RoseFile Essays

Name	Color	Cold	Breeder	Rating
Maiden’s Blush	Buff	Zone 4		8.0
Amelia	Candy Pink	Zone 4	Vibert
Königin von Danemark	Candy Pink	Zone 4	Booth	8.6
Summer Blush	Crimson	Zone 4	Sievers
Celestial	Pale Pink	Zone 4		8.5
Chloris	Pale Pink	Zone 5
Morning Blush	Pink/Yellow Blend	Zone 4	Sievers
Belle Amour	Shell Pink	Zone 4		8.0
Great Maiden’s Blush	Shell Pink	Zone 4		9.0
Alba Semi Plena	White	Zone 4
Felicite Parmentier	White	Zone 4	Parmentier	8.7
Madame Legras de St. Germain	White	Zone 4		8.0
Madame Plantier	White	Zone 4	Plantier	8.7
Pompon Blanc Parfait	White	Zone 5	Verdier

Albas have the disadvantage that they bloom but once a year. When I was new to roses I saw this as being a big disadvantage; but since then I have come to see it as an advantage. The roses, instead, spend their energy building up into nicely branched shrubby plants. And when they do blossom, they cover themselves in fragrant blossoms with a kind of reckless abandon seen only in polyanthas and some old ramblers. There may be a half dozen or a dozen roses outside the alba class that are as well branched, disease resistant, foliferous, cold hardy, shade tolerant, drought resistant, and fragrant. Or there may be none. Rugosas, generally are not quite so well branched or disease resistant. Hybrid musks, generally, are not so liberal with their fragrance. Most gallicas are not quite so well branched. The class is not big, but a rose garden without a handful of these strikes me to be as unthinkable as a restaurant that serves nothing at all to drink.