One of the oldest cultivated roses still being planted today is Rosa gallica officinalis, otherwise known as the Red Rose of Lancaster (adopted by that house as an emblem around 1277) but most often called the Apothecary’s Rose. Native to central and southern Europe, the gallicas were the oldest garden roses. The Apothecary rose first appeared in Europe south of Paris and was probably brought from the east by returning Crusaders.
An upright shrub, the Apothecary rose grows to 3’ tall and, because it suckers freely, creates a small thicket. This makes it a great rose to use as a hedge; the suckers are easy to dig up and move if you don’t want the plant to expand. The rose has a rather wild, natural look rather than the stiff vase shape of a Hybrid Tea.
The flowers are semi-double and a brilliant, supersaturated dark pink that books call ‘red’, but it’s not the true red of modern roses. It’s somewhere between red and fuchsia, and distinctly lighter further south. The blooms have a lot of bright gold stamens and are very fragrant, the petals holding their fragrance when dried, making it a great variety for potpourri. The plant flowers heavily for a month in early summer and then produces medium sized hips in fall.
This is a healthy, disease free plant that rarely suffers any die back in Spokane or the Inland Northwest. It should not be planted in wet site; the plant can tolerate some drought once established but not in its first year.
Because the Apothecary rose is a once bloomer, it blooms only on old wood. Do NOT prune in spring as you do with modern roses, except to remove dead or damaged wood. Prune as needed for shaping (I rarely prune mine at all, except when it reaches into the path) right after it finishes flowering; this allows new growth time to mature before autumn.
Rosa gallica officinalis has been much used in perfumery, but the name ‘Apothecary Rose’ came about because it was used by healers. This rose was in the Materia Medica and was considered an herb. The petals were used to make preserves, jellies, oils, tinctures, waters, and powders that were used in medicine. Sometimes the rose concoctions were used for their own virtues; the petals have astringent properties that made the useful for irritated skin and also for throat difficulties. They were probably most used, though, as a vehicle for nasty tasting medicines to hide the flavor.
This rose is very interesting because of its history, but it’s also very beautiful. The color is so startlingly bright that few other roses match it. Although it’s only semi-double, this works to the flowers advantage because the light shines through the petals. Yes, it’s a once bloomer, but so are lilacs and azaleas. Since the suckers can be easily removed, its small stature makes it a good old rose for the smaller garden. It’s an all around great rose.
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