| Rose Books
Online |
| The Complete Flower Paintings and Drawings of Graham Stuart Thomas by Graham Stuart Thomas, 1987, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. / Sagapress, Inc., New York Rose drawings, paintings, and text from pages 104-149 |
Three Roses with Greyish Leaves: Rosa glauca (R. rubrifolia) ,R. fedtschenkoana, and ‘Reine des Violettes’ pages 114, 115 |
| The European rose Rosa glauca, under its
better known name R. rubrifolia, has long been known and freely planted
in our gardens. It has a very special value in regard to the colour of its
leaves. They are glaucous or even palest jade-green in shade, but in full sun
they darken into a rich coppery mauve tint. I singled out this remarkable rose
for special mention in my book The Art of Planting for its usefulness in
providing grey foliage for shady positions; as a rule grey and glaucous foliage
requires sunny cultivation. And then the coppery colour in sun is unlike that
of any other shrub so it is invaluable for a variety of colour schemes. The
small flowers are of clear pink with white eyes and they blend perfectly well
with most colour schemes, but the resulting copious bunches of oval heps are a
bright red which at times can be disconcerting. Be that as it may, R.
glauca is a useful hardy shrub some six feet high and wide which maybe
raised from seed with surprisingly little variation. Some gardeners cut it hard
back in the early year, so that it becomes a foliage plant of excellence,
without flowers. A hybrid of it with R. rugosa it
‘Carmenetta’, but the hybrid is by no means as delightful as the
species itself Recently, R. x redoutea, named by Thory in
Redouté’s Les Roses, has been rediscovered in Ireland. It has
blush- white flowers with picotee edges of pink. It it reputedly a hybrid of
R. glauca with R. pimpinellifolia.
R. fedtschenkoana has a thick, heavy fragrance like that of R. foetida. It produces a good crop of flowers in June, and all the strong young shoots also flower at their tips during later summer. The strong basal suckers are covered with pink bristles and thorns. ‘Reine des Violettes’ it by no means as grey-leafed as the above but it of a dark leaden or celadon green. What a fortunate chance it was that prompted Monsieur Millet-Malet to harvest seeds which led to the naming of this worthy rose! I have found no record of the parentage nor where the raiser lived. Nor, among books is there any portrait of it other than mine—but this remark applies to several roses depicted here. This variety it usually classed as a Hybrid Perpetual, but it firs far better among the Bourbons for it is more continuous in the production of its refined flowers than are those of the former group If one wants a “blue” rose this is the nearest we are likely to get, and it was named in 1860. It is in the wonderful tradition of the very full, flat Gallica roses, which in their kind have never been surpassed, coupled with a reliably recurrent habit. But the plant must be well nourished and growing strongly to produce those sumptuous flowers; then we may expect to see it some five feet high and wide. Summer blooms are good but those that develop in September and October usually surpass them. The species mentioned need little pruning but an occasional thinning out of old twiggy wood is helpful in producing strong young growths. It can be done at any time. ‘Reine des Violettes’ needs similar removal of old spent twiggy growth after flowering and a fairly hard prune after Christmas, shortening the weaker side shoots and reducing long straight new wood to the general outline of the bush. |
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last modified September 29,
2002