Rose:   Souvenir de la Malmaison

Class:   Bourbon

Date of Introduction:   1843

Hybridizer: Beluze

Souvenir de la Malmaison is one of the most beautiful of Old Garden Roses. It is a beautiful light pink to white Bourbon Rose. The blooms are very full, 4 to 5 inches across and quartered with a lovely scent. The blooms start out deeply cupped with pale pink petals that turn to white as they mature. The foliage is glossy, medium to dark green on a thorny stem. The plant is low and spreading in nature (3’ high by 4’ wide) and it takes 1-2 years to become established. There is a climbing version (Bennett, 1893) which grows 8 to 12 ft tall and takes about three years to get established and then grows so vigorously. It was the climbing version that I received when I ordered Souvenir de la Malmaison and I kept on wondering why it kept on sending these long canes. I finally moved it next to an arbor and it was very happy there. It gave plenty of blooms but the blooms tended to ball (not open) on wet weather making the very full blooms into a brown unappealing mush. The rose will outbloom most hybrid teas as long as it does not get rained out.

Souvenir de la Malmaison is eligible to win the Dowager Queen (Queen of Old Garden Roses) at a rose show. Old Garden Roses are those introduced before 1867, many of which have a fascinating history. Souvenir de la Malmaison is a Bourbon Rose, so named for the island where the first Bourbons originated. Ile Bourbon is an island in the Indian Ocean off of Madagascar, now called Reunion Island. The French colonial landowners in the early 1800s set off their properties with large hedges of roses, alternating the native China roses with a Damask Perpetual. A hybrid rose appeared that caught the fancy of the landowners and avid gardeners in France. Both seeds and cuttings of this original plant were brought to France and bred. The descendants of these roses are the Bourbons.

Souvenir de la Malmaison means remembrance of Malmaison, named for the gardens of the Empress Josephine (wife of Napoleon Bonaparte) at Chateau de Malmaison. Josephine was a devoted gardener and grew more than two hundred varieties of roses, among thousands of other plants. Souvenir de la Malmaison was named for her dedication and though it was bred some years later after her death, it is grown at Chateau de Malmaison today.

Tip #25 – Don’t be scared to do things. Looking back you’ll think, “What was I so afraid of?”

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose:   Cherry Parfait

Class:   Grandiflora

Date of Introduction:   2001

Parentage:   (Meidanu x Macman) x Meichoiju

Cherry Parfait is a beautiful red and white, bi-colored grandiflora hybridized by Meilland International in 2001 and introduced by Conard-Pyle. Cherry Parfait blooms with the white petals edged in red stand out in the garden and in the vase. The flower size is 3 ½ to 4 inches with a petal count of 35-40 with a slight fragrance. As her large, perfectly formed, exhibition-style blooms open up, a phenomenon called phototropism changes the white pigments in the petals to pink and red along the edges. This happens as the petals are exposed to the ultra-violet rays of the sun. This phenomenon can be quite stunning. After the blooms open up, they slowly change to all pink as they age. Soon, they are replaced by numerous other bi-colored blooms.

Cherry Parfait is a low-growing rose with a rounded growth habit. Its dark green foliage with long, straight stems is highly disease resistant. Cherry Parfait thrives in high temperatures during the long, summer months but needs winter protection to protect her from the high winter wind. This attractive bi-colored rose is very attractive throughout the season and very floriferous. With its stunning coloration accentuated by dark foliage, Cherry Parfait also is very effective in mass planting. Cherry Parfait makes a great companion plant for perennials and is also an excellent container plant.

Cherry Parfait is the 2003 Grandiflora winner of the All-American Rose Selections (AARS) award. Cherry Parfait with its showy bi-colored petals is always a treat for the eyes.

Tip #24 – Make a good first impression.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose – Green Rose

Class:   China

Date of Introduction:   Before 1856

At one of our meetings at the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society, I won a unique rose, Green Rose. It is an oddity and a conversation piece and people either like it or hate it. It is Viridiflora ‘Rosa Monstrosa’ otherwise known as Green Rose. Records say Green Rose has been in cultivation as early as 1743 and is a sport from Rosa Indica.

The Green Rose is a small plant that grows to 3’ tall and has few thorns. It can be grown in a pot, and is rarely out of “blooms”. The buds are small, oval, of soft bluish green color and the “blooms” are usually formed in clusters continually throughout the season and look wonderful. The petals of the bloom reverted back to leaves (petals are modified leaves) and it does not have reproductive organs. As you would expect from an Old Garden Rose, this one is fragrant too. It has a spicy fragrance. But unless you know what you’re looking for, it is hard to find the bud since the bush is totally green.

For all the Irish in all of us, we can say we have a green rose, not St. Patrick which only has a tint of green, but a real green rose. Plant it and you might like it. It is a wonderful rose to use as a filler material in arrangements or as a landscape rose. But I’m sure some visitors to your garden will undoubtedly say “That’s not a rose!  You got to be kidding!!”

Tip #20 – Teach your children the value of money and the importance of saving.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose:   Fourth of July

Class:   Climber

Date of Introduction:   1999

Parentage:   R. ‘Roller Coaster’ x R. ‘Altissimo’.

“Fourth of July” rose has semi-double blooms with white petals boldly striped and splashed with dark, velvety red arranged around an attractive cluster of golden stamens. This gorgeous ruffled petaled climber that looks like a burst of fireworks when in bloom has long, pointed buds and 3″ and 4″ blooms with striped red and white petals and very healthy glossy, dark green foliage. It is a vigorous climber and can grow 10 to 14 ft. high.

“Fourth of July” is the first climber to be honored as an All-America Rose Selection (AARS) winner for a long time in 1999. I planted mine next to a palm tree hoping it would climb the palm tree but the canes were growing away from the tree reaching for the sun so I pegged the long cane. Pegging or bending the cane down and pegging it to the ground encourages more lateral stems and more blooms. I planned to dig it up and move it next to the pillar supporting my front terrace and train it to climb the pillar. That somehow never happened and I ended up putting it in a pot next to the wall.

“Fourth of July” has strong apple fragrance, a very refreshing scent. Color is dramatic. It is a stunning plant, a real traffic stopper. It is an excellent repeat blooming rose with sensational flowers all season long. It is the best climber around winning awards at rose show around the country.  You can plant it attached to an arch, pergola or trellis for a stunning display of colorful blooms.  Some gardeners use it as a shrub in the entranceway to the garden.  To grow it as a shrub, prune them heavily in the spring.

Best grown in medium moisture, slightly acidic, well-drained garden loams in full sun to part shade. Water deeply and regularly (mornings are best). Good air circulation is important because it promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps prevent diseases. Summer mulch helps retain moisture, keeps roots cool and discourages weeds. Remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom.  Remove and destroy diseased leaves from plants, as practicable, and clean up and destroy dead leaves from the ground around the plants both during the growing season and as part of winterizing your roses in late fall.  It is very disease resistant and winter hardy.  Few roses can command attention like “Fourth of July”. It only has 10-16 petals but when “Fourth of July” is in bloom, it is quite a show like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Fourth of July is a special day for our country. We celebrate our freedom that we cherish and that our veterans fought and died heroically and some are still fighting to preserve what we enjoy today. Won’t it be nice to honor our country by having “Fourth of July” rose in our garden? As a gardener, I designed my front garden in the theme of Red, White and Blue. I have white alyssum, blue pansies and red roses including “Fourth of July”.

A RED, WHITE & BLUE GARDEN

Tip #19 – Spend more time with family and friends rather than spend too much time at the office. No one looks back from their deathbed and wishes they spent more time at the office but they do wish they spent more time with family and friends.

Enjoy Fourth of July with your family and friends.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Photo Courtesy of Matthew Kyaw of Rose Gardening World

Rose:   Falling in Love

Class:   Hybrid Tea

Date of Introduction:   2006

Parentage:   ‘Moonstone’ x ‘Marilyn Monroe’

Hybridizer:   Tom Carruth, 2006

Registration Name: Wekmoomar

Falling in Love is a pink blend Hybrid Tea and introduced in the United States by Weeks Roses in 2007. It won the James Alexander Gamble Fragrance Medal from the American Rose Society in 2012. It has a strong, fruity fragrance.

This warm pink rose with porcelain white reverse hybrid tea is a bushy, upright and very vigorous with large, semi-glossy, dark green foliage and armed with sharp, large thorns/prickles. Most likely, it will be the thorniest rose in your garden. Use caution when pruning. Bloom size is large, about 4.75” in diameter, full and borne mostly single to a stem. The blooms last a long time and so are good for cutting and bringing in the house. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.

Tip #18 – Be careful when choosing your life’s partner. Ninety percent of your happiness or misery will come from this one fateful decision.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose:   Firefighter

Class:   Hybrid Tea

Date of Introduction:   2004

Parentage:   ‘Lasting Love’ x ‘Hidalgo’

Hybridizer:   Orard, 1999

Firefighter is a beautiful dark red hybrid tea which is the first of the nine roses to be named for the Remember Me Rose Gardens to honor the 343 firefighters who died on September 11, 2001 while trying to save lives in the World Trade Center. Firefighter also honors those men and women who risk their lives daily to protect ours.

Firefighter is a tall hybrid tea about 5-6 ft. tall with a perfect flower form, about 4-6 inches and disease resistant. Petal count is about 40-45 and has a very strong fragrance. Firefighter won the City of Portland Gold Medal Award for 2007. I planted two Firefighter rose bushes, one on each side of my walkway and when they are in bloom, you can smell the sweet fragrance as you walk by.

To honor and pay tribute to all the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an organization was formed by Sue Casey of Portland, Oregon to create three rose gardens on or near the sites of the terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and at a field in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County in Pennsylvania.

Tip #17 – Stand up for yourself. Old people don’t take crap from anyone and neither should you.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose:   Carefree Wonder

Class:   Shrub

Date of Introduction:   1990

Parentage:   (‘Prairie Princess’ x ‘Nirvana’) x (‘Eyepaint’ x ‘Rustica’}

Hybridizer:   Meilland, France

This compact, repeat flowering shrub rose bears a profusion of double pink blooms with white reverse. At the first flush in early June, the plant is covered with blooms. The pink bloom is medium size, has 26 petals and has a slight fragrance. It has a white center with yellow stamens. They come singly or in clusters followed by dull red hips. The leaves are small, glossy, deep green and resistant to disease. The plant is low growing reaching a height of 3 ft. It can bloom continuously until winter. I had two plants in my previous garden, both planted at either side of the parterre. Carefree Wonder is an All-America Rose Selection in 1991.

Tip #16 – Focus on solution – some people always look for problem in any situation. Do the opposite.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

Rose Photo Courtesy of Jan Haught Bingham, member of Rose Gardening World.

Fragrant Cloud

Registered Name – TANellis

Syns. Duftwolke, Nuage Parfume

Tantau, Germany, 1967

Seedling x ‘Prima Ballerina’

Fragrant Cloud rose has extremely fragrant blooms and constantly winning at rose shows across the country for its fragrance. The flowers are an unusual coral-red maturing to geranium red with 30 petals and exhibition-style blooms. The high-centered blooms are borne mostly singly, averaging 5” in diameter on a vigorous upright plant of 3-5 ft in height and 2 ft in width. The large foliage is a rich, glossy dark green on a vigorous bush that is very prolific. I had Fragrant Cloud rose in my first garden in the early ‘70s and then again it was one of the first roses that were planted when we bought our next home in the ‘80s. After 30 years, it was still there when we left.

Fragrant Cloud rose is an excellent rose for bedding and for borders and cut flower. It is very susceptible to mildew in autumn and black spot during damp weather. In spite of those problems, it still remains as one of the most popular roses in the market because of its intense fragrance. There is a climbing Fragrant Cloud propagated by Collin & Sons in England in 1973. It also has that unique coral-red bloom on the long canes, covered with dark, reddish green foliage. The climbing version can reach a height of 12 ft. Fragrant Cloud climbing rose can produce very fragrant blooms during the summer only.

Fragrant Cloud rose has won the National Rose Society President’s International Trophy in 1964, Portland Gold Medal in 1966, James Alexander Gamble for Fragrance Award in 1970 and World Favorite Rose in 1981 and still winning awards today for fragrance.

Tip #15 – Learn to disagree without being disagreeable.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer

MEMORIAL DAY ROSE

Hybridizer – Tom Carruth

Parentage: ‘Blueberry Hill’ x ‘New Zealand’

Introduced by Weeks Wholesale Rose Grower, Upland, CA

What better way to celebrate Memorial Day than with a rose called Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a beautiful hybrid tea rose with orchid pink blossoms. Pointed oval buds unfurl into very large, ruffled blooms about 5-6 inches across with more than 50 petals count on long stems with very little prickles. It has a strong old rose fragrance that only one bloom is needed to perfume an entire room with intense strong damask scent. The growth habit is upright and bushy, growing to medium to tall in height, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Foliage is bright green and clean on a continuous blooming plant.

Memorial Day was an All-America Rose Selections winner in 2004. Memorial Day is Weeks Roses’ hybridizer, Tom Carruth’s fifth AARS winner. Disease resistance is very good and the plant especially enjoys hot summer weather and produces darker blooms as the weather cools off in the fall.

To remember those who served, plant and dedicate a beautiful Memorial Day hybrid tea for them.

Tip # 14 – Stop imitating someone to impress people. They will find out later who you really are. Be yourself.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda R Morgan

Author & Garden Writer