Oldest and hardiest of roses, Alba maxima is like an old friend

We were on our way to Canada for a day of bicycling when my friend Joe pointed it out.

Up against the wall of a mom and pop store stood a huge bush about six feet tall and arching into a bush about 10 feet across. The leaves were a blue-green and set against them were cascades of large, fully double white roses. The strong citrus scent of an old-fashioned rose reached us a hundred feet away.

Like the memory of a good bike ride, that white rose still blooms every year about late May or early June.

It is one of the oldest known roses, going back at least 500 years. It is the “Alba maxima” rose. This is one of the hardiest roses known and one of the longest lived.

It will live in USDA zones 3 though 9 without much fuss.

Often a lone Alba Maxima still blooming is all that marks the site of an old farmstead.

By December each rose blossom will form into a small fruit or rose hip. These beautiful red oval-shaped hips can be left on the bush for added color in the winter and food for birds, or can be harvested and made into rosehip jam and jellies or Vitamin C-rich rose hip tea.

You can grow Alba Maxima as a tall single shrub or train it along a fence or up against a wall. It is striking when grown on a pillar. Some of these roses have been known to bloom for six to eight weeks.

For many of us, we think that in order to be worthwhile, a plant must bloom continuously or it is just taking up space. Luckily the Alba Maxima rose has a deep grey-green foliage with a striking blue blush to it so it makes a nice shrub in its own right even when not in bloom.

Another bonus of Alba Maxima rose is that it will bloom in less sunlight than many other roses. Still, for best results, plant in full sun. You can find Alba Maxima roses at nurseries or online at rose specialists such as David Austin roses (davidaustinroses.com).

If you are planting bare root roses soak them in water for at least four hours before planting in order to rehydrate them. Plant rose bushes in a hole that is twice as wide and twice as deep as the roots. Mix compost or well aged manure into the soil, along with a cup of bonemeal before filling in the hole.

For good drainage, make a small mound in the bottom of the hole. Set the rose bush in the hole, spreading the roots over the mound. Tamp down the soil around the bush and water well.

Make a small dirt moat around the base of your newly planted rose bush. Fill this moat with water and let it drain. Apply a light mulch to keep the soil from drying out.

Because Alba Maxima roses bloom on second-year wood or older, you don’t need to prune them each year. Generally Alba Maxima look best when you leave them unpruned and let them develop into arching shrubs.

You can easily share this friendship rose with your biking buddies or anyone else.

Take a six-inch cutting, remove the lower leaves and stick the cutting into the ground about four inches deep. Cover with a clear glass canning jar or a two-liter plastic bottle with the bottom cut off. Keep your cutting well watered but not soggy and soon you will have a rooted Alba Maxima rose to give it to a friend.

My friend Joe pointed a lot out to me during our bike rides. But it was the once-blooming Alba Maxima rose that still reminds me that just as each bicycle trip becomes a memory, the once-blooming white roses of Alba Maxima will soon be just a memory. And memories, like friendships and Alba Maxima roses, can live just about forever.

Paul Barbano writes about gardening from his home in Rehoboth Beach. Contact him by writing to P.O. Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958.