Belle of Portugal = Belle Portugaise * 1900

The Belle of Portugal gives us one shot of glory but what a heady shot it is. For 6 weeks to nearly 2 months starting in the middle of March there is a fragrance in the air. And more bloom than can be believed in both size, fragrance, and number of blossoms. This is the most enthusiastic rose that I have grown. It promptly leapt out with new canes to 15 feet in its first season. One of its parents is Rosa gigantea and it is worthy of its heritage. It needs a strong support. I learned this the hard way, with no small amount of bloodletting, when 2 stories worth of rose collapsed on me while I was pruning it. I had to carve my way out from underneath. The tips of the branches must be allowed to stay on the shrub for there to be any flowers as they grow at the tips of the previous years growth. Strategically this is a conundrum. I just beat it back as it invariably invades my space. There is still lots of rose above head height.

The Belle of Portugal Rose was hybridized by Cayeux in 1900 in a cross between Rosa gigantea and 'Reine Marie Henriette'

High resolution photos of the Belle of Portugal Rose are part of our garden image collection.