| Although you find names of roses prefixed with | | | | the season progresses. It has a very intoxicating |
| 'Black' everywhere, there is no truly black rose. | | | | old rose fragrance. Zones 5 to 10 are ideal for the |
| The stunning black roses in my garden are, at the | | | | Guinee with some amount of protection in Zone 5. |
| most, deepest and darkest purples or reds. But, I | | | | Mr. Lincoln, a fairly modern hybrid tea (Chrysler |
| must admit they do look quite black at different | | | | Imperial x Charles Mallerin), was created in 1964. |
| stages and serve to enhance the beauty of the | | | | It is not a very healthy rose as it is extremely |
| other colored flowers. Here are five famous black | | | | vulnerable to blackspot. But, it has very large and |
| roses: | | | | beautiful blooms with about 26 to 40 deep dark |
| Cardinal de Rechelieu,a much admired Gallica, has | | | | red petals. It wafts a heady damask scent and is |
| been around for over a century and a half. It | | | | ideally suited to Zones 5a to 10b. It needs pruning |
| flourishes in Zones 3 to 8 but takes two to three | | | | every spring with protection against frostbite. It is |
| years to grow to it's full size. The blooms are just | | | | a repeat bloomer and each bloom is about 4 ¾ |
| 2 ½ inches wide and starts out as dark crimson | | | | inches wide. |
| shaded buds. In mid bloom, it becomes a dull | | | | Oklahoma (Chrysler Imperial x Charles Mallerin), is |
| purple shade slowly turning into a very dark grape | | | | a much hardier sibling of Mr. Lincoln, as it has high |
| purple. In full bloom, it takes on a very deep | | | | resistance to disease. It blooms repeatedly in |
| grayish purple. It has a very mild but perceptible | | | | flushes through the season and each flush is more |
| pepper fragrance. | | | | beautiful and abundant than the one before. It has |
| Guinee, a 1938 hybrid tea is a combination of Ami | | | | an intense apple and old rose fragrance. The |
| Quinard and Souvenir de Claudius. It is a tall and | | | | blooms are large with 45 to 50 petals. Each bloom |
| elegant climber that grows upright to a height of | | | | is about 5 inches in width and colored a very deep |
| up to 15 feet against a wall or sturdy support. | | | | red shade. Spring pruning is essential for this |
| The blooms are a very deep blackish red. | | | | beauty and grows to about 8 feet in Zones 7b to |
| Although it is a repeat bloomer, after the first | | | | 10b. |
| abundant flush of blooms, it slowly peters out as | | | | |