I came across some information on this old mid 19th century HP with its deep red flowers and strong fragrance, and found it rather appealing seeming. After looking it up on HMF, I was surprised to learn it has no descendents.
Has anyone every grown it? Have any experience with it?
I’ve seen it, beautiful blossoms, mildews really badly.
Mildew is bad…
In the last couple of days I’ve realized that there are a ton of beautifully flowered HP’s that are childless. I wonder if there is any merit in reviving the HP class and back crossing to any of them. I know little about this group of roses. Do any exhibit excellent health?
I wouldnt due to their growth habit alone. Their lanky, wannabe climber branches are really horrible. I think other routes are to be found for similar blooms/colors/scents.
I can’t imagine wanting to use it as a parent. Ugly growth habit, mildews like crazy, Blackspot too. The HP’s in general have TERRIBLE problems with Blackspot, so I would not recommend them for breeding. ‘Reine des Violettes’ has decent disease resistance, but its offspring generally have serious disease susceptibility. ‘Paul Neyron’ might be worth using in breeding, but you will have to breed out the disease problems.
Regards,
Paul