Back in the late eighties when I first became enamoured with Old Fashioned Roses there were many Noisette Roses on my "must have" list. At the time I was discussing them with a knowledgeable Rosarian who was quick to tell me that the name wasn't pronounced like the English word for noise i.e. "Noise-ettes" but it was pronounced "Nwah-zeht's" as per the French language. Now that I know these roses were bred and developed by the French born Noisette brothers, Philippe and Louis this makes perfect sense. What doesn't make sense is that Noisette is actually the feminine French word for Hazlenut, so these roses aren't noisy, just a little nutty... but I digress.

Noisette Roses eventuated from a deliberate cross between a hybrid Rosa chinensis, namely "Old Blush" (the importance of which we have previously mentioned) and Rosa moschata. This cross was done in 1803, in the USA, by John Champney, hence we have the rose called "Champney"s Pink Cluster" which is the official flower of Charleston. Mr Champney passed on a seedling to his friend Philippe Noisette who at the time resided in Charleston and ran the first specialist rose nursery in the USA. Philippe in turn sent seed and plants to his brother in France who named the first seedlings Les Rosiers de Philippe Noisette. Eventually this was shortened to Noisette. Characteristics of Noisette Roses - Small to medium blooms often borne in clusters - Very fragrant - Light green glossy foliage - Thorny Stems - Many are climbers - Pruned in Winter - Most flower more than once a season Some of our favourites are Lamarque, Celine Forestier, Mme Alfred Carriere, Crepuscule, and Gloire de Dijon to name a few.

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