Marechal Niel
Photo taken at Rosalinda's Garden in Charleston, SC
The Noisette roses, a class of old garden roses, was the
first class of roses bred, evaluated and introduced to the world by the United
States. The Noisette class started in Charles Town (Charleston), South Carolina
by John Champneys. John Champneys was the son of a well-to-do loyalist who decided
to remain loyal to England during the revolutionary war and was forced to flee
back to London after Charles Town fell. His estate at that time was worth
around 20,000 pound sterling. After the war he tried to return to Charles Town
but was not received with open arms. Being forced to flee back to England he
was able to seek restitution for his estate for only 5,000 pound sterling. On
his way back to Charles Town for the second time, his ship had been hijacked
twice and in the process he lost two family members.
When he finally made it back to Charles Town he was not able
to get the family estate back. He did purchase a piece of property just down
the river, which had a well-known pleasure garden. This is where he was
landscaping, and hybridizing. Somewhere between 1800 and 1814, John Champneys crossed
Rosa moschata ‘Musk Rose’ and Rosa chinensis ‘Old Blush’. The resulting
seedling was called ‘Champneys’ Pink Cluster’. It was given
to his friend and neighbor, Philippe Noisette whose family in France was in the
nursery business and eventually hybridized a rose called Blush Noisette.
Philippe sent cuttings to his brother, Louis Claude, who was running the family
business in France. Pierre Joseph Redoute, the famous botanical artist included in his
paintings of early 19th century roses one labeled “Rosa Noisettiana” and
“Rosier de Philippe Noisette.” The name, Noisette, spread throughout the world
by way of the painting. Philippe Noisette came to Charles Town from France by way
of Saint-Dominque to work in America’s first botanical garden developed by the
Medical College of South Carolina.
Noisette roses are very vigorous plant, with arching canes
and include both bushes and climbers and are very sweet scented. They are noted for their ease of maintenance.
They require very little care and are very disease- and pest-resistant and
drought tolerant. Noisettes produce small to medium-sized, double flowers with
pastel colors and come in clusters and very fragrant flowers all summer long. Some
can grow as high as 20 feet and can be trained to climb trees, pergolas or
trained to wrap around pillars. They need plenty of room to spread out. Their
most romantic quality is their nodding flowers looking downwards unlike the
regular climbers whose blooms look upwards. They tolerate poor soil and light
shade but flower better in full sun. Some are not hardy.
Here is a list of widely known noisettes :
Aimee Vibert – 1828 - white
Alister Stella Gray – 1894 – light yellow
Blush Noisette – before 1817 – white
Celine Forestier – 1842 – light yellow
Champneys’ Pink Cluster – before 1810 – light pink
Crepuscule – 1904 – apricot blend
Lamarque – 1830 - white
Mme. Alfred Carriere – 1879 - white
Marechal Niel – 1864 – medium yellow
Mary Washington – before 1892 - white
Nastarana – 1879 – white
Princesse de Nassau – 1835 – light yellow
Reve d’Or – 1869 – medium yellow
The Charlestonian – 2000 – white
Triomphe des Noisette – 1887 – deep pink
To join, check Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society
