Rose Madame Alfred Carriere

Despite the fact that this variety was introduced over a 100 years ago, it remains popular among gardeners today. The rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ is classified as a Noisette climbing rose. The variety is still in demand because it can easily grow on the north side of the house, which is not possible for many modern rose varieties. This rose continuously blooms with new clusters of flowers throughout the summer and autumn. Large, double flowers (9-11 cm in diameter) in white with a pink tint have a pleasant, fragrant floral scent. The leaves are large, pale green. The variety is vigorous, with numerous flexible upright shoots and almost no thorns. When planting, it should be noted that this rose can grow rapidly and reach over 5 meters in height. It is one of the most frost-resistant Noisette Tea roses and also resistant to diseases.

Description

The flowers are large 10 cm (4"), very double (up to 30 petals), cup-shaped, slightly globular, loosely filled with petals and have an informal appearance. The colour is almost white or creamy-white with a light pink tint, sometimes with yellow or salmon-yellow flashes near the base, and have a strong sweet fruity fragrance. The tints of pink and apricot on white fades over time and at the end of the blooming the colour appears as clear white. The first flush of flowering starts in early summer and repeats until the end of the season. It produces a small number of large pitcher shaped yellow-orange hips, some with attached sepals.

‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ forms large plants, with height of about 245 - 760 cm (8 -25 feet) and with a width of about 305 cm (10 feet), the growth character is strong, bushy, and upright, with abundant, large, dark green foliage. Mature shoots have few, large, broad, brown prickles. Young shoots are almost prickless, trailing, with abundant foliage, the leaves consist of 5 to 7 shiny green leaflets.

The leaflets are pinnate, glossy, have dark green colour, with oval-pointed, slightly wavy, smooth edges, the type of serration is fine and small. The young leaves are light green and positioned on red stems, and leaflets have red colour on the edges.

This rose variety is ideal for the northern wall. It has robust growth and forms beautiful bushes – its trailing stems can spread over 3 - 4 m long which allows this rose to cover trellises and columns. The rose is very healthy, has an attractive glossy foliage, mildly resistant to powdery mildew and rust, frost-resistant. Tolerates both short and long pruning well and blooms until the first autumn frosts.

This rose variety is suitable for large gardens, parks, and can be used for decorating walls, arches, verandas, and obelisks. A robust climbing rose that grows tall, it tends to be slightly bare at the bottom. It grows well on any type of soil and will bloom even in the shade. Powdery mildew may be an issue but it does not affect the perfection and beauty of this rose. It can also be used as a “climber” on trees or walls, although this is somewhat rigid, but training the stems will create an elegant effect.

Rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ has good frost resistance USDA zone 6a to 10b. Very vigorous. Drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant.

It is somewhat susceptible to mildew. However it is still a sufficiently healthy and hardy variety as for the old climbing type Noisette rose.

‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ is an old Noisette rose with a sweet fragrance, which remains one of the most popular white climbing roses grown today. A huge, very dense, and shade-tolerant rose with continuous blooming throughout the season. The rose has numerous very flexible, spreading stems, with large light green leaves, and very delicate cream-colored large (8-11 cm) flowers whose petals resemble silk, and colors vary depending on the weather and humidity, from white-cream with pink blush to delicate creamy-pink apricot inside, with light yellow tints at the base of the petals. The flower is frilled at the edges, making it very pleasing to the eye.

The leaves are fresh, pale green, healthy and lush, making this rose an excellent choice for any garden. The height reaches 600 cm, and can reach the width of about 400 cm. Powerful and vigorous, it reaches considerable size within 2 years, up to 2.5 - 3 m. Very easy to grow and resilient to unfavourable weather conditions. The stems are flexible, allowing them to easily wind around posts, spread out on a pergola, fence, or wall. It can be planted anywhere, from full sun to shade, and if planted in good soil, it can reach impressive heights.

It was introduced in France by Joseph Schwartz. Despite being described as insignificant when it was first released on the market in 1879, in 1908 the National Rose Society declared this rose the best white climbing rose. However only in 1993 it received the recognition by getting the Garden Merit Award from the RHS. Schwartz died at the age of 39 and, unfortunately, could not witness his most outstanding rose achieving its fame.

The name was dedicated to Madame Alfred Carrière, who was the wife of a great rose enthusiast from the Dauphiné province.

In 1908, the National Rose Society recognized this rose as the best white climbing rose, although it had to wait until 1993 to receive the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.

RHS/RNRS Award of Garden Merit 1993 (RHS/RNRS Award of Garden Merit 1993).

Winner of the American Rose Society (AARS) Rose Contest, 1998–2000.

Hall of Fame of the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS), 2003 (Inducted into the Old Rose Hall of Fame in 2003).

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USDA 6 and warmer