Hybrid Musk Roses

Old-rose fanciers in the North use the hybrid musk roses to extend the flowering season of their gardens, because although the hybrid musks have the hardiness and ever blooming habit of modern roses, their modest, softly shaded blossoms are closer in style to those of centuries past, and their musk perfume has a delicate antique flavor.

In fact, this class is a latecomer that dates only to the turn of this century. It originated with a cross of a repeat-blooming but cold-sensitive Noisette rose with a hybrid of the tough and hardy Chinese species Rosa multiflora.

The hybrid musk roses are not spectacular plants. The blossoms range in size from 3/4 to 3 in (1.9 to 7.6cm). Because their stems are long and flexible, they may be trained along a fence or pruned back from time to time to form a lanky shrub.

'Belinda' Roses (Introduced - 1936)

'Belinda' rose produces large erect clusters of semi-double flowers almost continuously throughout the growing season. The soft medium pink blooms are 1 inch or less across, have 12 to 15 petals, and emit a light fragrance. When seen at close range, the blooms show off white centers.
Plants are vigorous, upright, and bushy, and can either be maintained as a dense hedge by pruning or be trained to a pillar. They are quite disease resistant and, like most hybrid musks, adaptable to light shade.

'Ballerina' Roses (Introduced - 1937)

A good rose for mild climates, 'Ballerina' also flourishes in the North. At the northern edge of its range, winter cold may kill it back almost to the ground, but typically it will send up new shoots to provide a good show of flowers the following summer.
'Ballerina' bears abundant, large trusses of small, pink, single flowers, each with a white eye and bright yellow stamens. It can be grown in a mixed border or as a hedge, allowed to cascade over a wall, or even trained as a climber, producing clouds of blossoms all season, followed by small, bright orange hips in the fall.

'Buff Beauty' Roses (Introduced - 1939)

The color of the 3- to 4-inch double flowers of 'Buff Beauty' ranges from buff yellow to deep apricot, depending on weather conditions. Richly fragrant, flattened blossoms are borne in clusters. The abundant foliage emerges bronze-red, turning a glossy dark green as it matures. Canes are smooth and brown.
This rose is a very attractive plant with a graceful, arching habit and is often broader than it is tall. This rose requires a lot of space but makes a lovely specimen. This rose can also be trained to a pillar or wall, or can be used as a ground cover on banks.

'Cornelia' Roses (Introduced - 1925)

Northern winters will not bother this rose, nor will southern summers. The long, arching canes of 'Cornelia' spread gracefully to make a large, attractive shrub, or they can be tied in while still young and trained along a fence or over an arch. If restrained by an annual pruning after the end of the first flush of blossoms, this rose will make a mound 5 ft (1.5m) high and wide. As a climber, its canes may reach several feet more. In June, 'Cornelia' covers itself with clusters of small, very double and fragrant, apricot-pink flowers with gold stamens. The bloom continues well into fall.

'Danaë' Roses (Introduced - 1913)

Its dark, shiny foliage provides an elegant setting for the little egg-yolk yellow flower buds of 'Danäe'. These open into clusters of creamy, 2 in (5cm), semi double flowers with delicately ruffled petals. Their strong scent is described as a combination of fruit and musk. This rose makes a wonderful show in the fall, with its combination of repeat bloom and orange-red hips.
Though hardy in the North and in southern Canada, this rose is an outstanding performer in warmer climates. It does especially well in the Southeast, where its canes may reach a length of 12 ft (3.6m). In the South, these rose is also shade tolerant, flourishing with only a couple of hours of full sun daily.

'Erfurt' Roses (Introduced - 1939)

Buds of 'Erfurt' are rosy red, long, and pointed, opening to deep cerise-pink semi-double flowers with white centers and bright golden yellow stamens. Once plants begin to bloom, they continue nonstop until frost. The flowers exude a pleasing musky fragrance. Foliage is leathery and wrinkled with a coppery green tone that enhances the brightly colored flowers. Stems are brown with hooked prickles.
The plants are vigorous and bushy, with arching canes that may spread outward to 6 feet. The long show of blooms and abundance of attractive foliage make 'Erfurt' rose an outstanding garden shrub for beds or borders. Like other hybrid musks, this rose is disease resistant and tolerates some shade and poor soil.

'Lavender Lassie' Roses (Introduced - 1960)

While not exactly lavender, the semi double, strongly scented flowers of this hybrid musk do have definite overtones of blue mixed in with the pink, and the large clusters in which they appear make them even more striking.
With occasional pruning, 'Lavender Lassie' can be maintained as a large shrub or as an informal hedge, but its canes can also be left to grow unchecked and trained vertically up a wall or trellis.

'Penelope' Roses (Introduced - 1924)

The salmon-colored buds of 'Penelope' open to shell pink blooms that fade to white as they age. Borne in huge clusters, the semi-double flowers display bright yellow stamens at their centers. Fragrance is rich and musky. In fall, small coral hips decorate the canes for several weeks. Leaves are glossy, ribbed, and dark green.
Plants are vigorous and dense, and they grow equally tall and wide. This rose is a good choice for a flowering hedge or for combining with other flowering shrubs or perennials in beds. This rose can tolerate partial shade and is fairly disease resistant, but may be prone to mildew.

'Prosperity' Roses (Introduced - 1919)

The buds of 'Prosperity' rose are pale pink and open to reveal 1 1/2-inch double ivory flowers that often display a pink blush. The blossoms are fragrant, appear all season in large, heavy clusters, and show off well against the abundant dark, glossy foliage.
This rose is a vigorous grower with an upright habit; its erect canes arch gracefully from the weight of the flowers. The bush can be as wide as it is tall and requires a large space in the garden. This rose makes a fine flowering hedge and tolerates partial shade.

'Will Scarlet' Roses (Introduced - 1947)

The bright red buds of 'Will Scarlet' rose open to vivid rose red semi-double flowers that lighten in color toward the flower center. Hot weather tends to induce shades of lilac at the center, which makes an especially pleasing contrast with the flowers' numerous yellow stamens. The flowers are delicately scented. Plants bloom profusely in spring and again in fall. The blooms are followed by clusters of round orange hips.
This rose can be grown as a large shrub, best maintained at 6 to 7 feet with a nearly equal spread. This rose is also a fine climber, reaching up to 12 feet on a trellis or pillar. This rose has a graceful, arching form, and it tolerates partial shade.