Five Gorgeous Black Roses in My Garden
Although you find names of roses prefixed with ‘Black’ everywhere, there is no truly black rose. The stunning black roses in my garden are, at the most, deepest and darkest purples or reds. But, I must admit they do look quite black at different stages and serve to enhance the beauty of the other colored flowers. Here are five famous black roses:
Cardinal de Rechelieu,a much admired Gallica, has been around for over a century and a half. It flourishes in Zones 3 to 8 but takes two to three years to grow to it’s full size. The blooms are just 2 ½ inches wide and starts out as dark crimson shaded buds. In mid bloom, it becomes a dull purple shade slowly turning into a very dark grape purple. In full bloom, it takes on a very deep grayish purple. It has a very mild but perceptible pepper fragrance.
Guinee, a 1938 hybrid tea is a combination of Ami Quinard and Souvenir de Claudius. It is a tall and elegant climber that grows upright to a height of up to 15 feet against a wall or sturdy support. The blooms are a very deep blackish red. Although it is a repeat bloomer, after the first abundant flush of blooms, it slowly peters out as the season progresses. It has a very intoxicating old rose fragrance. Zones 5 to 10 are ideal for the Guinee with some amount of protection in Zone 5.
Mr. Lincoln, a fairly modern hybrid tea (Chrysler Imperial x Charles Mallerin), was created in 1964. It is not a very healthy rose as it is extremely vulnerable to blackspot. But, it has very large and beautiful blooms with about 26 to 40 deep dark red petals. It wafts a heady damask scent and is ideally suited to Zones 5a to 10b. It needs pruning every spring with protection against frostbite. It is a repeat bloomer and each bloom is about 4 ¾ inches wide.
Oklahoma (Chrysler Imperial x Charles Mallerin), is a much hardier sibling of Mr. Lincoln, as it has high resistance to disease. It blooms repeatedly in flushes through the season and each flush is more beautiful and abundant than the one before. It has an intense apple and old rose fragrance. The blooms are large with 45 to 50 petals. Each bloom is about 5 inches in width and colored a very deep red shade. Spring pruning is essential for this beauty and grows to about 8 feet in Zones 7b to 10b.
The Prince, an ultra modern English Rose of 1990, will draw you like a magnet with it’s intense and evocative scent and it’s rich crimson-hued dark purple blooms. It has a very strong old rose fragrance. The less said about the foliage the better as it is very sparse and very vulnerable to disease, making it quite an eyesore. But the beauty of the blooms will blow you away! It grows best in Zones 5 to 8 and also in protected areas in Zone 4.
