Rose Danse des Sylphes

Among the mid-century French climbing roses ‘Danse des Sylphes’ still holds a distinctive place. Bred by Charles Mallerin and introduced in France in 1959, it unites the climbing scale of a modern pillar rose with the clustered abundance and color saturation more often associated with Floribunda breeding. Its flowers are remembered above all for their warm, glowing red suffused with geranium tones, carried in generous clusters against dark, lustrous foliage. For gardeners, the appeal lies not only in its theatrical display on walls, pillars, and arches, but also in the fact that it has proved influential in later breeding, where its color, vigor, and climbing habit were passed into a notable line of descendants.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

What makes ‘Danse des Sylphes’ distinctive is the combination of a strongly upright climbing framework with a floral effect that is emphatically cumulative. Its character emerges when the clusters open together and the foliage is nearly submerged beneath orange-red to carmine-geranium waves of flowers. In an era when many red climbers leaned either toward brilliant scarlet simplicity or toward larger, more Hybrid Tea like flowers, ‘Danse des Sylphes’ offered something more decorative and painterly: a dense yet lively red with warm orange undertones, steady enough in color to hold the eye from bud to full expansion. Mallerin’s own commercial partners emphasized precisely this constancy of tone as one of the rose’s main merits.

Its continued relevance today rests on several grounds. First, it remains a historically important French climber from the Lyonnais breeding tradition, a tradition that valued strong color and garden presence. Second, it is not merely an attractive old cultivar but a consequential breeder’s rose. The variety appears in the ancestry of later notable roses, including ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ and other Meilland descendants, showing that its combination of warm red pigmentation, floriferous clustered bloom, and climbing vigor had more than passing value. Third, in gardens that favor character over novelty, it still answers a very real need: a climber with old-style richness of effect but without the loose, once-blooming habits of many Ramblers. For collectors, it represents a significant node in postwar rose breeding; for practical gardeners, it remains a vivid red climber with a strong architectural role.

FLOWERING

The flowering behavior of ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is repeat-flowering through summer into autumn, with a long flowering season. This rose is capable of repeat flowering, but the strength and reliability of rebloom may vary significantly with climate, pruning regime, establishment, and perhaps clone or stock source. Gardeners should therefore expect a dominant first display followed, in good conditions, by further bloom of lesser amplitude rather than a perfectly continuous, modern Shrub rose flowering cycle.

Flower bud:

The flowerbuds of this rose are broad ovoid shaped with pointed apex. The sepals have medium green colour strongly suffused with burgundy red; there are 3 lightly appendaged sepals and 2 unappendaged sepals with lightly hairsuite grayish edges; the surface of the sepals is smooth and glandular on the upper surface and hairy gray white on the inside. The bud upon opening already shows the cochineal-carmine and geranium-red tonal range.The peduncles are medium sized and strong enough to support the sprays of the buds, the peduncles have smooth surface and medium green colour strongly suffused with purple red.

Bloom:

The blooms of ‘Danse des Sylphes’ are medium in size, around 6 to 8 cm (roughly 2.5 to 3.1 in.) in diameter, rounded in outline, and double to very double, the petal count is in the range of about 17 to 25 petals per flower. The flowers are rounded, imbricated, have a cupped shape with flat top, and as the flowers mature they become more flatter but retain their form well. They are typically gathered in small Floribunda-like clusters, of 3 to 9 blooms together, but most often 5, on strong and stiff flowering stems. The overall effect represents richly furnished inflorescence, broad enough to read at distance and detailed enough to satisfy close viewing.

The colour of significant novelty. Mallerin’s introduction described it as cochineal carmine suffused with geranium red, in some climates the colour starts as orange-red and transitions to rich red with geranium-red shading. Rose belongs to the warm red spectrum, often reading as orange-red at first impression, then deepening into a clearer geranium-carmine red as the mass of bloom develops. The color remains notably stable through the opening process, which helps explain why the rose looks visually stunning when trained over a vertical structure, showing off its warm saturated red with an orange energy and red density.

Petals:

The petals create rounded, imbricated, or cupped to shallowly cupped silhouettes. This gives the rose a substantial but not overstuffed appearance. The petals arrangement is tidy, overlapping and they have smooth and thick texture. Because the color remains comparatively constant through, the petals contribute to a stable large-scale color plane instead of a bloom that fades rapidly from one stage to another.

Fragrance:

The fragrance of ‘Danse des Sylphes’ appears to be light at most, often regarded from weak to nearly absent. This is not a rose chosen primarily for perfume. Its value lies far more in its color, clustering, and habit than in any complex olfactory character.

Reproductive parts:

Because the flowers are only moderately to very double, stamens may be at least partly visible in later stages of bloom. This rose is able to set hips if the flowers are not timely deadheaded, but the fruits display is not a feature to admire. If fruits (rose hips) are set they are large, have smooth surface, rounded to pitched shaped and ripen to orange red colour.

PLANT

Rose variety ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is generally placed among the modern Large-Flowered Climbers, although some also describe it as a Climbing Floribunda. That ambiguity is not a mistake so much as an accurate reflection of the rose itself. Its flowers are not of the solitary, exhibition high-centered Hybrid Tea kind one expects from some Large-Flowered climbers; instead, they are borne in conspicuous clusters, often in medium sized clusters, creating broad masses of color. Yet the plant has the scale, framework, and garden use of a true climber, forming a strong vertical plant suitable for walls, pillars, and other supports.

Mature and well-established plants of this rose are usually grow to a range of 250 - 400 cm (8 to 13 ft) in height, with a spread from about 100 to 250 cm (3 to 8 ft), depending on training, age, climate, and whether it is used as a broad pillar rose, a wall-trained fan, or a freer arching climber. The canes of this rose are strong and upright enough to suit formal supports, which is one reason why it has long been recommended for walls, columns, and other climbing frameworks. In generous temperate gardens it can become a substantial plant.

In cultivation it should be treated as a climber that flowers best when trained on permanent support. The best display is usually obtained by fanning the main canes along wires or tying them as close to horizontal as the support allows; this stimulates the production of flowering laterals rather than a sparse vertical flash at the top. It is recommended tying in new shoots, pruning flowered side shoots back by roughly two-thirds, and periodically removing some of the oldest wood from the base if the plant becomes congested. That advice suits ‘Danse des Sylphes’ well. It should not be cut back hard like a Shrub rose. In colder climates, only shortening excessively long autumn canes to prevent wind rock and breakage is prudent before winter; the real structural pruning is best done from late winter into early spring, when dead or damaged wood is clear.

For planting, full sun remains the safest recommendation, though older references and related Mallerin material suggest some tolerance of less-than-ideal light. At least 5 to 6 hours of sunshine daily, ideally more, will support stronger flowering and faster ripening of wood. Fertile, humus-rich, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil is preferred, and the rose should not be allowed to parch at the root zone, especially if planted close to a wall where rain shadow can reduce later-season bloom and encourage stress. In warm temperate gardens, regular deep watering is more useful than frequent shallow wetting. In colder climates, the plant benefits from a sheltered exposure that reduces desiccating wind, particularly because climbing roses depend heavily on preserving framework wood from season to season.

In a garden or in landscapes, ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is especially effective where a gardener wants rich, warm red sweeps of flowers. It suits old brick, pale render, stone, and painted timber particularly well. On a pillar it gives an ascending spiral of warm red clusters; on a wall it can be broadened into a dense tapestry; on an arch it provides a more formal and compact effect than many Ramblers. The clusters of flowers may also be cut for creating informal flower arrangements, though the cultivar’s true strength is outdoors, where the interplay of clustered red flowers and glossy dark leaves can be appreciated at scale.

Foliage:

The foliage is one of the rose’s strong supporting features and is consistently praised. It is dense, dark green, large, glossy, and healthy-looking, with a varnished or lustrous quality. This sheen is important horticulturally as well as aesthetically, because it prevents the plant from looking thin or tired between flower flushes. Against the warm red bloom color, the dark polished leaf surface intensifies the impression of saturation, giving the whole plant a distinctly finished, decorative presence.

Leaflets:

The number of the leaflets in the middle of the normal flowering stem is typically 5, with instances to 3 and 7, including the terminal leaflet. The leaflets are large, broadly ovate in shape with rounded base and pointed apex, of moderately leathery substance and dark green glossy finish. The surface gloss gives the leaflets polished, healthy, and decorative presence.

Wood:

The wood is vigorous, stout, and upright in youth, giving rise to a plant that is easier to discipline on supports.The canes of this rose are robust and strongly erect, with age, the framework becomes bushy enough to cover a substantial surface, yet the habit remains more upright. It means the rose can be shaped deliberately into a pillar, wall fan, or restrained arch. The young wood has smooth surface and dark green colour with a strong purple red shades, and later matures to brown green colour.

Prickles:

There is a normal quantity of the prickles present on the main canes and on the lateral from the main canes of this rose. The prickles are medium sized, have broad based shape and hooked downward; when young the prickles are purple red and mature to brown red colour.

Small prickles:

Smaller armature on the laterals, petioles, or rachises is not normally observed on the plant of this rose.

Disease resistance and stress tolerance:

The rose variety ‘Danse des Sylphes’ upon its introduction was rated healthy and resistant, however by the modern standards this rose should be treated as moderately healthy. It may be susceptible to black spot, rust, powdery mildew, dieback, and flower balling under unfavorable conditions, and it should not be placed in the category of the very newest disease-bred roses that can be treated as nearly carefree. In humid climates, sanitation, good airflow, root-level watering, and avoidance of drought stress remain advisable.

In terms of cold tolerance, the RHS rates it H6, corresponding to roughly -20 to -15°C (-4 to 5°F), and it is normally rated as suitable for growing in climates similar to around USDA Zone 6 through 9b. That makes it suitable in many temperate gardens, but in colder continental settings it should be treated as a climber whose performance depends on preserving framework wood. In USDA 6a or colder, winter protection is prudent: plant it in a sheltered aspect, keep the graft or crown insulated with mulch, and tie or secure long canes before winter winds. In truly severe climates, some loss of top growth should be expected, and flowering may be reduced if old wood is damaged. Heat tolerance appears moderate rather than exceptional; as with most climbers, prolonged drought or a dry wall base can reduce later bloom.

The name ‘Danse des Sylphes’ translates literally as “Dance of the Sylphs” and belongs to the long French tradition of giving roses musical, theatrical, or choreographic names. Exact contemporary breeder documentation explaining the inspiration has not surfaced clearly.

12-54 is an early seedling or trial code under which the seedling appeared in competition reporting before or alongside commercial release.

The best-documented award for rose variety ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is the Certificat de Mérite, Concours International de Genève, 1959, recorded both in the contemporary competition report and in the original French commercial presentation of the variety. Beyond that Geneva distinction, no later major trial awards such as ADR, AARS, or an RHS Award of Garden Merit were achieved.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘MALcair’ / 'Danse des Sylphes' originated by Charles Mallerin of Varces, Isère, France, and was commercially introduced in France by Universal Rose Sélection in 1959. This rose originated from crossing the seed parent Large-Flowered Climber ’Danse du Feu’ (‘Spectacular’) with the pollen parent - unnamed and unpatented seedling which in its own turn was the result of crossing the seed parent - Hybrid Tea rose ’Mme A. Meilland’ with the pollen parent Floribunda rose ’Sondermeldung’. Therefore the parentage formula can be summarized as following:

’Danse du Feu’ (‘Spectacular’) × ( ’Mme A. Meilland’ (‘Peace’) × ’Sondermeldung’)

Later databases often record the breeding date as 1954, which is compatible with a seedling raised earlier and introduced several years afterward; the best-supported commercial date remains 1959, the year given in the original French listing.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

To understand properly the importance of the rose variety ‘MALcair’ / 'Danse des Sylphes', it helps to place it in the postwar development of modern climbers. Mid-century breeders were seeking climbers that could do more than one spectacular June performance. They wanted stronger color retention, healthier foliage, more reliable remontancy, and more manageable architectural habits than the older, once-flowering ramblers. At the same time, floribunda breeding had shown how effective clustered bloom could be in the garden. 'Danse des Sylphes' sits at exactly that intersection: a climber with clustered flower display, warm modern color, and a framework suitable for repeated garden use rather than only romantic abandon.

Mallerin himself was an important figure in twentieth-century French rose breeding. Originally trained as an engineer, he turned seriously to hybridizing and became influential well beyond his own introductions, helping shape the work of other French breeders. ‘Danse des Sylphes’ also belongs to a family line within his breeding that includes ‘Danse du Feu’, to which it has often been compared as a refinement or improvement. Later Mallerin considered ‘Danse des Sylphes’ a better rose than its close relative, chiefly because the color shifts less toward orange and gives a clearer, more durable red effect in the garden. Whatever one’s preference, the historical record supports the view that ‘Danse des Sylphes’ was conceived as an advance in the decorative red climbing rose class.

Its breeding influence confirms that judgment. The cultivar appears in the ancestry of later Meilland roses, including the celebrated ‘Pierre de Ronsard’, and in other descendants where warm red-orange pigmentation, floriferous habit, and climbing framework remain evident. For collectors, that gives the rose a second life beyond its own garden display: it is one of those mid-century climbers whose genetic importance helps explain later roses that are far better known than the parent itself.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

‘MALcair’ / 'Danse des Sylphes' is a historically important French Large-Flowered climbing rose distinguished by strong upright growth, dark glossy foliage, and lavish clustered bloom in a warm red range that bridges orange-red brilliance and geranium-carmine depth. It is best grown as a trained climber on a wall, pillar, or arch, where its flowers can build the layered color effect for which it was originally praised. The cultivar’s flowering appears strongest in the first flush, with later bloom varying from fair to good according to climate and cultivation, but even where rebloom is not continuous it remains a rose of real decorative authority and the following unique combination of characteristics:

  a robust, upright climbing habit suited to walls, arches, and pillars;

  large clusters of medium, rounded, double flowers;

  a warm, stable red coloration described as cochineal carmine suffused with geranium red;

  dense, glossy, dark green foliage of notably decorative quality;

  a historically important breeding role in later modern climbers.

Rose variety ‘Danse des Sylphes’ can be propagated like other climbing roses by chip budding in summer and by hardwood cuttings in autumn; softwood cuttings under protection in the greenhouse are also possible, and these methods preserve the cultivar true to type.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

Compared with its seed parent ’Danse du Feu’ (‘Spectacular’), ‘Danse des Sylphes’ appears to refine the Mallerin red climber type rather than overturn it. Both are vigorous climbers of similar scale, both carry warm red flowers against glossy dark foliage, and both are valued for decorative wall use. Yet ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is generally producing a more powerful and more constant cochineal-carmine to geranium-red coloration, whereas ’Danse du Feu’ (‘Spectacular’) is more often is scarlet-red or orange-red and may open flatter. ‘Danse des Sylphes’ also presents a more emphatically clustered, corymbed effect, which helps explain why later writers sometimes place it near the Climbing Floribunda tradition.

Comparison with the pollen parent is impossible to make because the pollen parent was never commercially released or disclosed. But taking its breeding line from ‘Mme A. Meilland’ (‘Peace’) and ‘Sondermeldung’ (‘Independence’) we can compare it with its “grandparents”. ‘Mme A. Meilland’ (‘Peace’) is a large-flowered rose, while ‘Sondermeldung’ (‘Independence’) was famous for its brilliant geranium-red to orange-red color. In ‘Danse des Sylphes’ apparently the clustered climbing display of ‘Danse du Feu’ was enriched by that pollen-line intensity, yielding a rose whose coloring is warmer, steadier, and more saturated than many red climbers of its period.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

Among roses still commonly in commerce, the nearest practical comparison is probably ‘Dublin Bay’. Both are repeat-flowering red climbers with glossy dark foliage and a useful size for domestic supports rather than vast landscapes. ‘Dublin Bay’, however, is usually more compact and more clearly crimson, with larger flowers to around 10 cm (3.9 in.) and a more obviously fragrant, rounded double bloom. ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is taller and more old-style in effect, warmer in tone, and more distinctly floribunda-like in its clustering, with medium double blooms gathered into fuller cluster displays rather than the more individually legible flowers of ‘Dublin Bay’. As a garden plant, ‘Dublin Bay’ is often the better choice where space is limited and flower size matters; ‘Danse des Sylphes’ is the richer choice where one wants a more cascading, clustered mass of warm red over height and structure.

USDA 6

USDA Zone 6 - hardiness guide