Rose foliage matters. Leaves have many qualities. They can be matte or glossy. They can be large or small and fern-like. They can be pale green, mid green, blue green, grey, or dark green. They can be disease resistant or attract rust or blackspot or powdery mildew like veritable magnets. (Of course, they are much less likely to suffer from fungal diseases if they are well-cared-for: planted, fed and watered.)
Most importantly, leaves are on the rose all season long and only fall off after frost, when the rose enters dormancy. They will be looked at often! The Wichurana ramblers (from Japan) have beautiful glossy leaves - and Miniature/Patio roses frequently take their inheritance from these. The leaves on these roses are healthy. Similarly, Rosa rugosas (also from Japan) have very healthy, wrinkled, leaves which shrug off fungal spores. A very lovely rose from this class is the white rose, 'Blanc de Double Coubert.' The old-fashioned (once-flowering, highly scented) Alba roses have grey-green leaves and an unparalleled example is, 'Cuisse de Nymphe' or Maiden's Blush. This is a very old rose whose blooms are palest pink. And blue/purple leaves can be seen on the species rose, Rosa glauca. This rose has single blooms (five petals) and so is fertile and forms hips. This is a very hardy and unmistakeable rose. |
Some roses even have semi-evergreen leaves and I am thinking of the Sempervirens ramblers here.
There are roses with very delicate-looking ferny leaves. Amongst these is the Winged Thorn rose (pure white flowers with four petals) and Rosa moyesii 'Geranium' (single, blood-red, blooms) which has huge, flagon-shaped, waxy-looking hips. These are astonishing - and very large - plants made for a big garden. The Hybrid Teas and Floribundas have very characteristic large and glossy foliage. And shrub roses tend to have matte leaves which are mid-green. The foliage of the rose gives a clue as to its identity! |