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Reine des Violettes

15 years ago

Loving my new Reine des Violettes even though I'm still waiting for blooms.

Anyone else notice the foliage is fragrant? Run your fingers along the undersides of the leaves and a wonderful scent will be clinging to them. The same as on the stems of Souvenir de la Malmaison.

What is that? How would you describe it?

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Comments (10)

jerijen
15 years ago
Kim Rupert calls it "pepper." :-)
But his nose is better than mine.

Jeri
gnabonnand
15 years ago
I've heard others comment on a nice scent from the leaves of Reine des Violettes.
I've rubbed the underside of the leaves of my RdV, but the scent doesn't register with my nose.
But the scent from its blooms DOES register, and it's fantastic.

Randy
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Reine des Violettes and Hippolyte
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You'd get more replies if you posted this on the Antique Roses Forum. I have 'Reine des Violettes' growing somewhat as a climber against a raised deck railing. It has a nice first flush, a moderate second flush in July, and then scattered blooms until Autumn. That may improve, being as mine is only three years old and seems slower to take off than some others. 'Hippolyte' is a once-blooming rose, variously classed as a Gallica, Centifolia, or (more likely correct) Hybrid China. It's more bushy and spreading in habit than 'Reine des Violettes'. About the only things they have in common are that their blooms are in the purple range, and they're Old Garden Roses. A big factor in deciding what will work would be where you're located, and where you want to plant these roses. Again, post this on the other forum, and you'll get lots of responses. Generally, this forum is more about Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, and other more modern roses. :-) ~Christopher
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So pretty Sara... my Zeffy surprised me this year with an abundance of blooms. I do hate its a one time bloomer.. I might have to relocate it. After seeing your Reine des Violettes..I now want to add one to my garden. Thanks for sharing.
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That did occur to me also, Christopher. But the description was written by Charles Lemaire, an eminent botanist, who vouches that the illustration is an accurate depiction of the rose. That same illustration is then referred to in the same German publication that says the rose has a red center and no thorns. I think that's weird, but I also think it points to the primary source as being considered reputable. And it seems unlikely to me that the description and illustration would be published without feedback/ correction from the breeder, given that this was a cultivar being advertised for sale for the first time. And the publisher of L'Illustration horticole was also selling the rose- introducing it in Belgium. If you can find a retraction or correction, that would indeed be of interest. But assuming that you doubt the original description, the question is: does the modern version of RdV have a red or crimson center? No- so far as I can see, it has a white or whitish center. So either you go with the very first description and illustration introducing a red-thorned 'RdV' to the world, or you go with the thornless rose with the red or crimson center. Neither of these early descriptions quite fit what is in commerce today. At this point, I'm mostly curious about why RdV disappeared to the point that her absence was lamented in the 1904 Journal des Roses, but she is now one of the more famous of the old rose cultivars. I think it is a false assumption that RdV has been popular and available continuously since her introduction in 1860. I want to search American catalogs (or any catalogs, but I seem to mostly only have access to American ones via the Biodiversity Heritage Library) to see who carried it and when. I know that Peter Henderson Nursery of NYC carried RdV from 1872-1880 (and possibly before, but the earliest catalog I find is 1872). Her absence from other catalogs is remarkable. She is also listed in the 1880 Baudriller catalogue (Angers, France). I'm hoping to get a better feel for who liked her, who sold her, did she really disappear and- if so- when did her 20th C. revival begin, and who began it? If anyone knows of a free online source for old British/European nursery catalogs, I'd appreciate a heads up. Virginia
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Your RDV definitely has spider mites, but the photo you show isn't one of them. They are tiny, usually reddish, and hard to see. You see the damage and the webs more than the mites. They love it hot and dry. Usually you can bring them under control by a daily hard spray of water (being sure to wet all the undersides of the leaves); twice a day if you can get around to it. But be careful not to get the soil too wet while doing it. You don't want to drown her while treating the mites, lol. I've been known to lay pots on their side and spray the plant without wetting the soil. Your RDV may be too big/awkward for that, though. EDIT: Also, for future reference, that is a lovely pot she's in, but it will be very difficult to get her out of it when it's time to re-pot or plant in the ground. I never plant anything but annuals in pots that are smaller at the top than at the bottom, as once the roots fill out the soil in the pot, they become a "plug" that keeps you from removing the plant. You'll have to sacrifice a lot of the root ball, and/or possibly the pot itself, to get her out. :( John
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dallasguy
15 years ago
I am going to try smelling the foliage tomorrow. I bought my RDV in March from ARE and it has been blooming since I got it. I really love this rose! I hope it continues to bloom like crazy.
melissa_thefarm
15 years ago
Ha! A friend has promised me a plant.
jerijen
15 years ago
Dallas, it's a HP. It PROBABLY will slow way down through the summer.
When well-established, it will give you a good Fall bloom.

I really don't mind this in a rose.
It's a characteristic that increases drought tolerance. And when it gets REALLY hot, I'm not gonna be out there much anyhow.

Jeri
collinw
15 years ago
Yes, I would describe it as pepper. This is one of the things I love about this rose.
gnabonnand
15 years ago
bellegallica, today my Reine des Violettes and I got real personal with each other.
Mine was trained to a big reebar teepee that I had set up for it a few years ago when it was young.
The old girl was about eight feet tall.
I wanted to see and smell those great bloooms of hers without having to pull a cane down to eye level, so I removed the reebar and I pruned her back to about 5 feet tall.
I left as much of her arching habit as I could, but she is more like an open, arching shrub now.
I'm happy with the outcome, but she'll take a little while to fill back in, so I won't be whipping the camera out anytime soon, except for her blooms.
I want you to know she was a PLEASURE to prune. Any other rose that large would have eaten me up, because I was all over and in this rose tugging and yanking on the reebar and pruning.
I don't have a single nick or scratch on me, my RdV is truly 100% thornless.
Even Mrs Dudley Cross will put a small surface scratch or two on you when you're all over it like this with the pruners (MDC has some tiny prickles underneath some of her leaf mid-ribs) ... but not my RdV.
I'm so proud of her, she's a good girl.
She likes me, she really likes me.

Randy
dallasguy
15 years ago
Jeri,

I was hoping it would bloom a bit more. It has put on a huge amount of new growth. I hope the other Randy responds with how it blooms for him in Dallas.

Randy
jerijen
15 years ago
Sir Randy of Dallas -- :-)

For me, Reine des Violettes was typically a Hybrid Perpetual.
That is to say, it had a massive spring bloom, and once-mature, a good Fall bloom.
But through the hotter summer months, it snoozed.

I didn't mind this, because as the temperatures rise, my garden time diminishes.
And because I think of it as a survival mechanism -- that ability to slip into summer dormancy.

Jeri
bellegallica
Original Author
15 years ago
FWIW,

Mine is growing a lot, but not blooming. It's pretty hot here already, though. Also, I just received it only a couple of weeks ago, and ARE had to trim it a good deal I'm sure to get it into the box.

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