Hermosa

.....a very old rose dated back to 1832, bred by an amateur rose breeder, Marchesseau, in Angers and was introduced by Rousseau nursery in 1834, also in Angers, France.

Its interesting to see beautiful flowers that had survived the journey of the years and had so many names given to it. It has been referred to as Armosa, Mélanie Lemarié and Madame Neumann.

Blooms are pink to lilac pink with thin petals and quite sensitive to rain, a bit like the petals characteristic of Souvenir de la Malmaison. The whole bunch of my spring blooms from this 2 roses was unable to open up during spring and early summer. The petals got saturated after the rain and they end up rotting inside the mumified dried-out outer petal crust.

This is a tricky tender rose for my climate. It has a Bourbon, China/Bengal genes in it. I’ve also read it being described as Indica Bourbonica.

It is hard to believe that Hermosa is the seedling of Old Blush after comparing the size and growth habit of this 2 rose plant. Old Blush seemed more tight, branching wide open, sideways spreading but remains relatively short, while Hermosa is much loose, lanky in its growth habit and taking less space sideways.

I think this rose will perform extremely well when grown in warm and dry climate. This is a healthy, black spot free rose. While others are losing leaves from black spotted leaves, Hermosa remain green throughout the growing season and kept blooming with a very short cycle. I will try and support its growth and let it bloom its heart out in the garden. Maybe it will adapt to the surrounding elements of my garden's micro climate.