HYBRID PERPETUALS
MR. THOMAS RIVERS, that father of scientific rose culture in England,
gives a most interesting account in his famous book, _The Rose Amateur's
Guide_, 1840, of the origin of the Hybrid Perpetual rose.
"_The Crimson Perpetual_, _Rose du Roi_, or _Lee's Crimson
Perpetual_,[5] ... was raised from seed, in 1812, in the gardens of the
Palace of St. Cloud, then under the direction of Le Comte Lelieur, and
named by him Rose du Roi.... It is asserted it was raised from the _Rosa
Portlandica_, a semi-double bright-coloured rose, much like the rose
known in this country as the _Scarlet Four-seasons_ or _Rosa Paestana_.
"Every gentleman's garden ought to have a large bed of Crimson Perpetual
Roses, to furnish bouquets during August, September, and October; their
fragrance is so delightful, their colour so rich, and their form so
perfect."
What would that great pioneer say to our Crimson Perpetuals of to-day?
But though this rose was the first, and probably the parent of many of
the earlier Hybrid Perpetuals, the true development of this glorious
race took place by other means. The Hybrid Chinas,[6] such as _Blairii
No. 2_, _Chenedole_, _Brennus_, and many others, now, as I have said,
most unjustly neglected, were the offspring of the China rose, _R.
Indica_, crossed with the Provence and other hardy summer flowering
roses. These were not perpetual, with the notable exception of _Gloire
de Rosamenes_. But several of them bore seed freely. These fertile
varieties were again crossed with different kinds of China and Bourbon
roses. And their seed produced the new race of strong, hardy roses, the
Hybrid Perpetuals, flowering through the whole summer and autumn.
Of those early parents of this fine race but very few are known now.
_Gloire de Rosamenes_ (Vibert, 1823) is still in cultivation. But in
vain I search English and French catalogues for those marked by my
father in 1844 in Mr. Rivers' book. Where is _Mme. Laffay_, 1839, with
its fine foliage and rosy-crimson, highly fragrant flowers; or
_Fulgorie_; or _Rivers_, with its large red flowers "produced in
clusters of great beauty"; or _La Reine_, 1843; or _William Jesse_?
Probably they still exist as "old and nameless roses" in my own and many
other gardens. Yet one would like to give them back the names and
honourable places they possessed in one's childhood, and compare them
with their splendid descendants. In fragrance they would certainly hold
their own; for the fragrance of their Damask grandparent was stronger in
them than in too many of the modern Hybrid Perpetuals.
The great development in the race began in the fifties, and was at its
height in the sixties and seventies: but for the last fifteen years and
more the tide has turned in favour of the Hybrid Teas; and comparatively
few new Hybrid Perpetuals are raised each year. In 1853, Margottin gave
the enchanted rose-world _Jules Margottin_, parent of many most
excellent roses. And in the same year the delightful _General
Jacqueminot_ was raised by Roussel, and became the parent of many of our
finest deep reds. Then in 1859 came Lacharme's famous _Victor Verdier_,
a rose still in favour, and one to which the class owes, perhaps, more
than any other as a parent. And in 1861 came _Charles Lefebvre_; also
raised by Lacharme.
From that date new and magnificent roses were sent out in numbers every
year by the well-known French and Continental houses of Lacharme,
Verdier, Pernet, Gautreau, Liabaud, Guillot, Postans, Levet, Margottin,
Rambaud, Leveque, Jamain, Schwartz, Soupert et Notting. And in England
by Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, B. R. Cant & Sons, Bennett, Laxton, Paul &
Son, Cocker, Alex. Dickson & Sons, Turner, Hugh Dickson, Cooling,
Harkness, Ward, etc. While, in 1901, Lambert produced that grandest of
white roses, _Frau Karl Druschki_.
[Illustration: HYBRID PERPETUAL.
FRAU KARL DRUSCHKI.]
The pure pinks, and the rich crimsons and scarlets of the Hybrid
Perpetuals are of surpassing beauty. And though there is a craze just
now for Hybrid Teas, the Hybrid Perpetual must for ever hold its own in
the garden on its own lines. For it will flourish where the more tender
race would die; and its magnificent size, colour, strong growth, and
rich foliage, must always render it indispensable for decoration and as
a cut flower.
As with the Teas and Hybrid Teas, these roses create their finest effect
in the garden when grouped together in beds of one colour. And if we
wish to specialize yet further in the matter of colours, they may be
graduated from dark to light, or light to dark, with admirable success.
A magnificent bed may be filled with such crimsons, scarlets, and cherry
reds as the following, beginning with dark and medium crimsons, _A. K.
Williams_, _Duke of Edinburgh_, _Duke of Wellington_, _Dr. Andry_,
_Charles Lefebvre_, _Countess of Oxford_, _Fisher Holmes_, _Louis Van
Houtte_, _Mrs. Harry Turner_, _Victor Hugo_; and the lighter crimsons,
_Alfred Colomb_, _Beauty of Waltham_, _Captain Hayward_, _Duchess of
Bedford_, _Duke of Teck_, _Dupuy Jamain_, _General Jacgueminot_, _Gloire
de Margottin_, _Hugh Dickson_, _Marie Baumann_, _Senateur Vaisse_,
_Star of Waltham_, _Ulrich Brunner_.
[Illustration: HYBRID PERPETUAL.
ULRICH BRUNNER.]
Other yet darker crimson roses, with maroon or purple shading, are _Abel
Carriere_, _Black Prince_, _Prince Camille de Rohan_, _Xavier Olibo_.
For a very effective rose-pink and carmine bed we may use _Francois
Michelon_, _Helen Keller_, _John Hopper_, _Jules Margottin_, _Magna
Charta_, _Marquise de Castellane_, _Suzanne Marie Rodocanachi_, _Victor
Verdier_.
An pure pink bed is most attractive, when filled with such lovely roses
as _Baroness Rothschild_, _Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier_, _Mrs. Sharman
Crawford_, _Mrs. John Laing_, _Pride of Waltham_. And although _Captain
Christy_ is now, wisely, called a Hybrid Tea, it has so much the habit
of the Hybrid Perpetuals, that it really goes better in a bed with them
than among the more delicate-foliaged Teas.
For a white and pale blush bed we have the pure white _Boule de Neige_,
_Coquette des Blanches_ (both Dwarf Hybrid Noisettes), _Frau Karl
Druschki_, and _Marchioness of Londonderry_, which is very beautiful
when it does well, though this is not always the case.
And for white with a faint blush, _Margaret Dickson_ and _Merveille de
Lyon_, though these are sadly given to mildew. But for sheer effect and
mass of bloom, a bed of _Frau Karl Druschki_ is unequalled. If the long
shoots are pegged down every bud upon them will throw a flower-shoot,
producing a sheet of blossom throughout the whole season.
Another very effective arrangement may be made by gradating a broad
border from a white centre, through clear pinks on either side to bright
scarlets, and ending at each extremity with deepest crimsons. This I
have seen carried out successfully with a central group of _Frau Karl
Druschki_, flanked on either side by the clear pinks of _Mrs. Sharman
Crawford_ and _Mrs. John Laing_, and beyond them, right and left,
_General Jacqueminot_, _Francois Michelon_, _Prince Camille de Rohan_,
_Fisher Holmes_, _Duke of Edinburgh_, _Mrs. Harry Turner_, _Dr. Andry_,
_Duke of Wellington_, _Victor Hugo_, _Captain Hayward_, _Duke of Teck_,
_Horace Vernet_.
As standards many of the Hybrid Perpetuals make grand heads, their
sturdy constitution being particularly suitable to this form of growth.
Among the best for this purpose are, _Captain Hayward_, _Charles
Lefebvre_, _Clio_, _Dr. Andry_, _Duke of Edinburgh_, _Dupuy Jamain_,
_Ferdinand de Lesseps_, _Fisher Holmes_, _Frau Karl Druschki_, _General
Jacqueminot_, _Gloire de Margottin_, _Heinrich Schultheis_, _Hugh
Dickson_, _Mme. Gabriel Luizet_, _Mme. Victor Verdier_, _Margaret
Dickson_, _Marie Baumann_, _Mrs. Cocker_, _Mrs. John Laing_, _Mrs. R. G.
Sharman Crawford_, _Paul Jamain_, _Pride of Waltham_, _Prince Arthur_,
_Prince Camille de Rohan_, _Senateur Vaisse_, _Suzanne Marie
Rodocanachi_, _Ulrich Brunner_.
Besides those dwarfs I have enumerated as particularly good for massing
in colour, many other excellent roses for general use will be found in
the following lists.
HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES
RED.
Abel Carriere. _E. Verdier_, 1875. Purple crimson,
fiery red centre.
Alfred Colomb. _Lacharme_, 1865. Bright carmine
red.
Alfred K. Williams. _Schwartz_, 1877. Bright
carmine red; an exhibitor's rose.
Baron de Bonstetten. _Liabaud_, 1871. Blackish
crimson.
Ben Cant. _B. R. Cant & Sons_, 1902. Deep crimson.
Beauty of Waltham. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1862. Rosy
crimson.
Black Prince. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1866. Deep
blackish crimson.
Camille Bernadin. _Gautreau_, 1865. Light crimson,
paler edges.
Captain Hayward. _Bennett_, 1893. Scarlet crimson,
sweet scented.
Charles Darwin. _Laxton_, 1879. Brownish crimson.
Charles Lefebvre. _Lacharme_, 1861. Brilliant
velvety crimson.
Commandant Felix Faure. _Boutigny_, 1902. Crimson,
flushed lake.
Comte de Raimbaud. _Roland_, 1867. Clear crimson.
Comtesse de Ludre. _V. Verdier_, 1880. Light
crimson.
[Illustration: HYBRID PERPETUAL.
GUSTAVE PIGANEAU.]
Countess of Oxford. _Guillot_, 1869. Bright
carmine red.
Dr. Andry. _E. Verdier_, 1864. Deep carmine red.
Dr. Sewell. _Turner_, 1879. Maroon crimson,
reflexes bright red.
Duchess of Bedford. _Postans_, 1879. Velvety
crimson, suffused scarlet.
Duke of Connaught. _Paul & Son_, 1876. Bright
velvety crimson.
Duke of Edinburgh. _Paul & Son_, 1868. Scarlet
crimson.
Duke of Teck. _Paul & Son_, 1880. Bright crimson
scarlet.
Duke of Wellington. _Granger_, 1864. Velvet red,
shaded crimson.
Dupuy Jamain. _Jamain_, 1868. Very bright cerise.
Earl of Dufferin. _Alex. Dickson_, 1887. Rich
velvety crimson.
Eclair. _Lacharme_, 1883. Vivid fiery red.
Etienne Levet. _Levet_, 1871. Carmine red.
E. Y. Teas. _E. Verdier_, 1874. Very bright red.
Fisher Holmes. _E. Verdier_, 1865. Shaded crimson
scarlet.
General Jacqueminot. _Roussel_, 1853. Brilliant
scarlet crimson; a noble old rose.
Gustave Piganeau. _Pernet-Ducher_, 1889. Brilliant
shaded carmine; chiefly an exhibitor's rose.
Horace Vernet. _Guillot_, 1866. Crimson scarlet,
dark shading.
Hugh Dickson. _Hugh Dickson_, 1904. Crimson,
shaded scarlet.
Hugh Watson. _Alex. Dickson_, 1904. Crimson,
shaded carmine.
J. B. Clark. _Hugh Dickson_, 1905. Deep scarlet,
shaded plum.
Jean Soupert. _Lacharme_, 1876. Deep velvety
purple.
Jules Margottin. _Margottin_, 1853. Bright cherry
red.
Lady Helen Stewart. _Alex. Dickson_, 1887. Bright
crimson, shaded scarlet.
Le Havre. _Eude_, 1871. Vermilion red.
Louis Ricard. _Boutigny_, 1902. Velvet crimson,
shaded vermilion and black.
Louis Van Houtte. _Lacharme_, 1869. Deep crimson,
shaded maroon.
Madame Crapelet. _Fontaine_, 1859. Beautiful light
crimson.
Madame Victor Verdier. _E. Verdier_, 1863. Bright
cherry red; still one of the best.
Maharajah. _B. R. Cant & Sons_, 1904. Large single
flowers, deep velvet crimson; a very fine pillar
rose.
Marie Baumann. _Baumann_, 1863. Soft carmine red.
Marie Rady. _Fontaine_, 1865. Brilliant red.
Maurice Bernadin (_syn._ Exposition de Brie).
_Granger_, 1861. Shaded crimson.
M. H. Walsh. _Alex. Dickson_, 1905. Velvety
crimson, suffused scarlet.
Oberhofgartener A. Singer. _P. Lambert_, 1904.
Pure carmine, darker centre.
Prince Arthur. _B. R. Cant_, 1875. Rich deep
crimson.
Prince Camille de Rohan. _E. Verdier_, 1861.
Crimson maroon.
Reynolds Hole. _Paul & Son_, 1873. Maroon, shaded
crimson; an exhibitor's rose.
Ruhm der Gartenwelt. _Jacobs_, 1904. Dark pure
red.
Senateur Vaisse. _Guillot_, 1859. Fine dazzling
red; one of the best still.
Sir Rowland Hill. _Mack_, 1888. Rich port wine,
shaded maroon.
Star of Waltham. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1875. Deep
crimson.
T. B. Haywood. _Paul & Son_, 1895. Crimson
scarlet, dark shading.
Tom Wood. _Alex. Dickson_, 1896. Cherry red.
Ulrich Brunner. _Levet_, 1881. Bright cherry red;
fragrant, excellent.
Urania. _Walsh_, 1906. Cherry crimson.
Victor Hugo. _Schwartz_, 1884. Dazzling crimson.
Xavier Olibo. _Lacharme_, 1864. Velvety black,
shaded amaranth.
ROSE.
American Beauty. _Bancroft_, 1886. Deep rose;
needs fine weather.
Annie Laxton. _Laxton_, 1872. Clear rose, flushed
cherry.
Countess of Rosebery. _Postans_, 1879. Deep salmon
rose.
David R. Williamson. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1905. Soft
rich carmine rose.
Duchesse de Morny. _E. Verdier_, 1863. Delicate
bright rose.
Francois Michelon. _Levet_, 1871. Deep rose,
reverse of petals silver.
Heinrich Schultheis. _Bennett_, 1882. Delicate
pinkish rose.
Helen Keller. _Alex. Dickson_, 1895. Rose cerise.
John Hopper. _Ward_, 1862. Bright rose, reverse
pale lilac.
Madame Eugene Verdier. _E. Verdier_, 1878. Bright
silvery rose.
Magna Charta. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1876. Bright
rose.
Marie Finger. _Rambaud_, 1873. Light salmon rose,
deeper centre.
Marie Verdier. _E. Verdier_, 1877. Pure rose.
Marquise de Castellane. _Pernet_, 1869. Bright
clear rose.
Suzanne Marie Rodocanachi. _Leveque_, 1883.
Glowing rose; one of the best.
Ulster. _Alex. Dickson_, 1899. Salmon pink.
PINK.
Baroness Rothschild. _Pernet_, 1867. Light pink.
Clio. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1894. Pale flesh, deeper
centre.
Dr. William Gordon. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1905.
Brilliant satin pink.
Her Majesty. _Bennett_, 1885. Pale rose pink.
Jeannie Dickson. _Alex. Dickson_, 1890. Rosy pink,
edged silvery pink.
Lady Overtown. _H. Dickson_, 1906. Pale salmon
pink, centre silvery pink.
Laurence Allen. _Cooling_, 1896. Clear soft pink,
lighter shading.
Madame Gabriel Luizet. _Liabaud_, 1877. Light
silvery pink.
Marchioness of Downshire. _Alex. Dickson_, 1894.
Beautiful satin pink.
Mrs. Cocker. _Cocker_, 1899. Soft pink.
Mrs. John Laing. _Bennett_, 1887. Soft pink; one
of the best.
Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford. _Alex. Dickson_,
1894. Clear rosy pink; one of the best.
Mrs. Rumsey. _Rumsey_, 1897. Rosy pink.
Pride of Waltham. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1881. Delicate
flesh, shaded bright rose pink.
Rosslyn. _Alex. Dickson_, 1900. Delicate rosy
flesh.
WHITE AND BLUSH.
Bertha Giemen. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1899. Creamy
white sport from Marchioness of Dufferin.
Boule de Neige (Noisette). _Lacharme_, 1867. Pure
white.
Frau Karl Druschki. _Lambert_, 1900. Snow white.
Mabel Morrison. _Broughton_, 1878. Pure white, not
much substance.
Mademoiselle Renee Denis. _Chedane_, 1907. White,
shaded rose.
Marchioness of Londonderry. _Alex. Dickson_, 1893.
Ivory white.
Margaret Dickson. _Alex. Dickson_, 1891. White,
pale flesh centre.
Merveille de Lyon. _Pernet_, 1882. White, centre
slightly rosy peach.
Perfection des Blanches. _Schwartz_, 1873. Pure
white.
White Baroness. _Paul & Son_, 1883. Pure white.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] This rose, which belongs to the group of Damask Perpetual roses, _R.
Damascena_, is still cultivated under the same name. Messrs. Wm. Paul &
Son say "this was formerly a favourite group of autumnal roses."
[6] See p. 57.