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Old Garden Rose
Old Garden Roses (OGR's) are those classes of roses which were known before 1867, the date the first hybrid tea, La France, was introduced.
Most old garden roses are classified into one of the following:
Alba - Literally, it means, "white roses". It is derived from R. Arvensis and is closely allied with R. Alba. These are some of the oldest garden roses, probably brought to Britain by the Romans. They flower once in their lifetime. Semi-plena and White Rose of York are some of it's examples.
Gallica - They have been developed from R. Gallica, a native of central and southern Europe. They flower once in the summer. Some common examples are Cardinal de Richelieu, Charles de Mills and Rosa Mundi.
Damask - Robert de Brie brought them from Persia to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276. Summer Damasks (crosses between Gallica roses and R. phoenicea) bloom once in summer. Autumn Damasks (Gallicas crossed with R. moschata) bloom later, in the autumn. Ispahan and Madame Hardy are it's examples.
Centifolia (or Provence) - These roses, raised in the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, are named for their "one hundred" petals and are once-flowering. Examples: 'Centifolia', 'Paul Ricault'.
Moss - These, Once-flowering, roses are closely related to the centifolias and have a mossy excrescence on the stems and sepals. Example: 'Comtesse de Murinais', 'Old Pink Moss'.
China - The China roses brought with them an amazing ability to bloom repeatedly throughout the summer and into late autumn. Four china roses ('Slater's Crimson China', 1792; 'Parsons' Pink China', 1793; 'Hume's Blush China', 1809; and 'Parks' Yellow Tea Scented China', 1824) were brought to Europe in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which brought about the creation of the repeat flowering old garden roses and later the modern garden roses. Some common examples are Old Blush China and Mutabilis.
Portland - These are named after the Duchess of Portland who received (from Italy in 1800) a rose then known as R. paestana or 'Scarlet Four Seasons' Rose' (now known simply as 'The Portland Rose'). This group was developed from that rose. Example: 'James Veitch', 'Rose de Rescht', 'The Portland Rose'.
Bourbon - They originated on l'Île de Bourbon (now called Réunion) and are, probably the result of a cross between the Autumn Damask and the 'Old Blush China'. They were introduced in France in 1823. Louise Odier, Mme. Pierre Oger and Zéphirine Drouhin are some common Bourdon Roses.
There are lesser known OGR classes including: ayrshires, boursaults, eglantines, etc. All roses belonging to these classes are OGR's, even if the individual variety was introduced after 1867.
These roses are not very good for those with severe allergies to strong fragrances because they have a strong fragrant odor. However, they are disease resistant and continue to bloom for months at a time.
