Shrub · Rosaceae
Old Garden Rose
Rosa
Tough, sweet-smelling, and easygoing on their own roots, old garden roses just keep giving year after year.
Full sun
Every 5–7 days
USDA 4–9
3–8 ft · 0.9–2.4 m
Overview
Old garden roses are the heritage classes introduced before 1867, the gallicas, damasks, albas, and their relatives that folks were growing long before modern hybrids showed up. They're hardier and more forgiving than the florist roses you'll see today, and a lot of them just brush off the diseases that keep newer roses on a spray schedule. Grow them for the scent as much as the flower.
The classes split into two groups, and that's what decides how you handle the plant. The once-blooming ones like gallica, damask, alba, centifolia, and moss give you one big early-summer flush on old wood. The repeat-bloomers such as bourbon, Portland, China, tea, and noisette keep coming back through the season on new growth, and that single difference is what changes when and how hard you prune.
So how needy are they, really? Less than you'd think. Give them sun, decent soil, and enough room for air to move through the canes, and most will settle right in and grow on their own roots for decades. The one thing you've got to respect is the thorns.
Care
The short version: give them full sun with good morning light, loose well-drained soil rich in organic matter, a deep weekly soak at the base in the morning, and prune based on whether your rose blooms once or repeats.
Light
Old garden roses want full sun, and morning light is best since it dries the dew off the leaves early. They'll take a bit of partial shade, but you lose bloom and invite disease when the canes stay damp. Shoot for 6 to 8 hours of direct sun.
Water
Water deeply in the morning so the leaves dry off fast, which keeps black spot and powdery mildew away. A good soak every 5 to 7 days works for most plants, and a little more in heat or sandy soil. Just skip the evening overhead watering that leaves the leaves wet all night.
Soil
Plant them in loose, well-drained soil mixed with plenty of organic matter. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0, so slightly acidic to neutral, is right where they're happiest. The one thing they won't put up with? Heavy, soggy ground.
Temperature
These are tough shrubs, hardy from roughly -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C) depending on the class. A lot of old roses take zone 4 winters without blinking, which is part of why they've stuck around so long. Heat rarely bothers an established plant that gets a steady drink.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is no big deal, so there's no number to chase. Airflow matters way more than the moisture in the air, since still, crowded canes are exactly how black spot and mildew get going. Space and thin so the breeze can slip through.
Feeding
Use a balanced rose or general-purpose fertilizer, starting when growth begins in spring and again after each flush of bloom. Stop about six weeks before your first frost so the plant can harden off. Too much nitrogen just pushes out soft, mildew-prone growth.
Pruning
Pruning all comes down to the class. Once-blooming roses flower on old wood, so prune them lightly right after they bloom to shape things up and clear out dead canes. Repeat-bloomers can handle a harder cut in late winter or early spring before growth starts.
Repotting
Old garden roses are long-lived shrubs and hardly ever need repotting once they're in the ground. In a container, bump up a size when you see roots circling the drainage holes, water running straight through, or growth stalling even though you're watering. Most are happiest planted out for good.
Size & spacing
These shrubs run from about 3 to 8 feet (90 to 245 cm) tall and spread roughly 3 to 6 feet (90 to 185 cm) wide depending on the class. Give each one enough room to hit its mature spread so air moves freely and disease stays down.
When to plant
Old garden roses go in dormant, not from seed. Set out bare-root or container plants in early spring once the soil can be worked, or in fall if your winters are mild. The once-blooming classes give you one early-summer flush, while the repeat-bloomers keep going into fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Not typically grown from seed by home gardeners; propagate vegetatively instead
- Plant: Plant dormant bare-root or container plants in early spring after the soil can be worked, or in fall in mild-winter regions
- Harvest: Late spring to summer; once-blooming classes flower in a single early-summer flush, repeat-blooming classes rebloom into fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most rose trouble shows up on the leaves first, and it usually comes down to damp, crowded foliage. Catch it early and a quick cleanup usually sorts it out. Find what matches below, then act before it climbs the plant.
Leaves picking up dark blotches ringed with yellow
So what's going on here? That's black spot, a fungus that spreads by splashing water once the leaves stay wet for more than about 7 hours. It usually starts down low and creeps upward, shedding leaves along the way. Pick off the spotted ones, rake up whatever's dropped, and water at the base in the morning so the leaves dry off quick.
Fix:
- Remove and dispose of infected leaves and prune out infected canes
- Rake up and discard fallen leaves to reduce spore sources
- Water at the base in the morning so foliage dries quickly
- Apply a labeled fungicide (such as neem oil, potassium bicarbonate, or sulfur) when conditions favor severe infection
New shoots and buds wearing a dusty white layer
See a white, dusty film on the young shoots and buds? That's powdery mildew, and it likes shade and humidity right around 68°F to 86°F (20°C to 30°C). The new growth twists up and the leaves can turn yellow and then brown. Snip out the worst shoots, open the plant up so air can move through, and go easy on the nitrogen, since it just feeds the soft, shady growth mildew loves.
Fix:
- Prune out and dispose of heavily infected shoots and leaves
- Improve air circulation by thinning and proper spacing
- Wash spores off foliage with a morning water spray
- Apply a protectant or eradicant fungicide at the earliest sign on susceptible plants
Little bugs crowding the fresh tips and leaving a sticky mess
Those crowded green, pink, or black bugs on the soft tips? They're just aphids, and that sticky stuff they leave behind is honeydew. Honestly, they don't do much lasting harm. Blast them off with a strong morning spray of water, let the lady beetles and lacewings handle the rest, and skip the broad insecticides, since those wipe out the helpers too.
Fix:
- Hose aphids off plants with a strong stream of water in the morning
- Tolerate light infestations and conserve natural enemies such as lady beetles and lacewings
- Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill beneficial predators
Toxicity
Good news if you've got pets: true roses are non-toxic to cats, dogs, horses, and every other critter around the home or pasture, and the petals and hips are even edible for people. There's no poison to worry about here. The one real hazard is mechanical, the thorns, which can scratch a mouth or paw, so the only thing you're really watching out for is the prickles.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
There's nothing poisonous in a true rose for a cat, so no worries there. It's really just the thorns, which can scratch a nosy mouth or paw.
Dogs None
A dog can chew on a rose and won't get poisoned at all. What you'd actually watch for is a gulped mouthful of thorny stem, since the prickles can scrape the gums or, in a big wad, jam up the gut.
Horses Safe
Horses graze roses just fine, and plenty of them go for the canes on purpose. The only thing to watch? A prickle snagging a soft lip.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can munch the leaves and even the petals without any trouble. The thorns are pretty much the only thing worth thinking about.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep all handle roses without a hitch, and goats especially love the foliage. There's nothing in the plant that'll poison them.
Birds Safe
Birds are totally fine around roses, and lots of them feast on the ripe hips come autumn. Those hips are just part of what they eat anyway.
People Safe
Roses are safe for people, and both the hips and petals are edible. A snagged finger on the thorns is really the only thing to mind.
The plant is non-toxic, but thorns (prickles) can cause mechanical injury to mouths, paws, and skin, and ingesting large amounts of stem material could risk gastrointestinal obstruction.
Varieties
Old garden roses fall into a handful of classes, and each has its own habit, scent, and pruning needs. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Gallica (e.g. Rosa gallica 'Officinalis', the Apothecary's Rose)
It's a stocky, upright shrub that gets to about 4 feet, with fine prickles and deep green leaves, and it hands you intensely fragrant flowers in one early flush.
Damask (e.g. Rosa × damascena 'Kazanlik')
This one's a vigorous, arching shrub of 5 to 8 feet, and its powerful scent is what gets distilled for attar of roses, plus it's tough enough to hang on in zone 4.
Alba
It's a tall, nearly thornless rose with smooth arching canes and blue-green leaves, and it shrugs off hard winters while blooming just once a year.
Bourbon
Here's a repeat-bloomer that flowers on both old and new wood, so you can go ahead and prune it harder before bloom than you would the once-blooming classes.
Centifolia (Provence or Cabbage Rose) and Moss
You get full, many-petaled fragrant blooms, and the moss types throw in a sticky, scented growth over their buds and stems.
How to propagate
Old garden roses are easy to multiply, and most are happy on their own roots without any grafting. Just pick the method that fits your patience and the shape of the plant.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Take softwood or hardwood cuttings from late spring through summer or fall · Several weeks to root; one growing season to establish
Here's the good part: most old garden roses root easily from cuttings and are happy on their own roots, so there's no grafting to fuss with. Grab softwood or hardwood pieces any time from late spring through fall. They'll strike root over a few weeks and just need one full growing season to settle in.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer while canes are flexible · One growing season for layered canes to root before separating
Got the arching old types? Then layering is the easiest way to go. While the canes are still nice and bendy in spring or summer, pin a low one down to the ground and let it root right where it sits. Give it a full growing season before you cut it loose from the parent.
GraftingDemanding
Dormant season or late summer budding · One season to unite and establish
Grafting's the tricky one, done in the dormant season or by budding in late summer. It joins a cultivar you want onto a rootstock, and it takes a season to knit together and settle in. Most old garden roses just skip it and do fine on their own roots anyway.
Myths
A cat or dog that chews on a rose is in real danger of being poisoned.
Nope, and you can relax, because the ASPCA lists true roses as non-toxic to both dogs and cats, with no toxic principles at all. The only real danger is the thorns, which can scratch a mouth or paw, and a belly full of woody stem could in theory snag the gut. There's just no chemical poisoning to worry about here.
Antique roses are every bit as needy and sickly as the modern kinds.
Not really, since plenty of old garden roses just shrug off the pests and diseases that give modern hybrids so much grief. They usually want less water and less fertilizer too, they're happy growing on their own roots, and they take the cold way better than the newer types do.