Alba Rose

The alba rose is a nice looking old garden variety that can add some antique elegance to your garden.

What is it?….

This is an extremely old rose and has reportedly been grown for centuries. Many Italian writers during the Renaissance would write glowing testaments to its beauty. There are several different varieties of this available. You may see them as the Great Maiden's Blush, or the Maxima.

The Beauty

The alba rose is well known for its outstanding fruity fragrance. The blooms are a combination of white with pink highlighting on the edges. Take advantage of the bloom as it only happens once a season though. The blooms do last a few weeks and they look nice cut or in a vase. The ideal place for these is in a back area with lots of space. They can reach 8 feet tall with long bushy canes.

Gardening

As an antique, it doesn't have some of the disease resistance of some of the hybrid teas. In certain, more wet climates, it can fall victim to mildew. Also, be careful for the thorns as some specimens can be quite prickly. It does tend to do well against pests for the most part though.