13 March 2011

Questions about roses and rose growing

Do you have a question about roses or rose growing? This is the place to ask. Questions can be left as a comment on this entry. Click on the title of this post to open the comment box if you don't see it immediately.

Questions will be answered either as another comment or as a separate blog post if the answer requires one.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 14, 2011 at 1:22 AM

    What is a centifolia rose and how do you grow it? I have heard it is very scented.

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  2. RhodonMarch 14, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    CENTIFOLIA ROSES. Thanks for your question anonymous. Centifolia roses are wonderful old-fashioned roses with highly scented pink flowers stuffed full of petals. This well-stuffed look gives then their common name of cabbage roses. They arose in the Netherlands during the 1500s from a cross between an alba rose and an Autumn Damask rose, and were the favourite subject of the Dutch flower painters like jan van Huysum. They are easy to grow in fertile ground but the flowers are so heavy with petal that they nod - so try growing them in a raised bed. I'll try to devote a full blog post to centifolias in the future.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 15, 2011 at 8:32 AM

    Hello. I was wondering if there was any known connection between the rose grower William Paul and the botanical illustrator James Andrews, particularly in the 1850s/early 1860s. If not, is it known whether the Paul nursery was commissioning paintings or commercial illustrations of their roses at this time? I would appreciate any information in this regard. Many thanks for your help.

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  4. RhodonMarch 15, 2011 at 11:02 PM

    WILLIAM PAUL and JAMES ANDREWS (1801-1876). What an interesting question! I know of no connection between Andrews and Paul, but that didn't mean there wasn't - both were well known Victorians. However, there is no mention of Andrews in either of Paul's main works ("Contributions to horticultural literature; being a selection of articles written for gardening periodicals, and papers read before various societies, from 1843 to 1892" and "The rose garden, in two divisions"). Also, a connection would surprise me as Paul was a man of business whereas Andrews has the reputation of a somewhat romantic flower painter. Wilfrid Blunt in his masterwork "The Art of Botanical Illustration" calls him "an illustrator of sentimental flower books", although Blunt does call him "very talented" and reproduces a plate from Andrews' (1835) book "Lessons in Flower Painting". It is possible, although unlikely, that Paul commissioned Andrews to illustrate one of his catalogues. The most likely place to find such catalogues is in the finest horticultural library in the world: the Lindley Library
    http://www.rhs.org.uk/About-Us/RHS-Lindley-Library
    It is there, if anywhere, that the answer to this conundrum lies. Good luck!

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  5. AnonymousMarch 16, 2011 at 6:56 AM

    Thank you for your kind reply. This is just the start of a rosarian detective story that will hopefully have an interesting outcome ... I shall be carrying on with my researches at the Lindley Library, as you suggest, and the V&A. With all good wishes.

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