Kate, they could not be more different.

BdN, in our garden, is a very tall, but very upright plant. The foliage is a nice dark green all the time. It repeats well, and is sufficiently self-cleaning that constant deadheading isn't needed. In our conditions, it does not rust or mildew (our common fungal diseases).
Blooms are carried in clusters, or singly. They're sweetly fragrant. It's good in a vase.

Blush Noisette makes a wide, arching plant for us (though I think some folks use it as a climber). It blooms prolifically, in large and small sprays of very small blooms, packed tightly together. The fragrance is sweet, and very strong. Disease resistance is quite good for us.

Blooms can open blush pink, but in our conditions, quickly fade to white. Because the blooms open one at a time, it doesn't work for me in a vase. I enjoy this rose in the garden. (YMMV)

I don't know what it does in other climates, but HERE, Blush Noisette and her various seedlings and sports are NOT self-cleaning. Not even close. They must be deadheaded, to promote repeat bloom. If not deadheaded, the dead blooms sit there looking like brownish rotted Kleenex. I find the easiest way to deadhead this rose is to wait until the blooms are dry-ish and just pull them off with my hands.

I can show photos, but not just now, as my computer is doing other things at the moment.

Jeri in Coastal Ventura Co., Southern California.

Thank you for that information, jeri. If you can post pictures, I'd love to see them. I've never seen either one in real life.

One of the reasons why I selected (originally) Boule de Niege was because I liked the more vertical appearance. Is there another noisette that is more vertical like BdN and has some of its other virtues also? I'm assuming here in Kansas, BdN won't get as tall as it does where you live. Whatever I get will be growing free-standing--a kind of informal "hedge" at the back of the property. I have Buff Beauty, Felicia, Fru Dagmar--and a bit further off on the other side of the back gate, Ghislaine de Feligonde. There is a some space between the various bushes. The white of BdN would work well--and I like the shape of the blooms. But I have seen some lovely close-ups of Blush Noisette also.

Zone 6 is the one consideration that limits which noisettes I can grow since (I think) many (most?) noisettes are cold hardy only to Zone 7.

Any other suggestions?

Kate

Kate,

Both grew here. Boule de Neige about 3' tall, maybe a tiny bit taller but definitely not 4'. It has the prettier flower. Blush Noisette was in constant copious flower and possibly a bit taller than BdN but again not 4'. Both were good but both had leaf issues by late Summer IRRC as I have not seen them in some time. I use the past tense because both were destroyed with a number of other roses last Thursday. Hope this helps.

Cath

I got mmy Boule de Neige this spring from Rouge Valley. So you might want to check with them--at least they have had it recently. It's too young to tell you anything other than so far it's been very disease resistant in my haevy BS preasure area.

subk3--I just rushed over to the Rogue Valley site--but all they have is the "band" size of Boule de Neige. I always avoid "band" size--but maybe I'll get desperate enough and go for it.

I'm hoping that those are last year's listings still up on the website and that this fall maybe they will have updated listings of larger sizes available--(wish, wish!).

Thank you Kath for the additional info--but did I miss something? Why were a number of your roses destroyed the other day?

Kate

Kate -- Here is Bloom and bud of 'Boule de Niege.' I think it's truly lovely.

Now, I'll round up a Blush Noisette photo for you.

Jeri

I got my Boule de Neige as a band from Rogue Valley this spring as well. I just potted it up to a 5 gallon nursery container I picked up from my mom today. It is one of my absolute favorite roses. Beautiful, delicately fragrant, disease free so far, and not lacking vigor. I think if you were to order a band at the start of your growing season next year it would be fine, but I understand not wanting to baby a plant.

Some of the nurseries in Florida sell gallon size plants and carry BdN. That could be an option. It's worth searching for!

Jay

And here is 'Blush Noisette', looking rather peachy-pink, as it opens.

Jeri

There is, btw, one of the B.N. descendants -- Found -- "Setzer Noisette," which is just like B.N., but that it grows as a very controllable pillar climber. Angel Gardens may have it, and so may Rose Petal -- both in FL, yes?

Jeri, thanks for the beautiful pics. That reminds me why I decided I wanted Boule de Niege in the first place. That pic just makes my heart go pitty-pat!

Arbutus--I appreciate your "support"--encouraging me to try the band of BdN. I will keep searching for the next few months and see if I can find a larger one, but if all else fails and not even the look-alike descendents mentioned by Jeri work out, I think you made me feel a little more positive about getting a band, if necessary. With Jeri's pic reminding me why I love that rose so much, I may just be willing to wait for a baby band to grow up.

Kate

Kate,

The info on the lost roses is in the post labelled "More Bad News for Old Garden Roses". Not an alluring title, I must admit.

Cath

You might also try to get Louise d'Arzens- it's similar to BDN in that it's one of the Bourbon-Noisette roses. Lovely, sweet fragrance and similar coloring. I got mine as a 1- gallon plant from Roses Unlimited.

Zachary.

Thanks, everyone, for the additional information. I'm getting all fired up again over the idea of finding a Boule de Neige this year--but it is nice to have back-ups if all else fails. This may be the last rose I buy--no space left in my garden and I've passed the age where I want to be expanding my gardens. I need to be thinking about attrition instead--so I guess I want this last rose to be one that I really, really want.

Kate

Another substitute to take a look at is Mistress/Mrs. Bosanquet. I was very disappointed to miss it during Vintage's last offering, but it turns out it is still in commerce. Just today I saw that ARE is offering it for fall shipping as 'Mrs. Bosanquet' "from "Heritage Rose Gardens in California" as per the ARE site. I hadn't noticed it listed there before. Perhaps they mean Vintage? In any event, it's a beauty.

Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: Mrs. Bosanquet

This post was edited by ArbutusOmnedo on Tue, Aug 19, 14 at 3:13

Palatine roses lists it as 'sold out' right now but it has been that way since the end of the last shipping season. I am sure when they open for orders again in a few weeks they will have it back in stock.

Good luck

SCG

I THINK . . . I gather from everything I've read, that all of the soi dissant 'Mistress Bosanquet' in commerce in the U.S. arises from one plant. It was initially collected by Ed Wilkinson, for the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, and also grows in the Sacramento City Cemetery.

If this was Australia, we'd call it an "ROR" (Recovered Old Rose).

It's really lovely, something in the style of 'Souv. de la Malmaison,' but a bigger plant.

Jay, I think they genuinely meant the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden.

If, BTW, you have not been there -- you should go! One prominent rosarian called it: "A holy place that all rosarians must visit at least once in their lifetime."

Jeri

Actually, Ed found it at two cemeteries, and we have both plants at the Heritage. Others also collected from the cemetery Jeri refers to, and it got spread around under several names until we realized they were all the same.

Also there are several other Bourbon-Noisettes besides Boule de Neige. I'm not sure which are in commerce.

Jill

Yes there are Jill. One is that lovely "litter-sister" to Boule de Niege. It's name escapes me, but it was miserably unhappy here. More Bourbon in its nature, I suspect, than Noisette. :-)

There are (or were) the likes of Coquette des Blanches, Louis d'Arzens, Madame Alfred de Rougemont, Madame Gustave Bonnet, Lady Emily Peel, Coquette des Alps, Madame Francois Pittet, Perle des Blanches, and surely others I'm forgetting from just Lacharme. Geschwind's 'Marie Demar' strikes me as belonging in the group as well. The problem is finding any that are still available in the US besides BdN, CdB, LdA, and Marie Demar.

I've read in a past thread that Ashdown offered several rarely found Bourbon-Noisettes, but Rogue Valley has not offered them despite receiving Ashdown's stock upon closure. I hope they are planning on releasing them someday, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Jay

Coquette des Blanches is the one I was thinking of.

I have to say, though, that it did not bloom for its first three years here.

In Year 4, it put out one breathtakingly-beautiful spray. ONE.

In Year 5, it did not bloom.

By Year 6, it was long-gone.

Jeri