WHAT IS AN OLD ROSE?

• A rose is considered old if it was in cultivation by the middle of the 19th century.

• The first hybrid tea rose was introduced in 1867 and had the advantage, it was felt, of being repeat blooming and a broader range of color possibilities.

• Old roses are white or various shades of pink.

• Old roses bloom once in later May and early June in the Philadelphia area.

• Their glory is in the garden for both scent and appearance.

• They usually have multiple blooms on short stems.

• They do not last long as cut flowers, something the Victorians were seeking in the hybrid tea roses.

• For more information and pictures of roses see our Old Rose page.

WHEN WERE WYCK'S ROSES PLANTED?

Wyck's rose garden was created from 1814-1829 by Jane Bowne Haines. The roses were planted inside low boxwood bordered parterres in the ornamental garden to the rear of the house. On the front of the house climbing roses ascended the trellises and spread out across the white stucco walls. Today, many of the roses are descendants of these early roses, grown from cuttings of the original roses and planted in the same plan over the years by Wyck family members.

WHICH ARE THE MOST NOTABLE ROSES?

One of the ancient ones is the apothecary rose, a Gallica rose dating from the 1st century A.D. A variety of this is the Rosa mundi--the striped rose prized in England in the "olden times". The moss rose has fuzzy buds which distinguish it. The most prevalent rose in the garden, Germantown Damask, blooms pink and fades to white. Two more recent roses of wonderful shape and scent are Silver Moon (1910) - the large white rose which climbs a post and Frau Karl Druschki (1891), a hybrid perpetual white creamy white flowers. Theses were probably introduced by Jane's daughter or granddaughter.