Rose Comte de Chambord

'Comte de Chambord' is the most enchanting rose with the true character of Old roses, bred by Moreau-Robert and introduced in France in 1863. It combines the best features of both worlds: an old-fashioned rose, but with modern, repeat blooming. Throughout the summer it unfurls pink,expanded flat flowers with a pleasant aroma. Classic French old-fashioned flowers – attractive pink-lilac, large and full, sometimes quartered, with a wonderful strong Damask fragrance. It is very similar to its descendant “Gertrude Jekyll”.

This stunning old-fashioned rose has fragrant bright pink or light magenta flowers that fade delicately to lilac-lavender with age. Large, about 9 cm in diameter (3.5‑inch) full flowers open to a flat, quartered rosette, and have a strong and delightful aroma of Old roses. They adorn a compact, sturdy, upright bush with prickly stems and abundant light green foliage – the foliage rising to the flower in a true Portland style together create a very beautiful bush! Plant it near your house or garden path to enjoy it to the fullest!

Detailed description

The buds, with their sometimes very large feathery sepals, deceive the eye, making one expect a crimson flower. The flowers are large, with an average diameter of 9–11 cm (3.5–4.25"), very full (41+ up to 55 petals) gathered in small clusters of 3–5 blooms together, have a wonderful fragrance and repeat blooming, their numerous petals arranged evenly. In the bud they have a cupped shape, and in full bloom they are quartered, displaying an old-fashioned bloom form of a rich warm pink color that darkens toward the center with a strong Damask fragrance. And although the flowers are somewhat sensitive to rain, this rose blooms best in cool weather. The first flush is very abundant and stunning at the beginning of summer, with a subsequent scattered later blooming throughout the season. After flowering, it produces rare, large, vase-shaped, yellow–orange rose hips.

Forms not a large, but strong, bushy yet neat shrub of compact growth with height of about 90–150 cm (3–5 feet), and with width of about 60–120 cm (2–4 feet), very upright, with prickly stems and a large amount of large light green foliage with slightly uneven edges. The branches are covered with numerous thin reddish prickles and bristles. The dense, five‐leaved, medium green leaves are very roughly serrated, rounded, and end in a point. The young leaves have a light yellowish–green color with a refined dark red edge and initially appear red–brown marbled.

Ideally suited for a small garden. It can be used for partitioning, borders, and is also perfectly suitable for cultivation in pots. Tolerates partial shade. It grows well in various types of soil, but it is better if mulched with well - rotted manure or compost.

Prune in February and help extend the blooming in summer by regularly tending the plants and adding fertilizer with a high potassium content every two weeks.

Has good disease resistance. Resistance to powdery mildew ++ (good) and to black spot + (preventative measures needed).

The variety ’Comte de Chambord’ has good frost resistance – USDA zone from 4b to 8b.

One of the most beautiful old-fashioned roses, of a soft, deep, pink color with large quartered flowers that exude a magical Damask fragrance. The bush is compact, dense, neat; the foliage is very coarse, silvery, and wonderfully contrasts the warmth of the flower. This is a reliable shrub, disease-resistant, that is completely unaffected by prolonged rains. Perhaps, it is the best choice of old-fashioned rose for a small garden. This variety is recommended for northern regions; its hardiness is USDA zone 4, and in our latitudes it can winter without cover. It blooms almost continuously throughout the summer until the frosts.

According to Francois Joyaux, “Comte de Cambord” disappeared from the market shortly after it was introduced by Moreau-Robert. It is oftenly disputed that the rose that is sold today under the name “Comte de Chambord” is in fact the “Madame Boll” rose variety. Thus, there is some confusion in commerce between this rose and “Mme Boll”. The variety that was distributed as “Comte de Chambord” by Moreau-Robert was possibly lost, and in the world of roses it is often agreed that the rose now sold under this name is the “Madame Boll” variety. It produces large cup-shaped flowers with very full blooms, which are often quartered before they open. They are pink and slightly darker in the center. Their fragrance is strong and sweet. In rainy, moist weather, the double flowers themselves may clump together. The plant is upright, bushy, with medium-green foliage. This is one of the most popular old roses due to its repeat blooming and strong fragrance.

This rose was named in honor of Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (1820–1883), the French king by divine right and head of the House of Bourbon. He remained without a throne until the end of his life and was the last legitimate male descendant of Louis XV of France.

Henri d’Artois (Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné de Bourbon-Artois), Duke of Bordeaux, Count of Chambord (1820–1883), was proclaimed King of France as Henry V by the French legitimists on 2 August 1830 after the abdication of his grandfather Charles X.

The variety holds ARS certificates and the titles "Dowager Rose Queen" from a dozen contests of the American Rose Society from 1998 to 2005.

Members of the World Federation of Rose Societies select the world’s favorite roses and announce them at the World Rose Conventions. The Count of Chambord was selected and entered the Old Rose Hall of Fame in 2022.

Possibly ‘Baronne Prévost’ x ‘Duchess of Portland’

According to Francois Joyaux, “Comte de Cambord” disappeared from the market soon after it was introduced by Moreau-Robert. The rose that is sold today under the name “Comte de Chambord” is “Madame Boll”.

USDA 4 and warmer