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

Heirloom rose varieties
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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
  • Polyantha heirloom rose varietyLook: 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’
  • White heirloom roseLook: 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’
  • Pink heirloom roseLooks: 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’
  • Fragrant yellow heirloom roseLooks: 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’
  • Pink heirloom rose varietyLooks: 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’
  • White heirloom simple roseLooks: 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.

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