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 Centifolia roses were introduced to Europe in the early seventeenth century (although they are suspected as being grown much earlier), with the bulk of the development done by the Dutch. While determining their lineage leads to  quite a bit of supposition (but who among us is different?!?!),
their
parentage includes Gallicas, Dog Rose (R. canina), Rosa moschata, and Rosa
phoenicea.
Centifolias are known as 'Cabbage Roses' due to the size and shape of their blooms and
their many petals.Mature Centifolias have a graceful, arching habit resulting from rather lax canes, and are candidates for pegging. Light pruning to keep the plant in shape is recommended. The majority of Centifolias are pink, with some purple, crimson, and a couple whites available. Flowers have many petals and seem to loll about on the bush in a relaxed manner, only adding to the grace. Fragrance is excellent. Centifolias are prolific sport producers, the most famous being the Moss class. While both Centifolias and Mosses are predominately pink, Moss roses have glandular growth on the sepals and down the flower stem which provides, pardon the description, a 'mossy' effect. In fact, glandular growth is present on all roses, but it is much more prominent on the Moss roses. So, a quick definition of a Moss rose might be a Centifolia rose which has more pronounced glandular growth on the sepals and stem. |
