Articles » Rose Families
Moss Roses. Buds and Stems.This is a beautiful group of roses. Not only are the flowers an attraction but the stems and un-opened buds are too.They are endowed with moss like glands which, when touched, have a wonderful herb like fragrance. In some cases the moss is so prominent that it will catch the eye of any passer by. Such is the case with ‘Chapeau de Napoleon’ also called ‘Crested Moss’ which has buds so heavily covered they resemble Napoleon’s hat. Once open the flowers are also most attractive and scented too. Although separately classified as Moss Roses this group really belongs to the Centifolias. It was a mutation that occurred early in the 19th Century Rosa Centifolia Muscosa, a sport of Rosa Centifolia, which bought about the foundations and breeding programmes which followed. There are several with abundant, soft moss rather like ‘Chapeau de Napoleon’ but also some with no more than high density thorns. If it were not for the novelty appeal of the moss, there are varieties which would have long since been discarded, but every rose has its place. One of the most garden worthy is ‘Alfred de Dalmas’ a rose with many virtues, scent, strong growth, continuous flowering and above all a beautiful blush pink flower. It is probably more strongly related to the Damasks, as are a few other Mosses and is one of the few to be found here which is happy to live in a pot . Most others will be more at home in the shrub rose border or in wild, natural planting.
|
|
