Botanical roses

Botanical roses are at the origin of the thousands of cultivars present on the market. Often very vigorous ancestors, they should not be confused with horticultural roses.

Differences between botanical and horticultural roses

Botanical roses are wild roses that have been growing in the wild for thousands of years. They are native to Northern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Often shrubby, sometimes climbing, they are not remontant, which means that they bloom only once in the season, in late spring or early summer. The single 5-petaled flowers are mostly fragrant. They are then followed by very decorative red or black rose hips.

These wild roses have been hybridized to create the thousands of cultivars that exist today.

Horticultural roses do not exist in their natural state. They were created by man. The multiple hybridizations gave birth to the varieties called ancient or modern. Since then, creators never stop inventing new cultivars, more resistant, more floriferous, or easier to cultivate.

The main botanical roses

We will discover here the main botanical roses, it was necessary to make a choice, the list is not exhaustive.

Rosa banksiae is a climbing rose with long, very flexible and smooth stems, originating from Western China. Very vigorous, it can reach 12 m in height and 6 m in spread, but it fears late frosts. Its pale green leaves are covered in May with numerous small double white flowers (3cm in diameter) with a delicate violet scent.

Rosa bracteata comes to us from the South East of China. Its growth is very fast and it can cheerfully reach 4 m of height for 6 of spread. Its dark green glossy leaves are carried by very thorny stems. It produces from June to October simple, white and flattened flowers with wavy petals of 8 cm in diameter.

Rosa damascena, better known as "Damask rose" is a bush with thorny stems that can reach 2 m high, native to the Middle East. The leaves are greyish-green. It is covered in summer with bouquets of 3 to 11 white or pale pink flowers, flat of 5 cm in diameter.

Rosa eglanteria also known as Rosa rubiginosa or rosehip. This is the best known and one of the most vigorous botanical roses. Its thorny and arched stems of 2,5 m of height for as much of spread carry dark green leaves with the perfume of apple. It is covered in July with pink flowers, simple in cup. Our rosehip is native of a vast zone which extends from Europe, to North Africa and from the West to the North of Asia.

Rosa foetida comes to us from Western Asia. It can reach 1,50 m in all directions. Its arched stems carry pale green leaves and in June simple bright yellow flowers of 5 cm in diameter.

Rosa officinalis is also known as "Rose de Provins" or "Rose des Apothicaires". It has a compact form, measuring only 80 cm in height and 1 m in spread. In summer it produces semi-double red/pink flowers with a strong smell.

Rosa glauca is a very vigorous subject with reddish-green stems that can reach 2 m in height. It is native to the mountainous areas of central and southern Europe. It produces in summer small bunches of pink flowers with a paler heart and golden stamens.

Rosa moschata is native to Western Asia. It has a wide habit and can reach 3 m in all directions. Its purple-green foliage serves as a showcase for bouquets of flat, simple, creamy-white flowers. Its musky perfume is unforgettable.

Rosa wichuraiana is a vigorous climber that can be used as a ground cover because it spreads over nearly 6 m for a height of 2 m. In summer, it produces bouquets of 6 to 10 flowers in white cups with bright yellow stamens. Their perfume is delicately spicy.

Climbing roses or creepers

Who has never been amazed by an arbour, a façade or an arch covered with roses? Generous, opulent and vigorous, rambling or climbing roses offer a spectacle that is renewed every year for our greatest pleasure!

What is a climbing rose?

A climbing rose is recognizable by its vigorous vegetation, made up of thick stems, with or without thorns, which extend over several meters. These stems can happily exceed 10 m in length depending on the species, if the conditions of cultivation of the rose are optimal.

Rosa Banksiae, is a botanical climbing rose at the origin of many ancient or modern hybrids, just like Rosa bracteata or Rosa wichurana.

Among the old horticultural varieties are the so-called 'Boursault' roses with long, smooth, arched stems that produce semi-double or double, lightly scented flowers in June, as well as the so-called 'Noisette' roses with smooth stems and glossy leaves that serve as a showcase for bunches of 3 to 5 double to very double flowers with a spicy scent.

It would be impossible not to mention the evergreen roses, some of which are climbing, some of which are sarmentous, but all of which are very vigorous, with thorny, arching stems bearing glossy, pale-green, semi-evergreen foliage and bunches of double to very double, fragrance-free flowers in summertime.

Among the modern roses, we find climbing roses with stems that are often stiff, arched or thorny and that have the particularity of blooming several times during the season. The flowers are often fragrant and very full.

Whatever the case, there are countless old or modern climbing roses, you will be spoilt for choice!

Growing climbing roses or ramblers

Climbing roses are grown under the same conditions as conventional roses, except for the trellising.

Climbing roses are only climbing in name, you will never see them hanging by themselves with tendrils or suction cups like real climbing plants, so they will have to be trained on a facade, a pergola, a portico, an old tree or even a fence. They must be firmly attached with suitable ties to hold in place despite the wind or the weight of the flowers. Don't forget to leave a space of 20 cm between the support and the stems to favor aeration and avoid the propagation of possible diseases. Always bend the stems slightly downwards when training your climbing roses in order to encourage flowering and cut off the spent flowers as you go along so that the plant does not tire of producing seeds and continues to flower as long as possible.

Warning: before installing a climbing rose or rambler in your home, check its hardiness because some of them need heat. Beware also of its future development; a rose like 'Filipe Kiftsgate' for example, will grow incredibly large with time. You might as well know this when you buy it and choose your rosebush according to the space you can dedicate to it.

Climbing roses, growing tips

There are different types of climbing roses: single or double flowered roses, small flowered or large flowered roses and also climbing roses that can become very large, called ramblers.

Roses in the horticultural world

Roses are fairly recent plants in horticulture. Even if they existed in Antiquity, only fifteen or so rosebushes are referenced under the reign of Louis XIV. It was not until the 18th century that varieties really developed. Hybridizers started to mix the pollen of roses and obtained several hundred varieties. In Lyon, many breeders created varieties from the middle of the 19th century. Today, there are up to 70,000 varieties in the world.

Safe varieties of climbing roses

Captain Christy

This is a typical 19th century rose. It was created in 1881 and reaches 3 to 4 meters high. The flower has the shape of old roses, which look a bit like the peony flower.

Pink Cloud

It is a rose created in 1952. It is still relevant today because it has a very beautiful foliage, a strong development and reblooms several times in the season.

Pink Ghislaine de Féligonde

This is a reference variety for the Ducher nursery, in terms of flowering and hardiness. It is a multiflora rose, which means that the flowers grow in clusters. This rose was created in 1914 and, at its origin, the flower was of yellow color. In 1997, from a seed, the nursery obtained a pink variation. But it was not until 2007 that this new variety of rose was stabilized and commercialized.

Zephirine Drouain

This is an old variety, extremely fragrant, whose stems do not carry any sting. Very easy to cultivate, it does not like to be against a wall in the sun. It needs air: to be planted against a fence or on a pergola.

Zéphirine Drouain' is part of a famous family of old roses called Bourbon roses, which are fragrant and bloom several times. These roses were born on the island of Reunion, from a mixture of Damask roses (the most fragrant) and Chinese roses, which are the first to have bloomed several times in the season.

Rosa centifolia

This is one of the oldest varieties. Rosa centifolia blooms only once but is extremely fragrant (it is used in perfumery). It was already cultivated by the Romans.

The rambling roses

When climbing roses exceed 4 meters in height, they fall into the category of large roses, also called ramblers. These roses can easily climb a tree, cover the front of a house, or line a fence.

Some ramblers have grouped flowers, others have large flowers (such as 'Madame Alfred Carrière', a classic from the 19th century), or have particularly aesthetic flowers, such as 'Mademoiselle Cécile Brunner' which has very small buds, very healthy foliage, and will bloom many times.

The culture of climbing roses

All varieties of roses are native to the northern hemisphere. It is true that roses are drought resistant, but this is not the situation they prefer. The ideal exposure is the East, for the morning sun and the afternoon shade, useful to protect it from the summer heat wave. However, it remains a sunny plant that will also bloom in the west or south in less hot regions.

The rose does not like limestone either, unless it is grafted on the rose hip (Rosa canina).

The gardener's job is to guide the rosebush to its support, and to make its place, for example in the branches of an old bald apple tree.

Although the rosebush grows almost everywhere, to obtain beautiful roses, it is necessary to feed and water it, especially in early spring. This strengthens it for the rest of the year and makes it resistant to disease.

Note: the rose bush reaches its adult size in three years.

Wild roses

Wild roses are increasingly being introduced into gardens for their old-fashioned beauty, their colorful rose hips and their vigor. These roses are at the origin of most cultivars created in the rose world.

What is a wild rose?

A wild rose, as its name indicates, is a bushy plant growing naturally and spontaneously in the wild, especially in a large part of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about a hundred species, the number varying according to botanists. They agree that these vigorous bushes are all part of the genus Rosa. This genus is divided into 4 sub-genera: Hulthemia, Hesperos, Platyrhodon, and Eurosa. This last sub-genus includes the majority of wild roses that we grow in our gardens.

The flowers of these wild roses are simple and have for the most part only 5 petals spread in a corolla around the stamens.

What are the best-known wild roses?

Rosa gallica has been cultivated since antiquity and is a protected species because it has become rare in the wild. It has bright pink flowers with an intoxicating scent and intense green foliage. It is the ancestor of all old roses and those with a true rose scent.

Rosa canina is the most widespread species in Europe. This rose is better known under the name of 'Rosehip'. The fragrant flowers are simple and white, surrounded by golden stamens. This vigorous rose is an excellent rootstock because it adapts to many types of soil.

Rosa chinensis comes from China as its name indicates. It bears bunches of single or double flowers from spring until the first frost. It is the origin of all the current remontant roses.

Rosa rugosa also originates from the East. Very resistant, suckering, it forms a thorny shrub with large flowers ranging from white to red.

Rosa foetida brought the yellow color in the kingdom of the current hybrids. It is native to Western Asia. Its stems are arching and the foliage is pale green.

Rosa moschata carries bunches of white flowers which give off a musky perfume. The foliage is green purple. It can reach the height of 3 meters in all directions.

Rosa multiflora is widely used as a rootstock. Climbing, it is the origin of many polyanthus roses and modern varieties with grouped flowers. It bears small white flowers with a fruity fragrance that turns pink as it ages.

Rosa hugonis is shrubby. Its reddish-green stems bear green/gray leaves and yellow flowers. It is native to Korea and China.

Rosa pimpinellifolia owes its name to its foliage which reminds that of the burnet. It is thorny and suckers. The foliage is dark green and the flowers creamy white. The fruits are black and purple, very ornamental.

Rosa wichuraiana is a vigorous, climbing or spreading rose with shiny dark green foliage illuminated by an abundance of white flowers in clove-scented bouquets. It is the origin of many sarmentous roses.

Staging your roses

Showcase your roses in a staging according to your garden style. 

The perfume garden

• In the spotlight: one (or more) fragrant rose, depending on your climbing, shrub or bush space.
• Around it: lavender with purple flowers, sage with purple-tinted foliage, a few pots of creeping thyme, a few pots of white gauras.

This scene can be placed near the dining area where it will perfume all summer long, especially when the weather is hot. It can be planted in the ground or in a pot on the terrace. The plants you choose will blend in with any color of rosebush. Aromatics are a safe bet, (their low cost allows you to renew the decor after a few seasons). The gauras bring lightness and luminosity to the whole.

Contemporary garden

• In the spotlight: one (or more) shrub rose or ground cover with single flowers that bloom all summer long.
• Around it: a few cups of Stipas tenuifolia, blue fescue, purple Pennisetum and some Buenos Aires verbena.

A maximum of effect for a reduced maintenance to the strict minimum! Use in a sunny corner of the garden or on a terrace in large anthracite gray wood or composite containers. Install small grasses (fescues and stipas) in front of the rosebush. The pennisetum creates a duo that contrasts with the rose, while the verbenas give a vertical touch to the whole. Mulch the bare ground with slate shavings in a resolutely contemporary style.

Romantic garden for a day

• The star of the show: an antique or English climbing rose with large pink or white flowers.
• Around it: 2 balls of boxwood, 2 cups of nepetas, a clematis with small blue-purple summer flowers, 5 cups of bluebells, 3 cups of alchemilla, a bag of white cosmos seeds.

To give a romantic touch to the garden or terrace, roses are a must. A bench, a metal arch, a rosebush with old-fashioned charm, scented if possible... the decor is set. To bring out the beauty of the flowers and the tenderness of the colors, boxwood balls or an evergreen hedge are ideal. Nepetas, alchemilla and campanulas offer a soft blur to the composition while cosmos give it grace and lightness. The small flowers of the clematis create a surprise during the summer, reinforcing by contrast the beauty of the chubby roses.

Exotic Garden

• In the spotlight: one (or more) brightly colored rose (red, bright orange, bright yellow...)
• To accompany it: 1 cream-colored phormium, 1 classic fern (or tree fern), 1 hosta with very large leaves (or a banana tree), 2 heucheras with purple or orange foliage, 3 bulbs of dahlias with bright red flowers, 1 canna with purple foliage.

Brightly colored roses are often not well combined, they can even become gaudy, whereas a composition with exotic charm reveals all their beauty. This scene is perfect for a lightly shaded city patio. The foliage (varied in shape and color) provides a beautiful backdrop for the roses, echoing them as they turn yellow, orange or purple. The dahlias will take over during the summer if the rose's blooming fades a little.

Planting a rambler rose next to a large tree

What could be more fabulous than the sight of a sumptuous rambler rose entangled in the branches of a tall tree! It brings color and sometimes an unforgettable fragrance. Easy to set up, dare to set up this dazzling decor!

When to plant a rambler rose at the foot of a tall tree?

Autumn is the ideal time to plant bare-root roses. If you choose a container, you can plant them all year round except during periods of frost or hot weather. In any case, choose a subject with well-developed branches and no suspicious stains or wounds on the stems. The roots must be fresh and strong.

Which tree?

You can dress up an aging tree or even a dead tree. Keeping dead trees in the garden provides a home for a wide range of wildlife (small mammals, insects, birds). However, check that it is not in danger of falling at any moment. If it is well anchored, you can adorn it with a beautiful rose bush.

If you choose a subject that is still very much alive, prefer it with a well-cleared branch and a high habit, so that your rambler rose can climb up to its assault.

How to prepare the planting of the rosebush?

• If it is a bare-root rose, immerse it in water at room temperature to hydrate it. Prune the damaged roots and cut in half those that are too long.
• Prepare a praline made of clay, garden soil, water and cow dung. Soak the roots in it.
• If it is a container rose, remove the root ball after soaking, shake off the excess soil and dress the roots as before (pruning + praline).
• Dig a 40 cm hole in all directions at a distance of at least 60 cm from the trunk of the tree.
• Scratch the bottom of the hole, add a handful of crushed horn and some well decomposed compost.
• Pour in garden soil to a height where the roots of the rosebush can be placed so that the collar of the plant is level with the ground. Be careful not to bury the grafting point.
• Fill in with a mixture of garden soil and good compost.
• Pack well around the plant.
• Water thoroughly so that no air bubbles remain in the soil and it sticks to the roots.

After planting the rosebush

Water very regularly to ensure a good recovery. Be careful, under an evergreen tree, rainfall can sometimes be insufficient to water your rosebush properly, so be vigilant!

As the stems grow, gently lead them towards the trunk of the tree.

You can prune every other stem during the season to help the rosebush branch out abundantly.