Gallicas are classes that come to mind. It must be noted, however, that the majority of the antique classes are easy to grow with very little effort beyond the original planting preparation that any rose requires.

Then there are the roses whose names resonate with the events, people, and places of their time: Geant des Batailles, Commandant Beaurepaire. Commandant is a rose I would grow just to say the name occasionally, to conjure instantly the era, and a uniformed gallant, straight out of Jane Austen, among the roses.

To return to the topic of fragrance among the nonrecurrent antiques, here is a summary by class. (DR, disease resistant, VH, very hardy, Z, USDA Zone, the coldest zones suitable are given)

The Albas: (VDR, VH Z3-4) Great Maiden's Blush, Konigen von Danemark, Alba Semi-Plena, Felicite Parmentier, and Belle Amour are just a few of this hauntingly fragrant group. Add to their allure that all have a high degree of shade tolerance and beautiful blue-green foliage impervious to disease. Note: This group may not perform well in Zones 10 and up, and some Zone 9 locations. The plant will prosper, but may not bloom due to the lack of a period of winter dormancy. In my opinion every garden should have at least one Alba, as they are as close to perfect as any plants to be found. Especially those accustomed to growing brightly colored, rapidly reblooming modern roses should have at least one cooling, unforgettably fragrant, pale Alba to look forward to annually.

The Gallicas: (VH, Z 4-5, DR [Some Gallicas may mildew in some seasons in some varieties in some climates in some locations within the garden. This is not a show stopper as it usually occurs later after bloom is past. It is easily controlled if they are sprayed preventively just before onset of the condition is expected. The other approach is to clip the first signs that appear and then spray 2 or 3 times 3 days apart to prevent further spread.] Like the Albas, this group also need a period of winter dormancy to perform well.

I include here the very fragrant, very disease resistant Paul Barden Gallicas: Allegra™, Marianne™, and Umbra™. Other fragrant Gallicas of great worthiness are “William Grant”, Duc de Guiche, Duchesse de Buccleugh, Duchesse de Montebello, “Rush Family Gallica”, and Belle de Crecys, among many others offered by RVR. And who can resist the dark velvet combined with golden stamens of La Belle Sultane, Tuscany Superb, James Mason, or Spotty?

The Gallicas, like the true Teas, Hybrid Perpetuals, and the Hybrid Teas today, were the premier popular roses of their time and originally had many more cultivars. Alas, only a few hundred Gallica varieties continue to be available in commerce today. All rose growers who plant only roses that are always in bloom, never varying in color, etc. should try at least one highly mutable Gallica, such as Belle de Crecy. Thus, once a year, they can hold onto their deadheading shears and marvel at the changes in color as the blooms open deep pink and slide toward indigo then slate before falling cleanly away in the manner of their beloved Knock Outs.

The Damasks: (VH, Z4-5, VDR). The ‘Damask’ scent is the scent we think of as the ‘true rose scent’. The Damasks include the roses used in the manufacture of attar of roses, such as Kazanlik, Ispahan, and Gloire de Guillan. This is the class of Mme. Hardy and the reblooming and beloved Autumn Damask (Quatre Saisons). These are roses of supreme gracefulness, as well as fragrance, whose buds and growth habit evoke childhood memories of wallpaper, china, and chintz.

The Mosses: (This is a diverse group with many VDR, VH, Z4-5 varieties, including several reblooming varieties.) In this ‘antique’ group Paul Barden has done some interesting work with the mosses. Barbara Oliva™ by Paul has a rich, complex Old Rose scent; Nightmoss has a rose scent with a hint of smoke. Golden Moss and Robert Leopold are two other very good modern mosses. Robert Leopold is a tree climbing monster Pernetiana whose superb fragrance and mutability of color, opening apricot and ending lavender, has won my allegiance to finding that spot where he can range. Other superbly fragrant mosses are: Common Moss, Mrs. William Paul, Rene d’ Anjou, and Louis Gimard. Some reblooming mosses with fragrance are: Mme. Louis Leveque, Alfred de Dalmas (Mousseline), Salet, and Soupert et Notting (Jean Bodin).

The Hybrid Bourbons: This group contains some of best roses for pure spectacle. Most can be grown as very large specimen shrubs or climbers that will go 15 or 20+ feet over a structure or up a tree. Variegata de Bologna is quite possibly the best striped rose ever produced. Gros Choux d'Hollande has a three month bloom period. Great Western, Paul Ricault, Charles Lawson (Blush Damask), Fantin-Latour, are all roses of fragrance, lush nuanced color and immense bloom displays.

"Fragrance Among the Nonrecurrent Antiques" will be continued in the next newsletter.

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* Other articles on fragrance in recurrent antiques and modern roses appear in the newsletter archives on the left margin of the website

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