Found Roses
Older rose varieties are sometimes referred to as “found roses.” Discovered in cemeteries, roadsides, and abandoned gardens, found roses have lost their original names but not their appeal. These roses are studied in hopes that one day their true identities will be revealed.
- Older rose varieties are sometimes referred to as “found roses.” Rediscovered in cemeteries, roadsides, and abandoned gardens, found roses have lost their original names but not their appeal. These roses are studied in hopes that one day their true identities will be revealed. Found roses have survived despite lack of care, and many are used today by rose hybridizers in their quest for fragrance and disease resistance. The names we know them by are often related to the story of their rediscovery.
In the early 1980s, “Temple Musk” was discovered growing at the historic Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The fragrant white blooms appear identical to the ancient musk rose (<em>Rosa moschata</em>). Native to North Africa and the Middle East, musk rose was grown in the cloistered gardens of 16th-century European monasteries and apothecary gardens in colonial America. As roses with larger blooms were introduced, musk roses became unfashionable and were even thought to be extinct. Today rosarians believe that “Temple Musk” as well as other found roses from southeastern states may indeed be the long-lost <em>Rosa moschata</em>
Image: “Bermuda Mystery Rose”