Old Roses.
Gallica
Alba
Damask
Centifolia or Provence
Moss
Portland
China
Tea
Bourbon
Noisette
Hybrid perpetual
Hybrid musk
Hybrid Rugosa
Bermuda ‘Mystery’ roses
Miscellaneous Roses.
Modern Roses.
Hybrid Tea
Polyantha
Floribunda
Grandiflora
Miniature
Climbing and Rambling
Shrub Roses
English/David Austin
Canadian Hardy
Landscape (Ground Cover)
Patio Roses
Cultivars of Heirloom Roses.
The Flaming Peace Rose.
All of the heirloom roses and modern roses can be considered to be cultivars (cultivated variety or wild roses), meaning that humans have intervened to improve them because the only truly ancient (or pure) roses are the single or wild types.
Cultivars are obtained by propagation – such as grafting, cuttings, etc. Growing by seeds (rose hips) alone is not a good idea because the new plants are the same as the parent.
Another modern technique for getting better quality roses is using genetics. ‘Cultigens’ means the plants have been bred using genetic techniques. All aiming for that one perfect flower, in this case, a rose.
Sometimes nature does it for us. For example, ‘Flaming Peace’ is a beautiful ‘sport’ of the ‘Peace’ Rose. ‘Sports’ tend to appear out of nowhere as a different form and or colour on the parent bush. This could happen to you or me. Imagine finding just one bloom on your rose bush which has never been seen before. The Holy Grail! It happens on other plants, too. And my family gardening history mentions just enough examples (not roses) for me to believe this is possible. Photo Credit.
Rosa gallica3
(Rosa galllica officilanis) before 1240 AD.
The Gallicas are the oldest of all the heirloom or old garden roses (arising from the species or wild roses) and they date back to before 1400 AD. They are native to Europe, Turkey and Asia. They are doubles or semi-doubles, but can be singles. They may be pink or deep purple and white (which is rare for Gallicas).
The Gallica rose or ‘Rose of Provins’ is very old. It is derived from Rosa gallica. The Apothecary’s Rose (Rosa galllica officilanis – above) is an example. It was once used by Apothecaries as a medicine. They only flower once in Summer, but they are colourful, ranging from pink and red through to deep crimson/purple. These heirloom roses are so old and so beautiful, it’s no wonder we still want them in our gardens. They are also very resistant to cold which makes them very popular.
Alba Roses.
Rosa alba
Simply stunning elegance. R. alba, “Maiden’s Blush.” Before 1400.
Alba roses come from R. arvensis and R. x alba. They are literally “white roses”, derived from R. arvensis and the closely allied R. x alba. Once again we see R. gallica and R. canina which were mentioned on the Single Rose’ page. R. x alba is a hybrid of R. gallica and R. canina (the Dog Rose). This group (alba) contains some of the very oldest heirloom roses. They flower only once in spring or summer and are fragrant. They may be white or pale pink and some have beautiful grey-green leaves and are vigorous climbers. They certainly meet all my requirements, especially after looking at the photograph (above).
Damask Roses.
The beautiful Damask Rose ‘Celsiana’ before 1732.
Damask roses are named after the city of Damascus in Syria. Damask roses are a cross between Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata. Another heirloom rose shares in their parentage and gives them the repeat blooming – Rosa fedtschenkoana – as it is one of the only repeat-flowering wild roses.
Centifolias or Roses of Provence.
Rosa ‘Petite Lisette’
Rosa centifolia ‘Petite Lisette’.
Centifolia roses are Antique Roses, also known as Cabbage roses, or Provence roses. They are derived from Rosa x centifolia, raised in the 17th century in the Netherlands. They are named for their “one hundred” petals; they are often called “cabbage” roses due to the globular shape of the flowers. The result of damask roses crossed with albas, the centifolias are all once-flowering. As a class, they are notable for their inclination to produce mutations of various sizes and forms, including moss roses and some of the first miniature roses.
Moss Roses.
Rosa muscosa centifolia0
Rosa ‘Communis’ 1796.
The Moss roses are based on a mutation of Rosa centifolia, the Provence or cabbage rose, some with Damask roses as another parent. Moss roses with Centifolia background are once-flowering, but some moss roses do repeat flower from their Autumn Damask parentage. Examples are the ‘Common Moss’ (centifolia-moss) and ‘Mousseline’, also known as ‘Alfred de Dalmas’ (Autumn Damask moss).
Portland Roses.
Rosa’ portlandica’.
The Portland roses come from the Autumn Damask and Gallica roses. Their parents are said to be ‘Autumn Damask’ and ‘Slater’s Crimson’. They were named after the Duchess of Portland. In 1775 she was given a rose called the ‘Scarlet Four Seasons’ Rose. All the Portlands come from that one rose. Naturally it is repeat-flowering in Summer and into Autumn. Examples of today’s Portlands are ‘James Veitch’, ‘Rose de Rescht’ and ‘Comte de Chambord’. The Portland roses are singles or doubles and tend to be short and shrubby.
But they are appealing because of their unique longer flowering period. However, their numbers are declining as they go out of fashion. There were once well over one hundred different Portland Antique Roses, but today at Kew Gardens, there are very few. An interesting fact about the Portland roses is that there are no climbing forms.
Modern Rose Types (after 1867) are very special groups which have come from the Old Garden Roses.
Rosa ‘La France’
The very first of the modern rose types is considered to be ‘la France’ which was bred in 1867. It is a hybrid tea rose. The modern rose varieties of today follow on from the old garden roses or heirloom roses and fit into several distinct groups, which are not as numerous and therefore easier to identify. But because of their ancestry (the old and very old roses) classifying them may become confusing. They are identified by their growth and flowering habits. The following groups include the most popular and most special roses.
Let’s put the two groups side by side again for perspective:
Old Garden Roses:
Gallica
Alba
Damask
Centifolia or Provence
Moss
Portland
China
Tea
Bourbon
Noisette
Hybrid perpetual
Hybrid musk
Hybrid Rugosa
Bermuda ‘Mystery’ roses and
Miscellaneous Roses.
Modern Roses:
Hybrid Tea
Pernetiana
Polyantha
Floribunda
Grandiflora
Miniature
Climbing and Rambling
Shrub Roses
English/David Austin
Canadian Hardy
Landscape (Ground Cover)
Patio Roses
The Hybrid Tea Roses.
Rosa Chrysler Imperial
Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Chrysler Imperial’. Strong fragrance. A beautiful rose.
Hybrid Tea roses were the very first of the Modern Rose Types. They were the result of crossing tea roses with hybrid perpetuals. This occurred in 1867 and the result was ‘La France, top of page, the very first of the hybrid teas which went on to become the most popular roses on the planet.