“The Greens’ Cottage" rose

by Jocelen Janon(2008).

In October 2008 a number of rosarians, including myself, were contacted by Mr Eric Timewelll regarding an unnamed rose found in Australia.
The purpose of this contact was to attempt to identify this rose, later named with the study name “The Greens’ Cottage rose”.

Oral history of “The Greens’ Cottage Rose”

Eric Timewell and the Green's cottage rose.
The rose is grown in two different places by the Green family who took cuttings of the original plant. According to M. Timewell, speaking (1) about an old picture of the rose:
« I have talked with John Green […] John thinks that the photo was taken just before Arthur left for the war. He was on the ship going down the bay when news came that the war had ended. So that fixes the date of the photo at 1918. As the rose was well developed with thick branches then, our belief is strengthened that it was planted before the war. […]
The rose bush was killed during renovations in 1992; cuttings had been taken before work began and it was immediately replaced. »
Following this document we can conclude, with Eric Timewell, that the original rose was planted some time before 1918, possibly before 1914. But we must also note that this plant was destroyed in 1992, which opens the possibility of a mistake when cuttings were planted back.

A visit to “The Greens’ Cottage Rose”.

On the 16th of November 2008, M. Timewell organized a visit to the rose by a group of rosarians:
- Helga Brichet. Past President of the World Federation of Rose Societies, specialist of the roses of Asian origin, including Rosa gigantea Collett ex Crépin.
- Girija and M.S. ‘Viru’ Viraraghavan, Indian specialist of Rosa gigantea Collett ex Crépin, who is breeding new roses from this species.
And myself.
Jocelen Janon, Helga Brichet, Girija and M.S. ‘Viru’ Viraraghavan.
We arrived in Wesburn, east of Melbourne, Australia, at 3.30 pm. We enthusiastically observed two identical climbing / rambling roses of a round 4 meters high and 5 to 6 meters wide. One was growing on a fence, the other on a pergola.

A description of “The Greens’ Cottage Rose”.

“The Greens’ Cottage Rose”.
From the notes I took on the day, I read that this plants has red thorns on the young shoots. The thorns are becoming black when ageing. I note that the thorns are still present on some of the dead branches. The thorns are hooked.
The foliage consists of three to seven leaflets, five most of the time.
The new shoots are red and bronze. The young leaves are chive / olive green, getting darker and leathery as they age. The lower surface is dull compare dto the top. The leaves are serrated and have a very narrow ending. They are drooping.
The stalks have small hooked thorns underneath, smooth, red in the sun and green in the shade.
The foliage is identical to the drawing of Rosa gigantea from Collett and Hemsley.(2) :
Rosa gigantea Collett ex Crépin

Rosa gigantea Collett ex Crépin

The flowers are mostly coming by group of three, sometimes more, up to six flowers.
The flower has 30+ petals and is loosely cup shaped.
The colour is light pink on a yellow base. The base of the petal is yellow. The flowers seemed more yellow in the sun than in the shade.
I found the perfume being light, of tea with anise coming through. Girija and I could smell this scent, but not the other party members. It is important to note that it was late in the afternoon on a hot day.
We have not found any hip from the previous year and we do not know at this date if this rose repeats.
The bark is smooth and olive green, turning red brown where exposed.
We all agreed that this rose was a hybrid of R. gigantea, an ancestor of the Tea Roses and a parent of a number of Hybrid Giganteas from the beginning of the 20th century.

Possible identifications of “The Greens’ Cottage Rose”.

Mr Eric Timewelll contacted a number of rosarians (3) in order to, hopefully, identify this rose. While Eric is convinced that “The Green Cottage Rose” is Etoile de Portugal (see below), a number of possible identifications came up.

Climbing Teas

The two following climbing tea roses have a strong affiliation with R. gigantea.

Souvenir de Mme Léonie Viennot” by Bernaix (1898)
Souvenir de Mme Léonie Viennot”. Bernaix (1898)
Journal des Roses 1898.
« La rose Souvenir de Mme Léonie Viennot, de P. Bernaix fils, de Villeurbanne, est d’un beau jaune jonquille s’atténuant en jaune d’ambre à l’onglet et passant insensiblement au rose de Chine. Les pétales du centre sont nombreux, ils prennent a l’épanouissement une teinte chamois éclairé de rose qui donne a cette fleur qui est très grande, très double, de belle forme, un aspect charmant et curieux. L’arbuste est sarmenteux et servira fort bien par sa luxuriante et belle végétation à garnir les murs et les tonnelles ; le feuillage est riche, vert purpurin a l’état jeune, mais prenant a l’âge adulte un ton luisant et sombre qui fait fort bien ressortir la teinte des fleurs. Quant à la floraison, elle est abondante et de très longue durée, et les pédoncules qui sont fermes et droits portent très bien la fleur. »
English summary: Flowers jonquils yellow, with amber base, changing to China pink. Many petals coloured chamois tinted pink. Foliage purple green when young changing to a shiny dark green. The stalks are firm and straight, holding the flower well.
Bernaix catalogue for 1914/15.
Souvenir de Mme Léonie Viennot (1898) (4) Fl. Tr. Gr., belle forme, Beau col. Jaune jonquille s’atténuant en jaune d’ambre à l’onglet et passant insensiblement au rose de chine nuance cochenille tr. Frais au rouge azaleine. Cœur chamois éclairé de rose. Sarmenteux.
English summary : The description matches the one given in Journal des Roses 1898.
Gwen Fagan(5) adds information rarely seen in other descriptions:
[..] It has many hooked thorns […] Foliage […] The stalk is tinged red and has hooked thornlets on the underside.
“The Monserrate Rose”. (6)
It is always difficult, and somehow dangerous, to try to identify a rose based on a couple of photos, especially when the pictures are mainly showing the flowers of the plant.
In May 2004 Gerald Luckhurst, a Landscape Architect and Horticulturist in Sintra, Portugal, sent a series of pictures to Girija. The pictures are showing a rose climbing on a pergola at the palace of Monserrate Palace in Sintra, Portugal.
On the surface the rose looks very similar to “The Greens’ Cottage Rose” but also to ‘Souvenir de Mme Leonie Viennot’.
On one of the picture (image078) a zoom on the branch allow us to see that this rose seems thornless.
With the reserve of a limited photographic observation, I would say that this “Monserrat Rose” is Souvenir de Mme Leonie Viennot.
Rose of Monserrate Palace in Sintra, Portugal.

Triomphe de Guillot Fils.
Guillot Fils (1861) Guillot Catalogue for 1897-1898.
Fleur très grande, pleine, rose clair nuance de blanc sur fond saumoné, très odorante, très belle.
English summary : The description matches the one given in Journal des Roses 1898

An earlier description by Eugène Forney (7) gives :
Fleur très large, très pleine, globuleuse, s’ouvrant bien, très belle, blanc fortement nuance de rose clair, ombre de jaune saumoné, très odorante, vigueur moyenne.
English summary : Very large, very full, globular, expands well, very beautiful, white, strongly tinted light pink, shaded salmon-yellow, very fragrant
An observation of the actual plant reveals that Triomphe de Guillot Fils has a strong R. gigantea influence, especially when it comes to the foliage. The flowers are born mostly by three, as in “The Greens Cottage Rose”, but not all the time.
A possible difference between theses two roses is that Triomphe de Guillot Fils repeats. However it is interesting to note that a number of Guillot’s customers of the time of the release of the road complained about its lack of ‘remontancy’.

Hybrid Giganteas

Luckily there were not many Hybrids of R. gigantea at the beginning of the 20th century.
Using a catalogue from Paul Nabonnand (1920s), a text from Jean Muraour (8) from 1935, and Helga Brichet’s excellent text (9), a list of hybrid giganteas of the time would read:
Bred by Henri Cayeux :
- Amateur Lopes
- Belle Portuguaise and its mutations Belle Blanche and Susan Louise.
- Etoile de/du Portugal [Note the spelling.]
- Dona Palmira Feijao, seashell-pink, carmine-pink reverse.
- Lusitania, yellow washed with carmine.

Bred by Charles E. Adams:
- Susan Louise. Light pink. Seedling of Belle Portugaise.

Bred by Jesse Busby:
- Eleonor. Cream pink.
- Kobé. Light pink.
- Folette. Salmon pink.

Bred by Paul Nabonnand:
- Comtesse de Chaponay. Pink Yellow.
- Comtesse de Prozor. Double shape and colour of Chromatella [i.e. yellow]
- Emmanuelle de Mouchy – Doubled, Flesh pink
- Fiametta. Single flower. Yellow with cadmium [Not to confound with Fiametta Nabonnand]
- Noella Virebent Double pink, flesh brilliant. [!]
- Lady Johnstone. Single yellow.
- Senateur Amic. Red.

Bred by Fenzi :
- The two known hybrids by Fenzi, Montearioso and Montecito were white.

Bred by Thomas:
- Bloomfield Brilliant (introduced by Howard & Smith, 1931)... light salmon with orange glow...
Bred by Schoener:
- Glory of California, yellow

I have deliberately ignored Alister Clark’s work due to the fact I have not found any plant produced by Clark close enough to “The Greens’ Cottage Rose”.
Of the list above I have retained for further examination:
- Comtesse de Chaponnay
- Noella Virebent
- Etoile de/du Portugal

Comtesse de Chaponay

Paul Nabonnand (1924)
Named for Princess Geneviêve Bourbon-Orléans after her wedding with the Count of Chaponay, in 1924.
The descriptions are rather succinct.
A description in August Jäger’s rosenlexikon of 1936 reads :
De Chaponnay, Comtesse (hybrid gigantea) Nabonnand 1924; R. gigantea X M. Hoste; cream-pink, centre vivid salmon, very large, double, cup form, fine form, large thick petals, fragrance 7/10, few prickles, light green foliage, growth 7/10, climbing, 4 m.

Noella Virebent

Paul Nabonnand (1922) Les Amis des Roses, sept-oct 1922[10]:
Arbuste sarmenteux, très vigoureux, aiguillons légèrement crochus assez forts. Feuillage persistant, 7 à 9 folioles, coloris vert Aucuba clair, pétiole grenat. Fleur grande, demi-pleine, grands pétales, devenant plus petits en se rapprochant du centre où ils sont languiformes, sa tenue est parfaite et de forme réflexe. Coloris rose carné, satiné, centre plus vif. Bouton allongé bien fait, avec de longs sépales engainants, coloris rose de pêche tendre. Parfum sui generis. Issue de Rosa Gigantea x Archiduc Joseph
English summary : Rambler, very vigourous, strong hooked thorns. Persistant foliage, 7 to 9 leaves, color light Aucuba green. Big flower, half full, larges petals, smaller in the center. Flesh pink, center brighter. From Rosa Gigantea x Archiduc Joseph.

"Unknown peach gigantea".

In the meantime, a hybrid gigantea has been found. It is under study but could well be one of the two roses above.
"Unknown peach gigantea".

Etoile de / du Portugal

Henri Cayeux (1903)
The name Etoile DE Portugal, a French name, is grammatically incorrect. A grammatically correct name should be Etoile DU Portugal. Indeed most of the early references use ‘du’. I wonder if the apparition of ‘de’ is not due to a translation mistake in the text below.

Description by Henri Cayeux, the breeder:
[Re-writing / translation of a text from the Journal des Roses (1905) in Journal of Heredity (1929; 20: 305-307)].
“Descending from the first cross, the variety Etoile de Portugal is the produce of Rosa gigantea x Reine Marie-Henriette. This plant bloomed for the first time in the Botanical Gardens of Lisbon in 1903. It is of luxuriant growth and seems to have inherited from Reine Marie-Henriette its great abundance of flowers. The elongated buds are often borne by twos or threes on the same flower stalk. The blossom is large, full and fragrant, of a lustrous carmine rose color, shaded to yellow at the base of the petals, which become a lighter color when in full bloom. It should be grown in a temperate climate if one wishes the plant to reach its maximum development and produce in abundance its masses of flowers, of such brilliant and delicate coloring.
Journal des Roses 1909:
Issu du Rosa Gigantea x Reine Marie-Henriette. Variété sarmenteuse des plus remarquables ; le premier hybride de R. Gigantea. Le feuillage ample est vert clair. Les fleurs grandes, bien faites, à pétales consistants, sont d'un beau rose crevette saumoné, à onglet jaunâtre, le bouton est d'une forme parfaite et de longue durée. Coloris superbe et nouveau dans la série des grimpants. Ce nouvel hybride s'est montré aussi rustique que la plupart des thé et noisette sarmenteux.
English summary : From Gigantea x Reine Marie-Henriette. Rambler, the first Hybrid Gigantea. The large foliage is light green. Big flowers, well done, salmon shrimp pink, center yellow, bud has a perfect form and last for a long time. As rustic as Teas and climbing Noisettes.

From Clément Nabonnand's Catalogue - 1910. (translation):
Rosier THÉ Etoile du Portugal flower shrimp salmon pink, center yellowish, big, well done. Vigorous bush, Rustic. Note : Classified as a tea at the time.
As a side note it is interesting to see that Henri Cayeux Roses were imported in USA as soon as 1910 / 1911 (Etoile du Portugal, Belle Portuguaise)(11).

Conclusion

So. What is “The Greens’ cottage rose”.
Very good question.
We know that apart Souvenir de Mme Leonie Viennot, all other roses are not listed in Australian nursery catalogues prior 1940.
Recent (12) and incomplete researches show that Alister Clark visited the Nabonnand nurseries several times.
At this date (Dec. 2008), based on the limited documentation we have, after compairing with several plants growing in New Zealand, I think that “The Greens’ Cottage Rose” is Souvenir de Mme Leonie Viennot.

I would consider Etoile du Portugal and Triomphe de Guillot Fils as two other possibilities.

Noella Virebent had a limited distribution and is doubtful.

Notes and references.

[1] Timewell, Eric. Retrieved online 13/12/2008 – on http://www.users.on.net/~timewell/bush.html
[2] Collection of Plants from Upper Burma and the Shan States By Henry Collett, William Botting Hemsley.- in The Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 28, Nos 189-191, November 5, 1890.
[3] Thank you to Fred Boutin, , Clair Martin, Dominique Massad and Bill Grant for their help.
[4] Les Plus Grandes Cultures de Rosiers, Catalogue General 1914-1915. Les Etablissements Bernaix, F. Boujard successeur. Villeurbanne – Lyon.
[5] Fagan, G. Roses at the Cape of Good Hope.
[6] Thank you to M.S. ‘Viru’ Viraraghavan for sharing this information.
[7] Forney E., Taille et Culture du Rosier suivies de la taille des arbustes d’agrément de pleine terre et de l’oranger. Librairie centrale de l’agriculture et de jardinage. Date approx – 1867.
[8] Muraour Jean, Les Rosiers Sarmenteux de la Côte-d’Azur, in Les amis des roses, march-apr. 1935.
[9] Brichet H., Rosa Gigantea and its descendents. http://www.rosarosam.com/articles/nabonnand_n_co/helga_brichet/giganteas_sec.html
[10] Document courtesy Les Amis des Roses Nabonnand.
[11] Bulletin‎ - United States Bureau of Plant Industry – 1912, p. 36
[12] Billy West, private correspondence – 2008.