The appreciation of roses dates back many centuries. Dried roses have been found in Egyptian tombs and rose fragrance was extracted for use in rose oil and oil of attar in ancient Persia. Many ancient varieties were carried west to Europe during the Crusades and harboured in monastery gardens during the Dark Ages. Since then roses have been collected and hybridized all over the world, but it was in Europe that gardens were established to hold massive collections of what we now refer to as Old Garden Roses (OGRs).
The oldest —the
Gallicas, Damasks,
Albas, Centifolias,
and the Mosses that sported from
them —we refer to as the first group of Old
Garden Roses. With few exceptions, these roses flower only in
summer, providing a great show with masses of flowers, perfuming the
garden and showering it with pink or white petals. This group is generally
very cold hardy and extremely disease resistant. Pruning
is not absolutely necessary but trimming them back by a third in early
spring will encourage shapelier bushes and larger flowers. Once established,
OGR's are very drought tolerant and easy to grow.
