Ispahan Rose

The Ispahan rose is a Damask that can add some old world style to your garden.

Into the history books….

This is definitely an old antique, having first been introduced to the Western civilization in the 1830s. The history before that is a little less known, but being a damask most likely it's from Iran or a neighboring Middle Eastern country. There are still pockets of wild growth there that have been untouched for years. Ispahan is actually the name of an old Iranian trading city. You also see it named the Pompon des Princes.

Beauty

Where to begin? This rose has a fantastic old-fashioned scent that is quite potent. They have nice sized blooms that go several inches across. It starts off very pink and then fades over the blooming period to a pinkish-white. Unlike the hybrid teas, you'll only get one bloom out of this flower.

It looks great as a hedge or along a fence.

Gardening

Surprisingly, for an antique the Ispahan can handle cold weather. This is rated all the way down to zone 3b, which is quite rare. On top of that, it is very strong against diseases as well. In fact, the Montreal Botanical Garden was tested against infections and had one of the lowest incidences of diseases.

It does do best in full sunlight but can also be grown in containers.