93 Old Roses: Noisette Roses.
Description
This article is from the Rose Gardening FAQ, by Bill Chandler chandler@austin.ibm.com, Jolene Adams jolene@cchem.berkeley.edu, Brent C. Dickerson odinthor@csulf.edu, Karen Baldwin kbaldwin@veribest.com, and many contributors
93 Old Roses: Noisette Roses.
Just after 1800, John Champneys of Charleston, South Carolina, crossed
a pink China (traditionally supposed to be 'Parsons' Pink') with the
Musk Rose R. moschata, and obtained a large-growing shrub with clusters
of lightly fragrant pink blossoms, `Champneys' Pink Cluster'. A
neighbor there, Philippe Noisette, planted its seeds and grew a plant
which was similar but dwarfer, and which had larger clusters of doubler
flowers, `Blush Noisette'. Philippe Noisette's brother happened to be a
major French nurseryman in Paris, and it was through this latter that
the rose found commercial release around 1815. The industrious French
breeders soon went to work, and within ten years, there were more than
a hundred Noisettes in the catalogs in colors from white to
crimson-purple. The new yellow Tea showing up about that time, it was
crossed with the Noisettes, with a result which fundamentlaly changed
the Noisette group; the blossoms became larger, the clusters smaller,
and the plants more Tea-like, with an inclination towards "climbing."
The group reached its apogee or indeed apotheosis in 1853 with the
release of one of the most beloved roses of all, the climber `Gloire de
Dijon'. Further climbing Noisettes, mostly in shades of yellow or
pinkish yellow, were released through the turn of the century when
newer, hardier climbers of different background took the fore. The
seemingly final stage of Noisettes, returning them much to their
original concept of multi-flowered shrubs, was coming with the
development of the Hybrid Musks (comprising crosses between Noisettes
and Hybrid Teas, etc.) in the 1910's, 1920's, and beyond. `Gloire de
Dijon', `Desprez a Fleur Jaune', `Bougainville', `Chromatella',
`Solfatare', `Marechal Niel', `Aimee Vibert', `William Allen
Richardson', `Lily Metschersky', `Lamarque'.
Continue to:
My Books
