Those who grow roses in their garden grow also roses in their heart.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Intoxicating Fragranced Roses - Star of the Nile






Introduced in USA by Heirloom Roses, bred by John Clements (USA, 2000).
It is a strong and healthy shrub of typical English rose habit, growing rather upright. It blooms profusely in small clusters.
It has a height of 4' - 120 cm and a width of 4' - 120 cm as well.

Zone 6, or zone 5, if it's in a protected area.

The colour is a blend of deep pinks and a paler pink or even with touches of orange backside on the petals. The flowers are 4'' - 10,2 cm and have 80 petals.

The most beautiful feature of this lovely rose is the FRAGRANCE. Incredible fragrance, one of the most extraordinary fragrances encountered. It has a very intense, heady Anise fragrance. The fragrance is strongest at 3/4 open stage of flowers.

The breeder says "the blooms are an intense, deep pink that ages to the blended colours of an Egyptian sunrise" and it bears a myrhh fragrance that is also in its parent The Yeoman - Austin English Roses.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Rosa Gallica





Synonyms: Red Rose, French Rose, Rosier de France, Rose de France, Rosa Rubra, Rose of Miletus (Pliny).
Unknown origin (before 1554).
Deep pink, strong fragrance.
5 to 15 petals. Large, single, cluster-flowered, cupped bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.
Climbing, suckers on its own roots.
Height of 100-120cm, width of 80-100 cm.
Zone 4. Remove old canes or diseased wood. Prune after flowering is finished.
Tetraploid.
Same characteristics as Rosa Gallica Officinalis:

Rosa gallica (Gallic Rose, French Rose, or Rose of Provins) is a species of rose native to southern and central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus. The cultivar Rosa gallica officinalis is also called Apothecary's Rose.
It is a deciduous shrub forming large patches of shrubbery, the stems with prickles and glandular bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with three to seven bluish-green leaflets.
The flowers are clustered one to four together, single with five petals, fragrant, deep pink. The hips are globose to ovoid, 10–13 mm diameter, orange to brownish.
The species is easily cultivated on well drained soil in full sun to semishade; it can survive temperatures down to −25 °C. It is one of the earliest cultivated species of roses, being cultivated by the Greek and Romans and it was commonly used in Mediaeval gardens
. It has been used for medicinal purposes ever since its birth and it is also part of the story of the War of the Roses.
It serves well as erosion control on steep sites.
... And it has an intense fragrance
...

In the 19th century it was the most important species of rose to be cultivated, and most modern European rose cultivars have at least a small contribution from R. gallica in their ancestry.
Cultivars of the species R. gallica and hybrids close in appearance are best referred to a Cultivar Group as the Gallica Group roses. The ancestry is usually unknown and the influence of other species can not be ruled out.
The Gallica Group roses share the vegetative characters of the species, forming low suckering shrubs. The flowers can be single, but most commonly double or semidouble. The colours range from white (rare) to pink and deep purple.
All Gallica Group roses are once flowering. They are easily cultivated.

Rosa Alba Maxima


This beautiful rose is one of the most subtle and simple of the Albas, and yet also a sophisticated shrub of great character. Also known as the 'Jacobite Rose', or the 'White Rose of York'.
The shrub form is upright and arching, or fountain shaped. 

The foliage is typical of the Albas: grey-green and dark, generally disease free, although rarely this rose will get rust.

Blooms are white when fully open, but depending on the weather, they will have a cream or blush pink tone at the center at the beginning. They are produced in small clusters of 3 or as many as 8, and are very strongly, and sweetly scented.
R. alba maxima is not an ordinary rose....it is a sublime beauty that works very well in cottage gardens. Just remember that Albas are best left unpruned so that they may develope their true shrub form, so don't plant one unless you can allow it the room to grow as it pleases.
Alba Roses are hybrids whose antiquity may go back further than the Roman Empire. Plinius, who lived from 23-79 A.D., mentioned white roses in his Natural History. Botanists believe these roses may have been Albas.
Graham Thomas supports Dr. C. C. Hurst's theory that Albas are derived from the dog rose, Rosa canina, and the Damask rose, Rosa damascena. Others say it's born from Rosa canina and Rosa gallica. 

They have a penetrating pure rosy fragrance with tones of citrus

They are resistant to disease for the most part. Many can tolerate shade, drought, and are winter hardy.
Many prominent artists including Botticelli, Luini, Crivelli, Shoengauer, da Zevio and van Spaendonck illustrated Albas.

Zone 3 to 9

Rosa Foetida Persiana



The same characteristics as Rosa Foetida.
Also named Persian Yellow, Persiana, Jaune de Perse. Unknown origin - before 1838, discovered by Sir Henry Willock (UK, 1837).
Hybrid Foetida, Species Rose (wild).
Golden yellow colour, unpleasant fragrance. Small, semi-double to double, globular bloom form.
Once-blooming spring or summer.
Armed with thorns/prickles, spreading. Small, semi-glossy, fragrant foliage with 7 leaflets. Height of 150 to 200 cm, width of 120 to 150 cm.
Zone 3 or warmer. Susceptible to blackspot. Do not prune, it doesn't like it!
The Swedish Rose Society recommends Rosa Feotida Persiana for northern Sweden.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Rosa Banksiae















Rosa banksiae, commonly referred to as the Lady Banks' Rose, is a species of Rosa native to central and western China, in the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Yunnan; it grows in mountains at altitudes of 500–2200 m.
It is a scrambling shrubby liana growing vigorously over other shrubs to 6 m tall. Unlike most roses, it is practically thornless, though may bear some prickles up to 5 mm long, particularly on stout, strong shoots. The leaves are evergreen, 4–6 cm long, with three to five (rarely seven) leaflets 2–5 cm long with a serrated margin. The flowers are small, 1.5-2.5 cm diameter, white or pale yellow.


There are several varieties, the most known are:
- Rosa banksiae var. banksiae. Flowers semi-double or double (rosa banksiae alba plena), with numerous petals replacing most or all of the stamens; a cultigen developed in Chinese gardens.
- Rosa banksiae var. normalis Regel. Single flowers, with five petals; the natural wild form of the species.The rose is named after Lady Banks, the wife of the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Banks (after whom the Banks Peninsula is named).

Cultivation and uses
R. banksiae has likely been grown in the gardens of China for hundreds of years. The species was introduced to Europe by William Kerr, who had been sent on a plant-hunting expedition by Sir Joseph. He bought the first Lady Banks' Rose, subsequently named the 'White Lady Banks' (R. banksiae var. banksiae) from the famous Fa Tee nursery in 1807.

A number of other forms were subsequently discovered growing in China:
- the white, small-flowered R. banksiae var. normalis (1796) is considered the "wild" form;
- 'Banksiae Lutea', the 'Yellow Lady Banks' Rose, probably the most popular (brought to Europe in 1824 by J. D. Park), light yellow full blooms;
- and R. banksiae 'Lutescens', a rose with light yellow simple blooms.

All Lady Banks' roses are said to smell of violets to varying degrees, some say the most fragrant of all banksiaes is rosa banksiae normalis.

According to Guinness, the world's largest rosa banksiae bush was planted in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1885 and still flourishes today in the city's sunny climate. This rose bush now covers 8,000 square feet (740 m2) of the roof on an inn, and has a 12-foot (3.7 m) circumference trunk.

Zone 6 to 10. It likes warm weather. It doesn't survive under -9C (15F).

Rosa Foetida








Rosa foetida is a species of rose, native to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. It has yellow flowers with a mild, sour scent many find objectionable, thus the species name. Though grown widely outside its range (for example, in Britain and America), it is particularly susceptible to black spot.

An important rose, in as much as it is the source of yellow in modern-day hybrids, most famously 'Soleil d'Or' (R. foetida x 'Antoine Ducher'; 1900), was bred by Joseph Pernet-Ducher. One variety, Rosa foetida var. 'bicolor' , the Austrian Copper rose, has flowers with petals that are red or orange on the upper interior surface but yellow on the lower exterior surface.

Rosa foetida syns:
Austrian Briar
• Austrian Brier
• Austrian Yellow
• Capucine jaune
• Fuchsrose
• Jaune Simple
• Rosa cerea Rössig ex Redouté
• Rosa eglanteria Redouté & Thory synonym
• Rosa foetida Herrm.
• Rosa lutea Mill. synonym
• Single Yellow Sweet Brier
• Yellow Austrian Rose.
Also referenced as: R. lutea, Rosa lutea simplex, Geel Rose, Rosa Aegyptia, Rosa vulpina, Rosa lutea flore simplici, R. cerea
Hybrid Foetida, Species / Wild.
Deep yellow. Strong, unpleasant fragrance. 5 petals. Medium, single (4-8 petals), borne mostly solitary bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.
Arching, upright, well-branched. Small, semi-glossy, dark green foliage. 5 to 9 leaflets.
Height of 150 to 300 cm. Width of 150 cm.
Zone 3 through 9.
Tetraploid.
Described in Gerald's Herbal, 1597.
Sometimes sets hips.
Belongs to the Pimpinellifolia section (styles free, shorter than the stamens, blooms solitary, without bracts). Has doubly serrated and abaxially glandular leaflets like R. ecae and R. primula, but differs from this by its downy leaves, larger deep-yellow blooms and unpleasant fragrance.

Rosa Rugosa










Rosa rugosa (rugosa rose, Japanese rose, or Ramanas rose) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on the coast, often on sand dunes.
In Japanese, it is called hamanasu, meaning "shore eggplant" and also hamanashi meaning "shore pear". In Korean, the species is called haedanghwa, literally "flowers near seashore".
It is a suckering shrub which develops new plants from the roots and forms dense thickets 1–1.50 m tall with stems densely covered in numerous short, straight thorns 3–10 mm long. The leaves are 8–15 cm long, pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, most often 7, each leaflet 3–4 cm long, with a distinctly corrugated (rugose, hence the species' name) surface. The flowers are pleasantly scented, dark pink to white, 6–9 cm across, with somewhat wrinkled petals; flowering is from summer to autumn (June to September in the northern hemisphere).
The hips are large, 2–3 cm diameter, and often shorter than their diameter, not elongated like most other rose hips; in late summer and early autumn the plants often bear fruit and flowers at the same time. The leaves typically turn bright yellow before falling in autumn.
Rugosa rose is widely used as an ornamental plant. It has been introduced to numerous areas of Europe and North America. It has many common names, several of which refer to the fruit's resemblance to a tomato, including beach tomato or sea tomato; saltspray rose and beach rose are others.
The sweetly scented flowers are used to make pot-pourri in Japan and China, where it has been cultivated for about a thousand years.
This species hybridises readily with many other roses, and is valued by rose breeders for its considerable resistance to the diseases rose rust and rose black spot. It is also extremely tolerant of seaside salt spray and storms, commonly being the first shrub in from the coast. It is widely used in landscaping, being relatively tough and trouble-free. Needing little maintenance, it is suitable for planting in large numbers; its salt-tolerance makes it useful for planting beside roads which need deicing with salt regularly.
Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use, with flower colour varying from white to dark red-purple, and with semi-double to double flowers where some or all of the stamens are replaced by extra petals. Popular examples include 'Fru Dagmar Hastrup' (pink, single), 'Pink Grootendorst' (pink, semi-double), 'Blanc Double de Coubert' (white, double) and the more common 'Roseraie de L’Haÿ' (pink, double), which is often used for its very successful rootstock and its ornamental rose hips.
Syns:
• Apfel-Rose
• Beach Rose
• Hama-nashi
• Hama-nasu
• Hedgehog Rose
• Japanese Rose
• Kartoffelrose
• Nordische Apfelrose
• Ramanas Rose
• Rosa andreae Lange synonym
• Rosa ferox Lawr. synonym
• Rosa rugosa f. rugosa
• Rosa rugosa Thunb.
• Sea Tomato
• Shore Pear
• Tomato Rose

Also referenced as: R. andreae, Rosa rugosa flore simplex, Wild Beach Rose.

Purple or red. Or white. Strong fragrance. 5 petals. Large, single (4-8 petals) bloom form. Occasional repeat later in the season.
Armed with thorns / prickles, sends out runners, suckers on its own roots. Wrinkled (rugose) foliage.
Height of 90 to 245 cm. Width of up to 185 cm.
Zone 2b through 9b. Produces decorative hips. Shade tolerant. Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.
Author: Lange
Diploid
Rosa rugosa was first described by Thunberg in 1784 and introduced to Europe 50 years later, also by Thunberg. Prefers sandy or gravelly soils with average pH, although soils range in pH from 4.7 to 8.5. Salt and drought tolerant. Rosa rugosa actually performs best with periodic burning of the top growth in fall.

Native to Hokkaido and Honshu, Korea, NE China and Kamchatka, and the Russian Far East, where it's native habitat is sand dune and shores near the coast the low elevations.

Rosa rugosa is an invasive species in northern, central and western Europe and in parts of North America - New England, in Canada from Ontario to Newfoundland, and in Washington.

Rosa Primula





Rosa Primula ( Primrose Rose, Rosa ecae ssp. primula (Bouleng.) A.V. Roberts, Rosa primula Boulenger, The Incense Rose)...

...is a species rose originated from Central Asia, found near Samarkand, introduced in Europe a century ago, in 1910.
Its light yellow petals are so delicate and thin, moving like butterfly wings in the breeze.
It has a unique feature in the world of roses: in the rainy days and in certain hours of a day, its leaves emanate an intense perfume of incense which can be sensed from a few meters away.
It produces solitary, cupped, single, fragrant, pale primrose-yellow flowers that are followed by spherical to inversely cone-shaped, brownish maroon hips. Also produces aromatic, dense, fern-like green leaves on slender, reddish-green stems. Most varieties grow on long canes that sometimes climb. Unfortunately, this plant is quite susceptible to a variety of diseases and pests, many of which can be controlled with good cultural practices.
Cultivation: Plant in moist but free-draining or free-draining soil in a sunny, sheltered position. Avoid planting in sites that have previously been used for growing roses.
Awards: RHS AGM (Award of Garden Merit)
Suggested uses: Beds and borders, Cottage/Informal, Flower Arranging
Soil types: Loamy, Sandy
Soil drainage: Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
Soil pH: Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Light: Full Sun
Aspect: South, East, West
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness: Hardy (H4), Tender in frost (H3)
Discovered by Frank N. Meyer (circa 1890).
Species / Wild.
Yellow to light yellow. Moderate fragrance. Small, single (4-8 petals), borne mostly solitary bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.
Arching, armed with thorns / prickles, bushy, spreading, upright. Small, glossy, light green, fragrant foliage. 9 to 15 leaflets.
Height of 215 cm. Width of 185 cm.
Zone 6b through 9b. Produces decorative hips.
Turkestan.
Diploid
Rosa ecae ssp. primula (Boulenger) A.V. Roberts (1977) Belongs to the section Pimpinellifoliae (styles free, shorter than the stamens, blooms solitary, without bracts). Has doubly serrated and abaxially glandular leaflets like R. ecae and R. foetida. It differs from the former by the higher number of leaflets, larger blooms and colour of hips; from the latter by its smooth leaves, higher number of leaflets, and smaller blooms.

Rosa Gallica Officinalis / Apothecary's Rose





Rosa gallica (Gallic Rose, French Rose, or Rose of Provins) is a species of rose native to southern and central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus. The cultivar Rosa gallica officinalis is also called Apothecary's Rose.It is a deciduous shrub forming large patches of shrubbery, the stems with prickles and glandular bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with three to seven bluish-green leaflets. The flowers are clustered one to four together, single with five petals, fragrant, deep pink. The hips are globose to ovoid, 10–13 mm diameter, orange to brownish.The species is easily cultivated on well drained soil in full sun to semishade; it can survive temperatures down to −25 °C. This is possibly the oldest rose to be cultivated in Europe, being cultivated by the Greek and Romans and it was commonly used in Mediaeval gardens. It has been used for medicinal purposes ever since its birth and it is also part of the story of the War of the Roses.
It is highly disease resistant.
It serves well as erosion control on steep sites.

And it has an intense fragrance
...

In the 19th century it was the most important species of rose to be cultivated, and most modern European rose cultivars have at least a small contribution from R. gallica in their ancestry.

Cultivars of the species R. gallica and hybrids close in appearance are best referred to a Cultivar Group as the Gallica Group roses.

The ancestry is usually unknown and the influence of other species can not be ruled out.

The Gallica Group roses share the vegetative characters of the species, forming low suckering shrubs.

The flowers can be single, but most commonly double or semidouble. The colours range from white (rare) to pink and deep purple. All Gallica Group roses are once flowering. They are easily cultivated.
The semidouble cultivar 'Officinalis', the "Red Rose of Lancaster", is the county flower of Lancashire.

In 2004, a cultivar of the Gallica Group named 'Cardinal de Richelieu' was used as a starting point for genetic engineering to produce the first blue rose.
The cultivar known as Rosa gallica forma trigintipetala or Rosa 'Trigintipetala' is considered to be a synonym of Rosa × damascena.

Syns:
• Essig-Rose• Red Rose• Rosa gallica L.• Rosa rubra Lam. synonym• Rosier de FranceAlso referenced as: Rose of Miletus (Pliny), Anglica rubra, Rosa rubra Anglica, Rose commun rouge, Roth Rose, R. rubra, Rosa rubra praenestina, Rosa rubra simplex, French Rose, Rose de France (gallica, before 1554)

Deep pink. Strong fragrance. 5 to 15 petals. Large, single (4-8 petals), cluster-flowered, in small clusters, cupped bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.

Climbing, suckers on its own roots.

Height of 100 to 120 cm. Width of 80 to 100 cm.

Zone 4b through 8b.
Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood.
Prune after flowering is finished.

Tetraploid

Monday, February 13, 2012

Rosa Canina





Macesul - Rosa canina (lit. Dog Rose) is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia.
It is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1–5 m, though sometimes it can scramble higher into the crowns of taller trees. Its stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked prickles, which aid it in climbing. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and white. They are 4–6 cm diameter with five petals, and mature into an oval 1.5–2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip.
The plant is high in certain antioxidants. The fruit is noted for its high vitamin C level and is used to make syrup, tea and marmalade. It has been grown or encouraged in the wild for the production of vitamin C, from its fruit (often as rose-hip syrup), especially during conditions of scarcity or during wartime. The species has also been introduced to other temperate latitudes. During World War II in the United States Rosa canina was planted in victory gardens, and can still be found growing throughout the United States, including roadsides, and in wet, sandy areas up and down coastlines.
Forms of this plant are sometimes used as stocks for the grafting or budding of cultivated varieties. The wild plant is planted as a nurse or cover crop, or stabilising plant in land reclamation and specialised landscaping schemes.
Numerous cultivars have been named, though few are common in cultivation. The cultivar Rosa canina 'Assisiensis' is the only dog rose without prickles. The hips are used as a flavouring in the Slovenian soft drink Cockta.
The botanic name is derived from the common names 'dog rose' or similar in several European languages.
It is sometimes considered that the word 'dog' has a disparaging meaning in this context, indicating 'worthless' (by comparison with cultivated garden roses) (Vedel & Lange 1960). However it also known that it was used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to treat the bite of rabid dogs, hence the name "dog rose" may result from this. (It is also possible that the name derives from "dag," a shortening of "dagger," in reference to the long thorns of the plant.)
Other old folk names include rose briar (also spelt brier), briar rose, dogberry, sweet briar, wild briar, witches' briar, and briar hip.

In Romanian, its names is maces, pronounced 'machesh', which means "wild rose".
In Turkish, its name is kuşburnu, which translates as "bird nose."
In Swedish, its name is stenros, which translates to "stone rose."
In Norwegian, its name is steinnype, which translates to "stone hip."
In Danish, its name is hunderose, which translates as "dog rose."
In Azeri, its name is itburunu, which translates as "dog nose."
In Russian, its name is шиповник (translit: 'shipovnik'), which translates as "thorn bearer."
In Bulgarian, its name is шипка (translit: 'shipka').
In Mongolian, its name is нохойн хошуу, which translates as "dog nose."
In Hungarian, its name is vadrózsa, which translates as "wild rose."
Other names:
• Briar Rose
• Brier Bush
• Canina
• Dog Briar
• Dog Rose
• Hondsroos
• Hunds-Rose
• Rosa belgradensis Pancic synonym
• Rosa leucantha Loiseleur
• Rosa pseudoscabrata Bllocki ex R.Keller
• Rosa sarmentacea Woods synonym
• Rosa sphaerica Grenier synonym
• Rosa surculosa Woods
• White-flowered Rose

Also referenced as: Wolriechendes Dornröslein, Heckrosen, Hep tree, Rosier à fleurs blanches (syn. R. leucantha), Rosa sylvestris vulgaris flore odorato incarnato, Rosa sylvestris

Light pink to white. White to light pink to shell pink blooms. Mild fragrance. Small to medium, single (4-8 petals), borne mostly solitary, cluster-flowered bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.
Tall, arching, armed with thorns / prickles, upright. Medium, matte, medium green foliage. 5 to 7 leaflets.
Height of 120 to 500 cm.
UZone 6b through 9b. Can be used for understock. Vigorous. Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.
Pentaploid
A wide-ranging species found throughout Europe, showing considerable variation in bloom and foliage color and texture. Blooms vary from white to pale pink to warm shell pink, foliage from shiny medium olive green to matte greyish green. Most distinctive are the hooked, falcate prickles that are green on new growth. Orange-red hips. Almost 400 forms and variants have been documented by taxonomists.

Rosa Glauca



Rosa glauca (Red-leaved Rose or Redleaf Rose; syn. R. rubrifolia) is a species of rose native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from Spanish Pyrenees east to Bulgaria, and north to Germany and Poland.

Rosa glauca is a deciduous arching shrub of sparsely bristled and thorny cinnamon-coloured arching canes 1.5–3 m tall. The most distinctive feature is its leaves, which are glaucous blue-green to coppery or purplish, and covered with a waxy bloom; they are 5–10 cm long and have 5–9 leaflets. The fragile, clear pink flowers are 2.5–4 cm diameter, and are produced in clusters of two to five. The fruit is a dark red globose hip 10–15 mm diameter.

This rose was not widely grown in gardens until the end of the 19th century, when its refined wildness and beauty out of the flowering season first began to be appreciated. The flower petals fall off easily in the spray from watering hoses, as well as from wind and rain. The species is naturalised in northern Europe north of its native range, particularly in Scandinavia.
A hybrid with Rosa rugosa has been given the cultivar name 'Carmenetta'.
Syns:
• Hecht-Rose
• Red Leaf Rose
• R. ferruginea
• Rosa ferruginea Villars synonym
• Rosa glauca Pourr.
• R. majalis rubrifolia
• Rosa majalis var.rubrifolia (Vill. ex Thory) Wallr.synonym
• R. romana
• Rosa romana hort.
• R. rubrifolia
• Rosa rubrifolia Vill. synonym
• Rosier a feuilles rougeâtres
• Rubrifolia
Pink blend, white center. Moderate fragrance. 5 petals. Small to medium, single (4-8 petals), cluster-flowered bloom form. Once-blooming spring or summer.
Arching, bushy, spreading, thornless (or almost), upright. Matte foliage. 5 to 7 leaflets.
Height of 150 to 350 cm. Width of 150 cm.
Zone 2 through 9. Vigorous. Produces decorative hips. Shade tolerant. Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.
Tetraploid
R. glauca Pourr. (1788) sets red hips...
This should not be confused with Rosa rubifolia (Erich Unmuth, Vienna Austria). R. rubifolia (R. setigera) is so named because its leaves look like those of the blackberry (genus Rubus).

Rosa Gigantea



Rosa gigantea (diploid) is a species of rose native to northeast India, northern Myanmar and southwest China (Yunnan) in the foothills of the Himalaya at 1000–1500 m altitude. As its name suggests, it is the largest species of rose, climbing 20 m or more into the crowns of other trees by means of its stout, hooked thorns, and with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter.

The flowers are white, creamy or yellow, the largest of any wild rose, 10–14 cm diameter. The hips are yellow or orange, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, hard, and often lasting through the winter into the following spring, often still present at the same time as the next years' flowers.

Wonderful fragrance too.
Mild to strong, clove, honeysuckle fragrance.

Syns:
- Rosa gigantea Collett ex Crépin
• Rosa gigantea macrocarpa
• R. macrocarpa
• Rosa macrocarpa G.Watt ex Crép. synonym
• R. odorata gigantea
• Rosa odorata var. gigantea Rehder & Wilson
• Rosa X odorata gigantea
• R. xanthocarpa
• Rosa xanthocarpa G.Watt ex E.Willm. syn.

White to butter-yellow, yellow stamens. Buds - light yellow [Warm creamy to lemony white]. 5 petals. Large, single (4-8 petals), borne mostly solitary, flat bloom form. Moderate, once-blooming spring or summer. Large, long buds.

Tall, arching, climbing. Medium, glossy, light green foliage.


Height of 245 to 1525 cm. Width of 185 to 305 cm.

Zone 8 and warmer.
Very vigorous.

Benefits from winter protection in colder climates.
Flowers drop off cleanly.

Prefers warmer sites.
Shade tolerant.
Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant, very blackspot resistant, very mildew resistant, very rust resistant.
Can be grown as a climber in mild climates.
Prune lightly or not at all.


R. gigantea was collected in the Shan Hills of Burma at about 20 degrees N.latitude at an altitude of about 4000-5000 feet by General Collett.
Rosa macrocarpa was collected in Manipur State, in North east India at a higher altitude of about 6000-7000 feet and about 5 degrees further north, by Sir George Watt.
Though Sir George Watt considered R. macrocarpa to be a new species distinct from R.gigamtea of Collett, the great Belgian taxonomist, Francois Crepin considered them to be identical, after examining specimens of both. In the absence of DNA we should probably follow Crepin's observation. From the common sense point of view, it appears to [Viru] that R.macrocarpa is yellower because it grows further north and at a higher altitude, i.e. less bleaching of flower color occurs in cooler temperatures. Crepin observes that in the Shan hills district where R. gigantea grows, frosts are almost unknown, whereas when Girija [Viraragavan] and [Viru] collected R. macrocarpa in Manipur on Mount Sirohi at an altitude nearing 7000 feet. There was a fair amount of frost on the ground, in places frozen into fairly substantial lumps which could not have been merely overnight dew frozen. From the seedlings raised from the Manipur seed collected by [Viru & Girija they] noticed considerable variation in flower color especially at the bud stage. Some of the seedlings are quite a dark yellow at bud stage whereas others are just cream. This color difference does not persist when the flower opens and all the kinds are creamy yellow by the second day. "So to distinguish R.macrocarpa from R. gigantea by adopting flower color as the criterion seems to be incorrect. Pending further investigation we should perhaps consider R.macrocarpa of Manipur as only an eco -type of R. gigantea Collett. But I am hoping that the Manipur rose will prove somewhat cold hardier than the Burmese collection."

Rosa gigantea is recognized by its distinctive drooping, mahogany-colored new foliage, a characteristic it shares with Rosa chinensis var. spontanea.]
Information from Viru Viraraghavn





Rosa Moschata



Rosa moschata (musk rose) is a species of rose long in cultivation. Its wild origins are uncertain but are suspected to lie in the western Himalayas.

It is a shrub (to 3m) with single white 5 cm flowers, blooming on new growth from late spring until late autumn in warm climates, or from late summer onwards in cool-summer climates. The flowers have a characteristic
"musky" scent.

It is recorded in cultivation as least as far back as the 16th century.

It is important in cultivation as a parent to several groups of cultivated roses, notably the damask rose and the noisette group, and is valued for its scent and for its unusually long season of bloom among rose species.

The rose hip seed oil is used for a variety of skin conditions, including dermatitis, acne and eczema, for mature and sun burnt skin as well as brittle nails and wrinkles. Rose hip oil is also frequently used to heal scarring and diminish photo-aging.

Syns:
Gol-e moškin
• Graham Thomas Old Musk
• Musk Rose
• Rosa moschata 'Graham Thomas Old Musk'
• Rosa moschata Herrm.
• Rosa ruscinonensis Grén. & Déségl. synonym
• Rosier Musqué
• Single Musk

Also referenced as: Rose musquette, Rose muscadelle, Rosa Damascena simplici flore, Rosa moschata alba, Weiss Muscatenrose, Rosa moschata et Damascena, Rosa persica (moschata), Rosa muscheta, Rosa coroneola, Rosa sera, Rosa autumnalis, Musket Röschen, Bisamröslein, Rosa Damascena flore simplici, Rosellina Dommaschina, White Cluster Rose, Rosa Moschata simplex, Einfache Damascenerröslein