140 Year Old Rose Variety Picked as Best Smelling Rose in the Arboretum Rose Garden

Diana Liu-McDonough posing with a Compte de Chambord rose bloom, the winner of our 'Best Smelling Rose at the Arboretum contest.

This week the participants in my plant information class held a contest to determine the finest smelling rose in the Arboretum Rose Garden. Although the rain has decimated many of the roses (black spot is a big problem when we have unseasonable rains). After sniffing at least over a dozen roses a concensus was reached: Compte de Chambord. Compte de Chambord is a fairly old rose -it was bred by a Gentleman named Moreau-Robert in France around 1862, a cross between an older hybrid between the Chinese tea rose and Rosa gallica (Called a 'Portland Rose' ) and a newer rose (1842) called 'Baronne Prevost'. Being the scion of two 'ever-bearing' (remember an 'everbearing' rose in France was one that bloomed spring through fall) roses it two had a long blooming period as well as being a lower and fuller bush than its two parents.