Genus Rosa Origin unknown Rank Cultivar | Species Rosa × alba Higher classification Rosa × alba | |
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Scientific name Rosa 'Great Maiden's Blush' Similar Rose, Rosa × alba, Rosa gallica, Rosa 'Souvenir de la Mal, Rosa 'Buff Beauty' | ||
'Great Maiden's Blush' is an old rose cultivar known since the 14th century. Like other Rosa × alba cultivars, it is very winter hardy, a tall shrub with arching branches, and the flowers are sweetly scented.
It blooms in spring only. The young buds tend to have a creamy yellow color on the outside. The flower petals are creamy-white or white in the bud, then pale pink, and finally fade again to white. It is not overly pricky, has relatively few thorns. It tolerates shade and it can be grown on or beside north-facing walls (in the northern hemisphere). It has enough strength and vigour that it can be used as a climber.
This cultivar is known by many other names, including 'Cuisse de Nymphe', 'Incarnata', 'Maiden's Blush' and 'Loyalist'.
Awards
'Great Maiden's Blush' has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and the American Rose Society's Dowager Queen award at the Syracuse Rose Society show.
