Moss Roses

"At some point in the evolution of the Centifolias, Nature decreed that some would have whiskers." Peter Beales, Classic Roses.

Henri Martin (Laffay, 1862)

The first moss rose originated most likely as a genetic mutation of a centifolia rose.

Common Moss (unknown, 17th century)

"Moss" refers to prickly growth on the canes and on the buds, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, and often  containing volatile oils that are released when the buds are touched, leaving a pleasant peppery fragrance on the fingertips.

Henri Martin (Laffay, 1862)

Most of the time, the mossy growth looks like lots of tiny prickles, but in some rare cases it can be very unusual, like the picture below, of Crested Moss, which is also known as Châpeau de Napoléon, or Napoleon's Hat because the growth on the sepals makes the bud look like a cockle hat.

Bud of Crested Moss (Kirche, 1827)

Hybridization of mosses began in the 19th century, and for a while cultivars were mainly selected for the unusual looking buds, with a disregard for the quality of blooms.

Duchesse d'Abrantes (Robert, 1851)

This resulted in a lot of pink moss roses looking one much like another :)

Marie de Blois (Robert, 1852)

This is not to say that pink mosses are not worth growing. In fact, pictures in this post are of the ones I like very much. Soupert et Notting (below) is one of my favorites, with its clear pink perfectly formed blooms on a well-behaved tidy bush.

Soupert et Notting (Pernet, 1874)

The rose below, appropriately named Glory of the Mosses, has probably the biggest blooms of any, with a wonderful mix of blush and pink, wonderfully fragrant.

Gloire des Mousseux (Laffay, 1852)

Mme Louis Lévêque (below) is a beautiful moss that also offers some repeat bloom. Because it repeats it is probably a cross with a hybrid perpetual, but whatever it is, its delicate blooms are exquisite and plentiful.

Mme Louise Lévêque (Lévêque 1898)

Waldtraut Nielsen is a little-known cultivar, but I find its huge blooms to be well formed and very fragrant. It is definitely worth a look, at least for a collector.

Waldtraut Nielsen (Nielsen, 1932)

Having shown all these pink mosses I have to say that my favorite are the purple ones hybridized by Jean Laffay.  The two below are some of the darkest colored of all roses, and wonderfully fragrant.

Capitaine John Ingram (Laffay, 1854)

Nuits de Young (Laffay, 1845)

Mosses have retained their popularity until the present time. There have been quite a few bred throughout the 20th century, such as Golden Moss or Robert Leopold. I would only like to mention Ralph Moore, the creator of miniature roses, who also bred a number of mosses, most of them reblooming...

Cee Dee Moss (Moore, 1990)

...and the family of Kordes of Germany, who created not only Parkjuwel, mentioned in my post on centifolias, but also Black Boy, an unusually colored and very beautiful rose, if somewhat awkwardly named.

Black Boy (Kordes, 1958)