Since it introduction in 1843 by Frenchman Béluze the consensus was that she was a cross between Desprez (a Tea) and probably another Tea. Often Devoniensis is mentioned as a candidate and it is possible but recent genetic research on Malmaison revealed some very interesting stuff. It revealed that the rose is very closely related to Safrano, my little cheeky brat rose 😊. Does this mean that Safrano is one of the parents? Well, it could be yes but Malmaison is definitely very close related to this rose. That's only logical as both Desprez and Devoniensis share a parent with Safrano: Park's Yellow tea scented China.
Souvenir de la Malmaison has almost 100% Tea blood and that's why she's on this blog.
Souvenir de la Malmaison wasn't a gift from Empress Josephine to the Czar of Russia, that's a popular myth. But it is true she's the real Queen of beauty and fragrance. For two decades I was afraid of planting her because everywhere they say she's extremely susceptible to wet weather and balling (balling is when the outer petals of the buds turn brown from rain. In the sun they dry and get hard and prevent the buds from opening. The unopened bloom rots on the bush). But in practice this proved to be, in my specific case, hugely exaggerated. In 2022 I took the plunge and bought her. A little bare root Malmaison arrived in February 2022. She was petite and I didn't had much hope but it turned out very different.
In March she began to grow with four new shoots directly from the graft and by May I already had a nice little rounded shrub. The first buds appeared and they were rather small but the flowers took my breath away. Yes they weren't yet the big saucers you see in pictures but they had that perfect, quartered, flat shape and a strong clove mixed with Tea fragrance. White to cream with a very light pink blush towards the center. Graham Thomas once said: If she has more than light pink shading it's probably NOT Malmaison.
The rest of summer she continued to bloom so she almost Perpetual blooming and by the end of August her first "big" flowers appeared. This time her fragrance was much more fruity: Apple with almost ripe banana. I was in love with this rose. I decided to order the climbing version too and her semi double sport Souvenir de St Anne's. At Loubert nursery I found Capitaine Dyell de Graville, a deeper pink sport of Malmaison and yes it went into the basket.
Spring 2024 and early summer were very wet in Western Europe but Malmaison didn't ball that much. The climbing sport quickly reached 3 meters or 9 feet so it was time to train her horizontally on a fence in full sun. Growth enough but not a single flower... until... now, September 15, a bud appeared! I'm waiting patiently for it to open. The climbing sport gets up to five meters or 18 feet, she doesn't rebloom as much as the bush form and the flowers are sometimes a bit less perfect. But... Who cares? 😁
Capitaine Dyell de Graville took my breath away. The bush is less vigorous than Malmaison itself, so less tall, but the flowers are to die for. Deep pink Malmaison flowers.. It's a definite keeper!
In June I asked Lens Roses in Flanders to graft me a Malmaison as a standard rose and that one is coming in November. I'm a happy man!
Malmaison is Zone 6b to 10b, not so rain tolerant but certainly not as bad as the testimonies suggest. Heat tolerant and she takes a fair amount of drought. She's susceptible to Blackspot. Idem for the climbing sport.
Don't hesitate, buy her!
One more important tip: DON'T PRUNE, SHE REALLY REALLY HATES IT!
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