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Pacific Southwest District
of the American Rose Society


Southern California, Southern Nevada,
Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas

April 2002, Rose of the Month:
Autumn Damask

by Dona Martin
Autumn Damask
Photo by Dona Martin

The 'Autumn Damask' rose is also known by the names 'Rosa damascena semperflorens', 'Four Seasons Rose', 'Rose des Quatre Saisons,' and 'Rose of Paestum.' It is one of the earliest known roses. Of unknown parentage, the blooms are clear, medium pink. It has moderate fragrance, long vigorous 5-8 ft canes and double to semi-double blooms of 3-4". With its major flush of bloom in the spring, it will repeat again in the fall, particularly in warmer areas. The canes are thorny and lax, which will also lend them to pegging. The buds, with long decorative sepals, show red and are produced in clusters. There is an abundant show of attractive pink blooms from April through May in region 9. The multi-shaded petals have a look of tissue paper to them and are very delicate. Foliage is a grey-green and oval, with prickles on the underside.

The crusading knights brought the first Damask Rose to France from Persia between 1254 and 1276. Not only did this rose possess an outstanding fragrance and plentiful and lovely blooms, but also the ability to bloom twice in one season, a quality unseen in the Gallica, Alba and Centifolia roses then grown in Europe. They saw in the Damask's recurring bloom a symbol for eternal life, the central tenet of the Christian faith. Now the rose was more meaningful than ever. All of its graces -- its vigor, beauty, healing merits, glorious perfume and fruitfulness -- were enhanced by the appearance of a second cycle of bloom in autumn. Since the rose was already idealized in European life and culture the idea of a repeat-blooming rose made quite an impact.

The Rose of Damascus had already been grown and loved for centuries. It was known and celebrated by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and throughout the Islamic world. Classical Greek authors mentioned its characteristics and culture. The Damask rose and the attar (essential oil) distilled from it was an important trade item for the ancient Romans. The scent of the Damask Rose and its second bloom season had made it one of the most important plants in recorded history and also ensured its future importance to hybridizers -- as a parent to repeat blooming offspring such as Portlands and Bourbons. It is a long-lived, vigorous shrub that is still widely grown by lovers of old roses.