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Uncover the beauty of Old-World roses: colorful and fragrant varieties
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People have been swooned by their natural charm and aroma for millennia. Heirloom roses are catching the wind!Explore a selection of colorful or fragrant varieties for your garden.
What makes an heirloom rose?
A rose qualifies as an heirloom or antique rose if:
It’s a botanical rose (meaning it’s a wild species that can be found in nature)
or if the plant was produced through hybridization before 1867
They bloom with either double or simple flowers, and these typically have a very natural style. Compared to modern roses, they have more flexible stems and less shiny leaves, but make up for it with a lighter color.
Antique ground-covering rose with red flowers
Name: Rosa (x) polyantha NECTAR GARDEN® Alexander von Humboldt
Look: This ground-covering rose forms a low bush with about a 2 feet in diameter (60cm). It’s covered in small luminous red simple flowers, accentuated by a bunch of yellow stamens all through the beautiful season.
Look: Its immaculate white double flowers have a pretty turbine silhouette. It’s a vigorous vine with arching and thorny stems that charmingly covers pergolas.
Height: about 12 feet (3.50m)
Flowering Period: mid-summer
Scent: musky, fruity, and fresh
Foliage: deciduous, shiny dark green
Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
Exposure: sun, half-shade
Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly limestone
The little extra: blooms in successive waves from May to frost
Vintage rose with purple flowers
Name: Rosa ‘Reine des Violettes’
Looks: Intense purplish-violet, flat double roses accompany blue-green leaves. Dense bushiness is this repeat-blooming rose’s signature.
Height: about 4 1/2 feet (1.35m)
Blooming period: May-June, then again in September-October
Special feature: its original color shifts from purple to parma, going through violet, depending on location and brightness
Vintage rose with yellow flowers
Name: Rosa ‘Fragrant Old Yellow’
Looks: floriferous, this rose variety reveals opulent yellow flowers that frill up. Beautiful cup roses renew themselves all summer on a bushy shrub.
Height: roughly 3 1/2 feet (1.10m)
Blooming period: June to September
Scent: fruity aroma
Foliage: deciduous, medium green
Hardiness: down to -4°F (-20°C)
Exposure: sun
Soil: rich, loose, acidic to slightly calcareous
A little extra: continuous flowering allowing to create beautiful, well-filled bouquets
Old rose with pink blossoms
Name: Rosa (x) Portland ‘Mme Boll’
Looks: double-layered roses, as sweet as candy pink at the heart, morph into light pink on the edges. A robust, erect shrub filled with prickly stems.
Height: 3.5 feet (1.1 meters)
Blooming period: June through October
Scent: irresistible mix of sweet and fruity
Foliage: deciduous, gold-green
Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
Exposure: sun, part-shade
Soil: rich, loose, slightly acidic to a bit chalky
Cherry on top: Blossoms? Oh, they keep coming, all through the glorious season.
Old rose with simple white blossoms
Name: Rosa omeiensis (sericea) ‘Pteracantha’
Looks: stand out with this rose’s stems, punctuated by red, translucent needles. Its petite, lightweight white blossoms feature a cream hue and a heart full of yellow stamens.
Height: 8 feet (2.5 meters)
Blooming period: June
Scent: not fragrant
Foliage: deciduous, its serrated, tender green leaves come in several folioles
Hardiness: -4°F (-20°C)
Exposure: sun, part-shade
Soil: rich, loose, slightly acidic to a bit chalky
Cherry on top: perfect for that country style you’ve always wanted.
Look: This ground-covering rose forms a low bush with about a 2 feet in diameter (60cm). It’s covered in small luminous red simple flowers, accentuated by a bunch of yellow stamens all through the beautiful season.
Look: Its immaculate white double flowers have a pretty turbine silhouette. It’s a vigorous vine with arching and thorny stems that charmingly covers pergolas.
Looks: Intense purplish-violet, flat double roses accompany blue-green leaves. Dense bushiness is this repeat-blooming rose’s signature.
Looks: floriferous, this rose variety reveals opulent yellow flowers that frill up. Beautiful cup roses renew themselves all summer on a bushy shrub.
Looks: double-layered roses, as sweet as candy pink at the heart, morph into light pink on the edges. A robust, erect shrub filled with prickly stems.
Looks: stand out with this rose’s stems, punctuated by red, translucent needles. Its petite, lightweight white blossoms feature a cream hue and a heart full of yellow stamens.
