Scent-imental roses: Yesterday's roses with perfumes to perk up today's gardens - Garden & Outdoor Living - rose varieties and planting - Brief Article

Sunset, Feb, 2002 by Steven R. Lorton

Way back in most gardeners' memories, or perhaps their fantasies, is a grandmother's garden. It likely had a picket fence, an enormous old apple tree, a lollygagging lilac or buddleja, and a rose--a big old sticker bush with flowers so fragrant that the lightest breeze would carry their scent across the yard, through the open kitchen window, and into the house. Where are these wonderfully pungent old roses today?

They're still available, and their popularity is increasing. Most are antique roses--introduced from the 17th to the early 20th centuries--whose voluptuous blooms in shades of pink and apricot to red and white are celebrated as much for their informal exuberance as for their heady perfumes. To grow one in your garden is to establish a living link to yesterday's gardens.

February is the month to discover these dowager empresses of the rose kingdom. In California's mildest climates, bloom starts in late April or May; in colder climates it will begin between late May and July.

Some types put out a grand spring show, then speckle themselves with flowers throughout the season. Others cover themselves with a big flush of flowers just once a year. But even those that flower only annually are handsome out of bloom, and the perfume of their flowers is so marvelous that they deserve a place in your garden.

Use one of these roses to fill a sunny corner. Settle one against a south- or west-facing wall or let it fountain out of the middle of an island bed.

Then some summer day, when you look out the window to see your grandchildren tearing around your backyard and you swing open the kitchen door to holler "Don't fall into that sticker bush," an unmistakable perfume will waft indoors. And it will remind you of the day, so long ago, when you planted that fragrant old rose.

RELATED ARTICLE: 14 fragrant old roses

Along with the other noteworthy roses shown on these pages, the following old roses are favorites of rosarians for fragrance.

'Alba Semiplena' (an alba rose). White, extremely fragrant semidouble blooms; plant is disease resistant. 6 feet tall, 4 to 5 feet wide. Not a repeat bloomer.

'Belle Isis' (Gallica). Medium pink, wonderfully perfumed. 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide, Not a repeat bloomer.

Cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia). The rose in paintings by old Dutch masters. Medium to deep pink, heady perfume. 6 feet tall by 5 feet wide, Not a repeat bloomer.

'Comte de Chambord' (Portland). Silvery pink blooms; pungent, old-fashioned scent. 4 feet tall, 3 feet wide. Continuous bloomer.

'Crepuscule' (Noisette), sometimes sold as Twilight. Double blooms of gold with ruffled petals, strong fragrance. 12 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Repeat bloomer.

"Darlow's Enigma" (ancestry unknown). Plant will grow in full shade, Small white blooms in clusters, richly fragrant. 8 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Repeat bloom.

'Ferdinand Pichard' (hybrid perpetual). Candy pink with stripes of deep crimson, aging to purple. 5 feet tall, 4 feet wide. Repeat bloomer.

'Francesca' (hybrid musk). Soft apricot semidouble blooms in clusters have the pungent fragrance of honeysuckle. 5 to 6 feet tall and as wide. Continuous bloomer.

'Henri Martin' (moss). Crimson red, many petals; strong, old rose fragrance. 5 to 7 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Not a repeat bloomer.

'Mme Hardy' (damask). White bloom with a green eye, very fragrant. 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide. Not a repeat bloomer.

'Mme Isaac Pereire' (Bourbon). Raspberry purple; one of the most fragrant of all roses. 5 to 6 feet tall by 4 or 5 feet wide. Continuous bloomer.

'Reine des Violettes' (hybrid perpetual). Deep violet purple, marvelously fragrant. 7 feet tall by 5 or 6 feet wide. Continuous bloomer.

'Rose de Rescht' (Portland). Bright fuchsia, wonderful fragrance. Compact, 4 feet tall, 3 feet wide. Repeat bloomer.

'Souvenir de la Malmaison' (Bourbon). Light pink, spicy sweet. Compact, 4 to 5 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. Continuous bloomer.

SOURCES

Arena Roses: (888) 466-7434 or www.arenaroses,com. Free catalog.

Edmunds' Roses: (503) 682-1476 or www.edmundsroses.com. Free catalog.

Heirloom Roses: (503) 538-1576 or www.heirloomroses,com. $5 catalog.

Planting and care

Plant bare-root roses as soon as possible after getting them home. Before setting them in the ground, soak the roots in a bucket of water for four hours or overnight. Amend the soil with compost or other organic matter to make sure it's rich and well drained.

* Dig a planting hole at least twice as wide as the root system but a bit shallower (this will allow for settling). Roughen sides with a spading fork.

* Make a firm cone of soil in the planting hole, then spread roots over it. Position the rose so the bud union (the thickened part toward the bottom of the stem) is above surrounding soil; measure the level by laying a shovel handle across the hole.

* Pack the backfill soil around the roots as you hold the plant upright. When backfilling is almost complete, water to settle the soil around the roots. If the plant sinks too low, pump it up and down while the soil is saturated to bring it to the proper level. Finish filling the hole with soil, then water again.