''Rosa'' 'Old Blush', also known as 'Parsons' Pink China', 'Old Blush China', 'Old China Monthly', is a China rose (known in Chinese as ''yue yue fen'' "monthly pink") and has been cultivated in China for about a thousand years. It derives from ''

Rosa chinensis ''Rosa chinensis'' (), known commonly as the China rose, Chinese rose, or Bengal rose, is a member of the genus '' Rosa'' native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of ''Rosa chinensis'' was in 1768 ...

'', and is generally accepted as the first East Asian rose

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

to reach Europe. It is recorded in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1752 and in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before 1759, but was probably cultivated in China for several centuries. It is believed to be the rose which inspired the song '' The Last Rose of Summer'' by the Irish composer and poet

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

. It is also known as Parsons' Pink China, named after Mr Parson who introduced it commercially to the UK in 1793.

Description

'Old Blush' has light silvery pink semi-double flowers of medium size that darken as they age. They bloom in fives and have a light to strong tea fragrance, a cupped to flat bloom form, and an average diameter of . The red buds appear in clusters almost continuously from early June to the first

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

- in warmer regions even throughout the year, and can develop to small, red

rose hip The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollina ...

s. The shrub has an arching form, few prickles and mid-green leaves that have a crimson colour when young. It grows tall and about wide, tolerates half shade, poor soils, and is winter hardy down to -18 °C (

USDA zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

6 to 7). The cultivar can be trained as a small climber, reaching up to height which has larger flowers.

Awards

The cultivar was one of the four cultivars inducted into the Old Rose Hall of Fame by the World Federation of Rose Societies at its creation in 1988.

Offspring

'Old Blush', together with 'Slater's Crimson China' and the tea roses 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China' and 'Parks' Yellow Tea-scented China', introduced to European gardens roses which would bloom repeatedly from spring to fall, whereas the Old European roses tend to bloom only once, on the previous year's wood. The chinas and teas became the foundation of numerous new classes of roses, including the

bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

noisettes Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, currently composed of singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa and guitarist Dan Smith. The band first achieved commercial success and nationwide recognition with the second single of their seco ...

, hybrid perpetuals, and thence the modern garden roses. 'Old Blush' itself was parent to two of these classes: a natural cross of 'Old Blush' with 'Autumn Damask' on the Ile de Bourbon gave rise to 'Rose Edouard', the first bourbon rose; and John Champneys' hybrid of 'Old Blush' with the musk rose was 'Champneys' Pink Cluster', the first noisette and parent of the better known 'Blush Noisette'. Two well-known

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

of 'Old Blush' are 'Climbing Old Blush' (known since about 1750), one of the best climbers with slightly larger flowers than its parent, and 'Viridiflora', a green cultivar, that was introduced by Bambridge & Harrison in 1845.

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed Old