Rosa 'Old Blush'

Last updated
Rosa 'Old Blush'
Rosa 'Old Blush'.jpg
Hybrid parentage Rosa chinensis
Cultivar group China
Cultivar Rosa 'Old Blush'
Marketing names 'Parson's Pink China', 'Common Monthly', 'Monthly Rose', 'Old Blush China', 'Old China Monthly', 'Pallida', 'Rosier du Bengale Rose'
OriginEast Asia, in Europe since about 1750

Rosa 'Old Blush', also known as 'Parsons' Pink China', 'Old Blush China', 'Old China Monthly', is a China rose (known in Chinese as yue yue fen "monthly pink") and has been cultivated in China for over a thousand years. [1] It derives from Rosa chinensis , and is generally accepted as the first East Asian rose cultivar to reach Europe. It is recorded in Sweden in 1752 and in England before 1759, [2] but was probably cultivated in China for several centuries. It is believed to be the rose which inspired the song The Last Rose of Summer by the Irish composer and poet Thomas Moore. [3] It is also known as Parsons' Pink China, named after Mr Parson who introduced it commercially to the UK in 1793. [1]

Contents

Description

'Old Blush' has light silvery pink semi-double flowers of medium size that darken as they age. They bloom in fives [1] and have a light to strong tea fragrance, a cupped to flat bloom form, and an average diameter of 7 centimetres (2.8 in). [4] The red buds appear in clusters almost continuously from early June to the first frost - in warmer regions even throughout the year, [5] and can develop to small, red rose hips. [4]

The shrub has an arching form, few prickles and mid-green leaves that have a crimson colour when young. [4] It grows 100 to 150 centimetres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall and about 90 to 120 centimetres (3.0 to 3.9 ft) wide, [6] [7] tolerates half shade, poor soils, [7] and is winter hardy down to -18 °C (USDA zone 6 to 7). [5] The cultivar can be trained as a small climber, reaching up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) height [7] which has larger flowers. [1]

Awards

The cultivar was one of the four cultivars inducted into the Old Rose Hall of Fame by the World Federation of Rose Societies at its creation in 1988. [1] [2]

Offspring

'Old Blush', together with 'Slater's Crimson China' and the tea roses 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China' and 'Parks' Yellow Tea-scented China', introduced to European gardens roses which would bloom repeatedly from spring to fall, whereas the Old European roses tend to bloom only once, on the previous year's wood. The chinas and teas became the foundation of numerous new classes of roses, including the bourbons, noisettes, hybrid perpetuals, and thence the modern garden roses.

'Old Blush' itself was parent to two of these classes: a natural cross of 'Old Blush' with 'Autumn Damask' on the Ile de Bourbon gave rise to 'Rose Edouard', the first bourbon rose; and John Champneys' hybrid of 'Old Blush' with the musk rose was 'Champneys' Pink Cluster', the first noisette and parent of the better known 'Blush Noisette'.

Two well-known sports of 'Old Blush' are 'Climbing Old Blush' (known since about 1750), one of the best climbers with slightly larger flowers than its parent, and 'Viridiflora', a green cultivar, that was introduced by Bambridge & Harrison in 1845. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose</span> Genus of plants

A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and Northwest Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses.

<i>Rosa</i> Ispahan Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Ispahan', also known as 'Rose d'Ispahan' and 'Pompon des Princes', is a clear pink, half-open kind of Damask rose, a type of garden rose introduced from the Middle East to Europe during the crusading 13th century.

<i>Rosa</i> Violet Carson Rose cultivar

Rosa'Violet Carson' is a salmon-pink rose cultivar, an uncommon hybrid of the red hybrid tea 'Mme Léon Cuny' and the orange floribunda 'Spartan', created by Samuel McGredy IV between 1963 and 1964. It was named after the English actress Violet Carson (1898–1983), who played Ena Sharples in the British soap opera Coronation Street.

<i>Rosa</i> American Beauty Rose cultivar

Rosa 'American Beauty' is a deep pink to crimson rose cultivar, bred by Henri Lédéchaux in France in 1875, and was originally named 'Madame Ferdinand Jamin'.

<i>Rosa</i> Général Jacqueminot Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Général Jacqueminot', also called 'General Jack' or 'Jack Rose', is an early Hybrid Perpetual rose cultivar, developed by Roussel, an amateur from Meudon, and introduced by the gardener Rousselet in 1853. The flower was named in honor of Jean-François Jacqueminot (1787-1865), a French general of the Napoleonic Wars. Its parentage is unclear, but 'Gloire des Rosomanes' and 'Géant des Batailles' are considered probable ancestors.

<i>Rosa</i> Double Delight Red and white hybrid tea rose

Rosa'Double Delight',, is a multiple award-winning, red blend hybrid tea rose cultivar bred in the United States by Swim & Ellis and introduced in 1977. Its parents were two hybrid tea cultivars, the red and yellow 'Granada' and the ivory 'Garden Party'.

<i>Rosa</i> Eden Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Eden' is a light pink and white climbing rose. The cultivar was created by Marie-Louise Meilland and introduced in France by Meilland International in 1985 as part of the Renaissance® Collection. It was named 'Pierre de Ronsard', after the French Renaissance poet Pierre de Ronsard in reference to his famous ode that begins: Mignonne, allons voir si la rose for the 400th death anniversary celebrations of the poet. The cultivar is also called 'Eden Rose 85' as Meilland had already introduced a rose cultivar called 'Eden' in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden roses</span> Ornamental roses

Garden roses are predominantly hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. An enormous number of garden cultivars has been produced, especially over the last two centuries, though roses have been known in the garden for millennia beforehand. While most garden roses are grown for their flowers, often in dedicated rose gardens, some are also valued for other reasons, such as having ornamental fruit, providing ground cover, or for hedging.

<i>Rosa</i> Nevada White climbing rose cultivar

Rosa 'Nevada' is a white climbing rose cultivar developed by Pedro Dot in Spain in 1927. It is one of his most successful creations and is named for its colour, as nevada is the Spanish word for "snowy". Its parentage was long under discussion, as Dot introduced the cultivar as a hybrid moyesii, but the cultivar's round, black hips point to its R. pimpinellifolia-parentage. It is probably a cross between Dot's pink hybrid tea 'La Giralda' and the wild rose species Rosa pimpinellifolia var. altaica, but is sometimes still described as a hybrid moyesii.

<i>Rosa</i> Wife of Bath Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Wife of Bath', is a pink shrub rose cultivar developed by David C.H. Austin in England in 1969. It was one of his early cultivars and is named after a character from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. 'Rosarium Glücksburg' is a rose garden in the park of Schloss Glücksburg in Glücksburg, Germany.

<i>Rosa</i> Duchess of Cornwall Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Duchess of Cornwall' is an orange blend rose cultivar bred by Hans Jürgen Evers from Rosen Tantau in Germany and introduced in 2005. The nostalgic hybrid tea rose is known as 'Music Hall' in France, and as 'Chippendale' in Germany. According to Robert Markley, it is already one of Tantau's most successful roses.

<i>Rosa</i> Cécile Brünner Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Cécile Brünner', also known as 'Mlle Cécile Brünner', 'Sweetheart Rose', 'Malteser Rose', or 'Mignon', is a light pink polyantha rose bred in France by Marie Ducher and introduced by her son-in-law, Joseph Pernet-Ducher in 1881. Its parents were a double-flowered R. multiflora and a hybrid tea rose, either 'Souvenir d'un Ami' or a seedling of 'Mme de Tartas'. It is not clear if the rose was named after the sister (1853–1927) or daughter of Ulrich Brunner fils.

<i>Rosa</i> Blush Noisette Rose cultivar

Rosa 'Blush Noisette' is a light pink Noisette rose introduced by Phillipe Noisette around 1815. It was one of the first Noisette roses, and over time has been called by a multitude of names, including Rosa × noisettiana, 'Rosier de Philippe Noisette', 'Noisette de l'Inde, 'Blush Cluster', or 'Noisette Carnée'. According to the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, the cultivar is mostly called 'Blush Noisette' in America, and otherwise known as 'Noisette Carnée'. 'Blush Noisette' arose as a seedling from the light pink rose hybrid 'Champney's Pink Cluster', introduced by Champneys around 1811, and was the first frost-hardy climber flowering repeatedly, giving the cultivar importance as a parent rose.

<i>Rosa</i> Souvenir de la Malmaison Rose cultivar

Rosa'Souvenir de la Malmaison' is a rose cultivar with large, very pale pink flowers that open flat. The Bourbon rose was created in 1843 by Lyon rose breeder Jean Béluze, who named it after the Château de Malmaison, where Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763–1814) had created a magnificent rose garden. It is probably a cross between 'Mme Desprez' and 'Devoniensis'.

<i>Rosa</i> Great Maidens Blush Light pink Alba rose cultivar

Rosa 'Great Maiden's Blush' is white blend Alba rose cultivar that appeared during the 14th century. It was introduced in Australia by Camden Park in 1843 as 'Maiden's Blush'. 'Great Maiden's Blush' has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and the American Rose Society's Dowager Queen award at the Syracuse Rose Society show.

<i>Rosa <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> odorata</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa × odorata or Rosa odorata is a hybrid flowering plant of the genus Rosa native to Yunnan in southwest China, whose taxonomy has been confused. It has been considered a hybrid of Rosa gigantea and Rosa chinensis, or as a quite rare wild species that includes R. gigantea. The wild forms are cultivated to some extent. Cultivars were developed in China in ancient times from R. chinensis crosses, and these have been important in the ancestry of the tea-scented China roses, also called tea roses, and their descendants the hybrid tea roses.

<i>Rosa <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> alba</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa × alba, the white rose of York, is a hybrid rose of unknown parentage that has been cultivated in Europe since ancient times. It may have originally been grown mainly for the sweet scent of the flowers, but is now also used as a winter-hardy garden shrub. Cultivated forms have white or pink flowers, and most have many petals. Hybrid cultivars have also been produced with red or yellow flowers.

<i>Rosa</i> Constance Spry Rose cultivar

Rosa'Constance Spry' is a light pink shrub rose introduced into Great Britain in 1961. It is the first rose cultivar commercially developed by British rose breeder, David C.H. Austin. 'Constance Spry' was introduced at a time when the shrub rose was out of style, the hybrid tea rose being the most popular rose with gardeners. The new cultivar renewed the popularity of the more old fashioned type of rose.

<i>Rosa</i> Baroness Rothschild Pink Hybrid Perpetual rose, Pernet 1868

Rosa 'Baroness Rothchild' is a pink Hybrid Perpetual rose cultivar, bred by Jean Pernet in 1868 and introduced in Australia by St. Kilda Nurseries in 1873 as 'Baroness Rothschild'.

<i>Rosa</i> Compassion Pink blend modern climbing rose cultivar

Rosa 'Compassion' is a pink-blend climbing rose cultivar developed by Jack Harkness and introduced into Great Britain in 1972. It is considered to be one of the best modern climbers and is a popular selling rose in Britain.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Eastoe, Jane (2016). Vintage Roses: beautiful varieties for the home and garden. London: Pavilion. ISBN   978-1-910496-90-9.
  2. 1 2 "Old Rose Hall of Fame". World Federation of Rose Societies. 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  3. "Thomas Moore and the last rose". Garden.ie. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Charles and Brigid Quest-Ritson (2010). Rosen – die große Enzyklopädie[RHS Encyclopedia of Roses] (in German). Dorling Kindersley. p. 290. ISBN   978-3-8310-1734-8.
  5. 1 2 Meile, Christine; Karl, Udo (2008). Alte Rosen – alte Zeiten[Old Roses - old times] (in German). Augsburg: Wißner-Verlag. pp. 148–150. ISBN   978-3-89639-636-5.
  6. Bauer, Ute (2002). Alte Rosen[Heirloom Roses] (in German). BLV. p. 43. ISBN   3-405-16356-0.
  7. 1 2 3 Peter Beales (2002). Klassische Rosen[Classic roses] (in German). DuMont. p. 360. ISBN   3-8320-8736-2.