An Introduction to Old Garden Roses

American Rose SocietyProgram Services Committee

Photos & Text by Steve Jones© ARS 2005, Updated 2011

This program is eligible for one CR credit if pre-approved by the District and National CR Chairs.

An American Rose Society Presentation © 2015

Old Garden Roses

An Old Garden Rose is one that belongs to a class that existed

before 1867, when the first Hybrid Tea, ‘La France’, was

introduced

Major Old Garden Rose Classes

• Albas

• Bourbons

• Centifolias

• Damasks

• Hybrid Chinas

• Hybrid Gallicas

• Hybrid Perpetuals

• Hybrid multifloras

• Mosses

• Noisettes

• Portlands

• Species

• Teas

Lesser Known OGR Classes

• Ayrshires

• Boursaults

• Hulthemias

• Hybrid Bracteatas

• Hybrid Eglanterias

• Hybrid Foetidas

• Hybrid Sempervirens

• Hybrid Spinosissimas

• Hybrid Setigeras

• Misc. OGRs

Rose Classes

AlbasCentifoliasDamasks

Hybrid GallicasMosses

 

Hybrid ChinasTeas

BourbonsPortlands

Hybrid PerpetualsNoisettes

European Roses

Hybrid TeasModern Roses

Oriental Roses

OGR “Stud” Roses

Rosa caninaRosa gallica

Rosa moschataRosa phoenicia

Rosa fedtschenkoanaAutumn Damask

Old Blush (Parsons Pink China)Slater’s Crimson China

Parks’ Yellow Tea-Scented RoseHume’s Blush Tea-Scented Rose

 

European Stud Roses Oriental Stud Roses

Species• Known as "wild roses" • Usually once-blooming• Blooms usually single (5 petals); “plena”

is the double form• Blooms normally come in clusters• Bushy plants that can range from 18

inches to over 20 feet• Found only in Northern Hemisphere• Most are winter hardy

Rosa spinosissima altaica

Rosa gallica versicolor

Other Species• Rosa banksiae subspecies (Lady

Banks)• Rosa canina (Dog Rose)• Rosa carolina• Rosa gallica officinalis (Apothecary’s

Rose)• Rosa moschata (Musk Rose)• Rosa multiflora• Rosa roxburghii (Chestnut Rose)• Rosa rugosa alba and rubra

European OGRs

• Albas

• Centifolias

• Damasks

• Hybrid Gallicas

• Mosses

Albas

• Alba means "white“

• Once-blooming

• Upright, dense, tall plants over 6 feet tall

• Very winter hardy and disease resistant

• Characterized by soft blue-gray foliage and stems with sparse, uniform prickles

• Winter hardy

Konigin von Danemark

Alba Semi-Plena

Other Albas

• Alba Maxima

• Belle Amour

• Blush Hip

• Celestial

• Felicite Parmentier

• Great Maiden’s Blush

• Mme Plantier

Hybrid Gallicas• Hybrid Gallicas are the oldest of the

European Old Garden Roses• Once-blooming, winter hardy• Small, bushy plants, fine, soft prickles• Foliage is rough and deep furrowed• Terminal leaflet grows more outward or

upward from the stem• Known for their fragrance and brilliant

colors, thus earning them the nickname “Mad Gallicas”

Cardinal de Richelieu

Complicata

Other Hybrid Gallicas

• Belle de Crecy

• Camaieux

• Duchesse d’Angouleme

• Duchess of Montebello

• Hippolyte

• La Belle Sultane

• Tuscany

Damasks

• Intense, heavy fragrance• Colors mostly pink or white• Medium sized plant up to 5 feet tall• Canes have a "mixed bag" of prickles• Foliage is matted and folded to form a

“V” down the middle• The terminal leaflet bends down. • Has repeat and once blooming

members• Winter hardy

Leda

Autumn Damask

Other Damasks

• Celsiana

• Ispahan

• Mme Hardy

• La Ville de Bruxelles

• Marie Louise

• Mme Zoetmans

• York & Lancaster

Centifolias• Centifolias are the “cabbage roses” • Made famous in still life paintings by the

Dutch masters• Centifolia means “one hundred petals”• Tall plants over 6 feet• Once-blooming • Foliage rough, matted• Some dwarf varieties• Winter hardy

Petite Lisette

Fantin Latour

Other Centifolias

• Blanchefleur

• Cabbage Rose

• Juno

• Paul Ricault

• Petite de Hollande

• Prolifera de Redoute

• Tour de Malakoff

Mosses

• Mosses are sports of Centifolias and Damasks

• Named for the mossy growth on the peduncles and sepals

• The "moss" releases a piney fragrance when rubbed between the fingers

• Most are once-bloomers, some repeat• Rough foliage, up to 6 feet tall• Winter hardy

Crested Moss

Quarte Saisons Blanc Mousseux

Other Mosses

• Alfred de Dalmas (Mousselline)• Communis• Capitaine John Ingram• General Kleber• Gloire des Mousseuses• Henri Martin• Mme Louis Leveque• Salet

Oriental OGRs

• Hybrid Chinas

• Teas

Hybrid Chinas

• Repeat blooming• Small plants from 18 inches to 3 feet• Stems generally too weak to support the

small, non fragrant blooms that usually come in clusters

• Generally blackspot resistant, gets mildew• Red color in today’s roses came from Chinas• Known for bloom color changes• Not winter hardy

Archduke Charles - Fresh

Archduke Charles - Old

Green Rose

Leaves Reverting To Petals

Other Hybrid Chinas

• Cramoisi Superieur

• Ducher

• Hermosa

• Louis Philippe

• Mutabilis

• Old Blush

• Papa Hemeray

• Rouletti

Teas

• Small to medium sized plants to 5 feet

• Large blooms on weak stems which cause the bloom to "droop“

• May have "Hybrid Tea" form

• Most have very full blooms

• Little fragrance

• Not winter hardy

Catherine Mermet

Duchesse de Brabant

Other Teas

• Bon Silene

• Devoniensis

• Maman Cochet

• Marie von Houtte

• Mrs. BR Cant

• Niles Cochet

• Rosette Delizy

“Modern” OGRs

• Crosses of European and Oriental Roses

• Mostly repeat blooming plants

• Forbearers of the Hybrid Tea

• Classes include:– Bourbons– Hybrid Perpetuals– Noisettes– Portlands

Bourbons• A chance cross between Autumn

Damask and a China rose• A varied class, most are repeat

blooming• Plants grow 2 to 15 feet tall• Fragrant, full, and often quartered

blooms• Some have cupped bloom form• Most are not winter hardy

Souvenir de la Malmaison

Louise Odier

Other Bourbons

• Boule de Neige

• Leverson Gower

• Mme Isaac Pereire

• Mme Ernst Calvat

• Mme Pierre Oger

• Reine Victoria

• Variegata di Bologna

• Zephirine Drouhin

Portlands• Came from Autumn Damask• Small class, only 20 known to exist• Small, repeat blooming plants to 4 feet• Short peduncles, giving the appearance

that the blooms "sit" in the foliage• Blooms full and very fragrant• Most were sterile• Most are winter hardy

Rose de Rescht

Comte de Chambord

Other Portlands

• Duchess of Portland

• Indigo

• Joasine Hanet (Portland From Glendora)

• Marbree

• Marie de St. Jean

• Miranda

• Rose du Roi

• Yolande d’Aragon

Hybrid Perpetuals

• The most common Old Garden Rose class seen at rose shows

• Popular in the mid to late 1880's• More than 4,000 varieties• Repeat blooming, very full, fragrant

blooms• Plants over 6 feet, with slightly rough,

dark foliage• Colors mostly pinks and reds• Most are winter hardy

Marchesa Boccella

Paul Neyron

Baronne Prevost

Other Hybrid Perpetuals

• Anna de Diesbach• Baroness Rothschild• Enfant de France • General Jacqueminot• Georg Arends• La Reine• Mrs. John Laing• Mrs. R.G. Sharman-Crawford• Paul’s Early Blush

Noisettes

• The only rose class that originated in the United States

• Created in 1811 by John Champneys from Charleston, South Carolina

• Large, repeat blooming, rambling plants up to 20 feet tall, with pliable canes

• Blooms are either in clusters or large individual blooms (when crossed with Teas)

• Most not fragrant, not winter hardy

Lamarque

Celine Forestier

Other Noisettes

• Aimee Vibert

• Alister Stella Gray

• Blush Noisette

• Champneys Pink Cluster

• Marechal Neil

• Mme Alfred Carriere

• Narrow Water

• Reve d’Or

Miscellaneous OGRs

• Fortuniana

• Fortune's Double Yellow

• R. macrantha

• Rose d'Orsay

Modern Roses• Hybrid Teas were created from crosses of

Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas• Modern Roses are those classes that were

created in 1867 and later– Hybrid Teas– Grandifloras– Large-flowered Climbers– Shrubs– Polyanthas– Floribundas– Miniatures– Minifloras

The End

Program Services Committee

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