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.
