Roses - So I have an affinity for old fashion and antique roses, theres just a sort of grace and stature that the modern HT's just don't have...... So my weakness is finding these "lost" roses and buying them, whether I have a place for them or not. Luckily the lend pretty well to pot culture.
Working in the nursery industry does have its quirks. Surprisingly, Evergreen Nursery did have about 5-6 varieties of antiques...... They had obviously been there for a number of years. Im guessing from back in the Early 2000's when there was a peak in antique rose interests. 'Comte de Chambord', 'Rose de Rescht', 'Souvenir de la malmaison', 'La France', 'Cecile Burnner', 'Zephirine Drouhin' and I'll toss in 'Buff Beauty'. The latter 3 being popular still used as climbers. All these weren't labled and tossed to the "past seasons" roses corner. Its interesting that people have pushed these older varieties out for the newer, less disease resistant, less fragrant and more labor intensive cultivars.......
'La Biche' - Noisette, Trouillet (France) in 1832
'La Biche' makes a great potted rose, the flowers come out more tea shaped with a lemon-tea scent. Oddly once it was planted in the ground, blackspot moved in, the growth got rangy and the scent disappeared. I bought it off some folks in TX on ebay, yes ebay! There isn't much online about 'La Biche' so im constantly digging in books to find information. The flowers tend to bloom in clusters about 2-3 inches wide. During wet weather it often balls up and refuses to open.
<---- In a pot, in Vegas. Neat flowers, clean noisette foliage.
