To The Library

As the search for landscape roses continues to heat up, as the big rose growers continue to introduce new shrubs for this purpose, can a passion for climbers be not far behind? After all anyone with a low fence, a wall, a pillar, the side of the house, has a space for one. Since all of these can be readily found in today’s modern urban landscape it seems logical to expect this to occur.

But perhaps not. Not because the rose buying public does not find climbing roses interesting but because the rose growing community has yet to provide them interesting climbing roses. Today’s climbers are no more than sports of hybrid teas with their stiff growth, bare canes and oversized, non-fragrant flowers. We’ve all seen them slammed up against a fence, flattened like some kind of upright road kill on a West Texas highway. The few holdovers from the old varieties that can be found are either once blooming ramblers or roses like Cecile Brunner; a lovely rose but not with the restrained growth habit and remontant qualities most gardeners of small gardens want. Mme Alfred Carriere

I confess and make no bones about that I would prefer climbers who grow with grace and suppleness. There would be nothing more beautiful than a climbing rose growing up a house with the laterals fountaining off the main canes. The blooms nod to you from above, the lush foliage covers the wall to provide a green backdrop to show off the blossom and the fragrance drifts down on a warm summer evening. Sound like a dream. It’s not. I only need to walk into my back yard where a lovely Rev d’Or cascades off my back patio overhang. Here is a climber I can fall in love with.

If everything old is new again then Rev d’Or and her kin are gems waiting to be re-discovered. They all form up a class of roses known as Noisettes. A class of repeat (for the most part) blooming, fragrant, naturally climbing roses that has been around since the early 1800s and a class that I unashamedly say is one of my two favorites. The other being Bourbons.

John Champney was a rice plantation owner in Charleston, South Carolina when in 1802 he either discovered or hybridized a rose by crossing R. Chinensis with R. Moschata. It is said that Mr. Champney himself transferred the pollen and the cross was R. Moschata with the China Rose Parsons Pink China. However both Jack Harkness in his book “Roses” and David Austin in his book “Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses” both say this is unlikely because deliberate pollination was not in general practice at that time. They feel it was a happy accident. Regardless of how it happened almost all are in agreement the parents were R. Moschata and a China Rose.

This rose was introduced as R. Moschata Hybrida but quickly became known as Champney’s Pink Cluster after it’s introduction in 1811 It contained small pink flowers blooming in clusters but like most first generation crosses of a once bloomer with a repeat bloomer it did not carry forth the latter quality. This was left to the second generation and this is where Philippe Noisittee comes in.

Also of Charleston Philippe Noisette was a French Nurseryman who sowed seeds of Champney’s Pink Cluster and the law of inheritance in rose breeding came into play. He ended up with a repeat bloomer which contained clusters of small white semi-double petaled flowers blushed light pink. Philippe sent it to his brother Louis in Paris who introduced it around 1816 or 1817 as R. Noisettiana. It known today as Blush Noisette.

The Noisette line remained fairly pure with Aimee Vibert and Fellemberg being examples still with us today. Then around 1830 Blush Noisette was crossed with Park’s Yellow Tea-Scented China. It is with this event the Noisettes came into fruition to become in my opinion the best climbing roses available to a rose gardener.

To keep things on the up and up so to speak it must be said that this is also the time where the line between Noisettes and Climbing Teas becomes blurred. So if some of the roses I talk about you know as Climbing Teas blame none other than Graham Stuart Thomas whose book “Rose Book” is open in front of me as my guide.

If there is one drawback to Noisettes is that they are not considered cold hardy. However some writers talk of being able to grow Mme. Alfred Carriere on the protection of a south wall so it is not impossible to grow Noisettes except in the coldest of climates. As always check with other members of a local rose society to see how they might do in your area

I can, however personally attest to their ruggedness. Several years ago I bought about 10 Marechal Neil at The Fineschi Garden in Tuscany Noisettes on their own roots from Roses Unlimited in Laurens South Carolina. I planted them on our farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and promptly returned home to Los Angeles. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to get back there to care for the roses for almost a year. During this time the roses existed on rain water and the help of a kind neighbor during dry spells. No spraying (and we get Japanese Beetles), no fertilizing and no grooming. Three years later they are still there and blooming as I write. This past winter they survived the coldest period of weather in the area over the last sixty years. Well below zero as a matter of fact. So if someone says these are not hardy roses send them my way. I’ll be happy to show them otherwise.

Yet, as with any rose Noisettes appreciate a bit of care. The usual rules apply when planting Noisettes. Dig yourself a good hole and mix in plenty of compost. I love using horse manure. In my experience there is nothing like it for roses. Most horse stables are only too happy to have someone come and offer to carry the stuff off and will let you do so if asked nicely. It and the strange looks are usually free.

Deadheading is a must for good repeat bloom as it periodic cutting back of the laterals. The laterals are the side shoots coming off the main cane. They bear the flowers. Here in our Southern California growing season I take them back two to three times per year depending on how fast the rose is growing and how industrious I feel. A good hard cut during normal pruning time, let them bloom all spring and then a medium tipping during the beginning of summer. Here late June. Once again in late August gets me through the fall bloom. In between I deadhead. In colder climates I suspect the order will be to prune during your normal time and then maybe take all the laterals back about half after the first big bloom flush is spent. This should get you several more flushes during the year.

You can also just deadhead and tip the laterals but once a year during pruning time. I find this gives you the big spring flush and then a nice steady bloom for the rest of the year. Either way make sure you do it at least once a year.

The same rules about cutting out dead wood apply as does the one about periodically cutting out old canes. The latter is hard to put a time table on but I do it when it becomes obvious a cane has bloomed itself out. Usually this is indicated by all the main bud eyes having put out laterals and the secondary bud eyrs doing the same. The cane also beginning to look straggly and wooded over. As long as you are getting basal breaks from the base this is a good practice. If you are faced with a very old plant where the bud union is wooded over don’t ever take out old canes. They’re all you’ve got. If your Noisette is on it’s own roots then cut away, something will always come up.

Classic ways to grow Noisettes are up the wall of a house, along a fence, or over an arbor. All good ways to go. But if your’re running out of climbing room you might consider other ways of growing Noisettes. Up a tree for example. Aimee Vibert, Juan Desprez, Mme Alfred Carriere, Mme Driout, Glorie Dijon will all head for the higher branches if planted near an appropriate host. Pillaring also works well. Sink a ten foot 4x4 two feet into the ground. Plant your favorite Noisette at the base and wrap the canes around the pillar as they grow. You will be rewarded with a beautiful climbing rose growing in a surprisingly small space. If you have a little more room take three stakes, branches or whatever and form a teepee. Plant the rose inside and wind the canes up the individual “branches” of the teepee. The result is a beautiful display of bloom from top to bottom. With imagination these very supple climbers can be trained to fit almost any garden.

So what are the best Noisettes? All of them is my very biased opinion. But since no article of this type is “complete” without a list of some of the best here we go.

Aimee Vibert. An interesting rose that I have grown to like and appreciate if for nothing else than its foliage. Lush and green it forms a wonderful backdrop to the sprays of blooms of clear white. Aimee is a late bloomer. Mine starts about June usually well after the other roses. On the other hand during August it is usually the only rose in my garden putting on a big show. My other recommendation for this large growing rose is to use its foliage as a backdrop for other Noisettes. They can bloom against its green in the spring and Aimee takes over in the summer crescendoing into a fall bloom of all of them. Alistar Stella Gray

Alister Stella Gray. Also known as the Golden Rambler in warm climates this one wins the “stand back and watch it grow, dude” award. The flowers open egg yolk yellow and fade to white and are always there. A great rose for a shed or a tree.

Blanc Pur. Maguey, 1827. Hard to find, my mine is now a year old and just beginning to bloom. If the flowers to come hold true to the first I might add this to the list of great white climbers.

Blush Noisette. The rose that started it all and still a beauty. Not one of the taller Noisettes it can even be grown as a small shrub. The flowers are born in large sprays and are semi-double white with a blush pink. Nicely fragrant. This is one I recommend for a pillar.

Bouquet d’Or. Ducher, 1872. A seedling of Gloire de Dijon some consider it to be as good if not better than her parent. I don’t know about that but the few plants I have seen are beautiful. Very double, yellow with a copper center. Fragrant.

Celine Forestier. Here is a rose to die for. The glimpse of a well grown Celine Forestier in full bloom is a sight to make you want to draw up a bench, a glass of wine and attempt to out rhetoric Shakespeare. Pale yellow flat blooms almost translucent with a fragrance to make your head swim. Another great candidate for a pillar.

Champney's Pink Cluster

Champney’s Pink Cluster. Champney, 1811. Here is where it all began and I have to say after owning this rose I can see why. Lovely clusters of clear pink blooms borne out all over the plant when it’s in bloom. Not being a large grower makes it a wonderful shrub.

Crepescule. Dubreuil, 1904. Not the fastest growing Noisette around but well worth the wait as it yellow/apricot loosely formed blooms are almost always on the plant.

Desprez a Fleurs Juane. Desprez, 1830. Also known as Juan Desprez and also one of my favorites. It flowers constantly and what flowers they are. Silky, creamy-tinted apricot pink with peach and yellow flushes it can be considered a Noisette of many colors. Couple this with a good sized growth habit and a spicy fragrance and you get a great rose.

Fellemburg. Very close to the Chinas in color and bloom style. Never growing large but the blooms open to a lilac pink and fade to light pink. When it’s happy it rewards you by blooming constantly.

Gloire de Dijon. Jacotot, 1853. Yes, yes I know most consider it to be a climbing tea but take it up with Graham Stuart Thomas. Frankly I don’t care what category it falls Gloire de Dijon into just so long as it is always available. Here comes the old cliché, “if you have room for one climber this is it”. Okay, make that two climbers because this and Sombreuil (which shall stay in the climbing tea category) are two I cannot live without. I have a client who has a 15 year old Gloire Dijon we’ve trained up along her second story balcony. I’d have to say the rose covers 40 to 50 feet from base to tip. In the spring it is covered with hundreds and hundreds of the most beautiful deep buff-yellow blooms I have ever seen. This rose, I kid you not, takes me four hours to prune every spring.

Lamarque. Marechal, 1830. After hearing about this rose for many years I finally saw one in bloom in a client’s back yard. We were growing it in a 20” pot up a pillar for evaluation. After the first light lemon yellow, intensely fragrant bloom appeared we fell in love. A very supple growth habit makes this a rose to seek out.

Marechal Niel. Pradel, 1864. If anyone tells you this is a tender rose that needs fussing over just let me say this is one of my South Carolina Roses. It can’t take cold but if you can grow it do so. Beautiful pure yellow flowers that created quite a stir in its day as it was one of the first pure yellow roses. Fragrant and always in bloom when happy. Some rosarians feel Marechal Neil has deteriorated over time and perhaps they are right. I do know that if you get a plant that does not seem to want to grow try getting another one from another source. The guality of the plant does seem to vary from nursery to nursery. Or better yet ask someone with a good one where they got theirs. The rose is worth it. Mine came from Roses Unlimited in Lauren’s South Carolina.

Mme. Alfred Carriere Mme Alfred Carriere. Vve Schwartz, 1879. This and Sombreuil are the two best white climbing roses we have. Period. And no slick, color photo, sappy description catalog is going to convince me otherwise.

Mme. Driout

Mme Driout. Bolut & Thiriat, 1902. Another hard to find rose that’s worth the effort. Difficult to describe I can only call it striped cerise on pink. If you get a good plant you will be rewarded with a vigorous growing rose with blooms that make you stop to look.

Rev d'Or Rev d’Or. Ducher, 1869. Okay make that three climbers you must have. I love this rose. It occupies a place of honor in my small back yard where it’s happily made a wall its own; and a porch, and a tree, and a telephone wire. This rose does not stop blooming. Big, fragrant flowers of gold apricot that just cascade in wave after wave of lateral from the main cane.

There are a lot of other Noisettes and I’ve only touched upon a few. More are being brought to commerce everyday a fact for which we as rosarians are the richer for this is a class of rose that has for too long lain dormant in the minds of most rose growers. Why, I don’t know but I feel this an oversight soon to be rectified. So pull up your favorite OGR catalog, grab a copy of Peter Beales and start ordering. You too can be ahead of your time.