Rose Ispahan
Aroma:
Health:
Other names: Pompon des Princes, Rose d'Ispahan
Characteristics
Main color: Pink
Color: Bright cool pink to light pink
Flowering: Once flowering
Flower size: Medium to large
Flower: Full, button eye, cupped-to-flat, quartered, rosette
Foliage: Dark green, medium, semi-glossy, leathery
Aroma: Strong, Old roses and rose oil
Class: Damask rose
Sub-class: Damask rose, Shrub rose
Type: Medium shrub
Growth type: Arching, Bushy, Dense, Medium, Tall, Upright
Height: 120 - 250 cm / 3' 11" - 8' 2"
Width: 60 - 150 cm / 1' 12" - 4' 11"
Description
’Ispahan’ is a wonderful Damask rose. The earliest records of this rose date back to 1827 and 1832, although it may be even older. It is also known as ‘Pompon des Princes’, with alternative spellings ‘Isfahan’ or ‘Arspahan’. Although regarded as a French rose, it grows wild in its native Persia and was likely introduced from the Middle East into Europe during the Crusades of the 13th century. This specimen among Damask roses was observed in nature on the hills of Iran, especially between Shiraz and the old caravan trade center of Ispahan. Residents of Shiraz still cultivate it in their enclosed gardens, where plants and water features help mitigate the effects of the scorching, dry soil. At full bloom, the shrub resembles a fountain of royal pink. It is the longest and best-flowering Damask rose, one of the first among the old garden roses to bloom, with a prolonged flowering period and a truly wonderful, strong, sweet, and especially delicate fragrance reminiscent of old roses.
Description.
The buds are round, but long, with slightly feathery sepals that give them a pointed appearance. The flowers are medium-sized, about 6–8 cm (2.5") in diameter, very double (with 17–25 petals), featuring loosely filled, cupped shaped, sometimes quartered and featuring a button-eye in the center. The blooms appear in small clusters in early summer.
Their color, which varies with the weather, can range from bright, cool pink to light pink, with the petal edges being lighter. They emit a strong, intoxication, classical Damask rose fragrance. This rose blooms once in the spring or in early summer.
The shrub is dense and prickly, vigorous. Has a height of about 120 - 245 cm (4 - 8 feet) and a width of about 60 - 150 cm (2 - 5 feet), winter hardy, robust, and disease-resistant, with an upright and fairly compact habit and slightly glossy, rough green foliage.
The arching canes are adorned with numerous fine, awl-like prickles and bristles. The small leaves are 5 - 7-pinnate with elongated, narrowed, leathery, and rough (on the underside) medium-green leaflets with silvery and grayish hues and a very slight sheen. In youth, they appear light green with a red-brown, marbled underside. The upright, bushy shrub features dark green, elliptical leaves that remain on the plant through winter. It is ideal as a standalone accent or in a mix border. You must plant this wonderful Damask rose if you appreciate historic old roses.
Pruning is carried out after the end of flowering. Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood.
Disease resistance:
’Ispahan’ is a very disease-resistant rose. Recommended for growing in climate zones similar to USDA zones from 3b to 9b.
The Montreal Botanical Garden named it one of the most disease-resistant roses in September 1998, an assessment at Le Jardin Botanique de Montreal evaluated its resistance to black spot, powdery mildew, and rust.
This outstanding variety exhibited an infection level of only 0% to 5%. It also successfully completed a 10-year trial at Longwood Garden.
Name origin
Ispahan or Isfahan is a city in the Persian province of Irak-Ajra—an ancient capital of Persia renowned for its magnificent historical buildings, and today a large city with 1.6 million citizens.
The very popular novel Haji Baba of Ispahan by James Justinian Morier was first published in 1824.
Awards
The plant is as robust as its reputation, for this it gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, it will undoubtedly thrive even in poor soil with partial shade, making it recommended for frosty regions.
Also known as ‘Pompon des Princes’, it was selected as early as 1827, and is one of the roses that passed the decade-long trial at Longwood Garden;
In 1993, it received an award from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society).
Parentage
The parentage of this rose remains unknown.
Climate zones
USDA 3 and warmer
Gardening design tips
Growing tips
Health
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Published Feb. 3, 2025, 6:57 p.m. by Галина Микитинець