Uncover the beauty of Old-World roses: colorful and fragrant varieties

People have been swooned by their natural charm and aroma for millennia. Heirloom roses are catching the wind!Explore a selection of colorful or fragrant varieties for your garden.

What makes an heirloom rose?

A rose qualifies as an heirloom or antique rose if:

• It’s a botanical rose (meaning it’s a wild species that can be found in nature)
• or if the plant was produced through hybridization before 1867

They bloom with either double or simple flowers, and these typically have a very natural style. Compared to modern roses, they have more flexible stems and less shiny leaves, but make up for it with a lighter color.

Antique ground-covering rose with red flowers

• Name: Rosa (x) polyantha NECTAR GARDEN® Alexander von Humboldt
• Look: This ground-covering rose forms a low bush with about a 2 feet in diameter (60cm). It’s covered in small luminous red simple flowers, accentuated by a bunch of yellow stamens all through the beautiful season.
• Height: about 1.3 feet (0.40m)
• Flowering Period: June to October
• Scent: unscented
• Foliage: deciduous, shiny dark green
• Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun, half-shade
• Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly limestone
• Special characteristic: vigorous variety and disease resistant

Antique climbing rose with white flowers

• Name: Rosa (x) wichuraiana ‘White New Dawn’
• Look: Its immaculate white double flowers have a pretty turbine silhouette. It’s a vigorous vine with arching and thorny stems that charmingly covers pergolas.
• Height: about 12 feet (3.50m)
• Flowering Period: mid-summer
• Scent: musky, fruity, and fresh
• Foliage: deciduous, shiny dark green
• Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun, half-shade
• Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly limestone
• The little extra: blooms in successive waves from May to frost

Vintage rose with purple flowers

• Name: Rosa ‘Reine des Violettes’
• Looks: Intense purplish-violet, flat double roses accompany blue-green leaves. Dense bushiness is this repeat-blooming rose’s signature.
• Height: about 4 1/2 feet (1.35m)
• Blooming period: May-June, then again in September-October
• Scent: highly scented with notes of rose and myrrh
• Foliage: deciduous, gray-green
• Hardiness: down to -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun, partial shade
• Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly calcareous
• Special feature: its original color shifts from purple to parma, going through violet, depending on location and brightness

Vintage rose with yellow flowers

• Name: Rosa ‘Fragrant Old Yellow’
• Looks: floriferous, this rose variety reveals opulent yellow flowers that frill up. Beautiful cup roses renew themselves all summer on a bushy shrub.
• Height: roughly 3 1/2 feet (1.10m)
• Blooming period: June to September
• Scent: fruity aroma
• Foliage: deciduous, medium green
• Hardiness: down to -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun
• Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly calcareous
• A little extra: continuous flowering allowing to create beautiful, well-filled bouquets

Old rose with pink blossoms

• Name: Rosa (x) Portland ‘Mme Boll’
• Looks: double-layered roses, as sweet as candy pink at the heart, morph into light pink on the edges. A robust, erect shrub filled with prickly stems.
• Height: 3.5 feet (1.1 meters)
• Blooming period: June through October
• Scent: irresistible mix of sweet and fruity
• Foliage: deciduous, gold-green
• Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun, part-shade
• Soil: rich, loose, slightly acidic to a bit chalky
• Cherry on top: Blossoms? Oh, they keep coming, all through the glorious season.

Old rose with simple white blossoms

• Name: Rosa omeiensis (sericea) ‘Pteracantha’
• Looks: stand out with this rose’s stems, punctuated by red, translucent needles. Its petite, lightweight white blossoms feature a cream hue and a heart full of yellow stamens.
• Height: 8 feet (2.5 meters)
• Blooming period: June
• Scent: not fragrant
• Foliage: deciduous, its serrated, tender green leaves come in several folioles
• Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
• Exposure: sun, part-shade
• Soil: rich, loose, slightly acidic to a bit chalky
• Cherry on top: perfect for that country style you’ve always wanted.