Rosa gallica Jenny Duval - Old Gallic Rose

Rose 'Jenny Duval' is an astonishing old-fashioned Gallic rose, remarkable for the morphosis of the colour of its roses over the course of the days. Close to 'Président de Sèze', it forms slightly looser flowers, but nicely double, where light cherry red, magenta pink washed with mauve, and then greyish mauve-blue hues blend at deflowering. A bushy rose with a flexible habit, easy to grow and vigorous, it offers a long scented summer flowering, but does not re-bloom at the end of the season. Gallic roses, very hardy and tolerant of partial shade, are well suited to cool climates.

Rosa x gallica 'Jenny Duval' is an ancient horticultural hybrid of uncertain origin, obtained before 1842. While the name of its breeder remains uncertain, it undoubtedly descends from the botanical rose Rosa gallica officinalis, the French rose or Provins rose, a wild species native to central and southern Europe, western Asia, Turkey, and the Caucasus. All so-called Gallic roses are resistant and undemanding bushes, forming low bushes with good covering vegetation.

'Jenny Duval' forms a very vigorous bush with a flexible habit, reaching about 1m (3 to 4ft) to 1m (3 to 4ft)  in height and 1m (3 to 4ft) in width. Its deciduous foliage is carried by flexible and sparsely thorny stems. It adorns itself with a deep, rather greyish green leaves. It blooms abundantly and for several weeks in June-July. From rounded buds with pink-red shades, double flowers, about 6cm (2.4in) wide, open up, tending towards a deep purplish red, more intense in the centre, before blooming into a glazed greyish lilac. Its numerous petals are slightly plicate and organized in quarters. The fragrance of its roses is medium to strong, pleasant, with powdery and peppery notes. This variety is rather demanding and requires some fertilizer inputs. On the other hand, it thrives in cool climates, as it fears scorching sun.

Subsequently neglected for remontant hybrid varieties, Gallic roses are nevertheless sturdy plants full of history. These are bushes like 'Versicolor', 'Jenny Duval', 'Cardinal de Richelieu', or 'Charles de Mills' that stand guard in old abandoned gardens and cemeteries, while many others will have surrendered. Magician of colours, 'Jenny Duval' contributes to the exuberance of summer-flowering shrub borders, landscape hedges, mixed with buddleias, Abelias, or Deutzias. Its vigorous growth allows it to form a beautiful backdrop for perennial borders, where it wonderfully accompanies Phlox paniculata, dame's rocket, or purple toadflax. These qualities make us forget that it only blooms once, which is never reproached to other flowering shrubs. It definitely deserves to be planted in all rose lovers' gardens and scented gardens.