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'Boule de Neige' rose Reviews & Comments
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Hi. Just became a member and I have a question. I grew some roses many years ago and want to start growing them again. I'm very interested in two bourbons and cannot make up my mind as to which one. First, Mme. Earnest Calvat or Boule de Neige. I'm in northeastern Ohio, zone 5b and I want very fragrant roses. I love both roses forms, but, I've read that BdN is not very fragrant, yet, it is disease resistant, where MEC is not. I've done as much reading as I can find on both roses. Can anyone growing BdN give me any information on it's scent and the strength of it? I would sure appreciate it as BdN is a more practical rose for me, but, if it's not very fragrant I will pass it up.
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Initial post
28 MAY 21 by
 Lesky
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Rose Petals Nursery is currently carrying this rose. I bought one from them in 2019 but it appears to be a mislabeled plant of Madame Plantier.
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Those wondrous Lacharme hybrids from an extinct Damask perpetual named 'Sappho' and a Bourbon (or Noisette, as some would have it) are, alas, almost all out of commerce now in North America.
I am fascinated to learn that you can grow BdN in zone 5b; would you mind telling us something about its' site, and how much winter protection it needs?
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#2 of 2 posted
30 MAY 21 by
Lesky
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I am updating my response. After making a comparison to my 'Boule de Neige' to a plant I have of Madame Plantier, which is 2 years old and just blooming this year, I realize the two appear to be one and the same--I believe my BdN was mislabeled and, as I had no previous experience with it or MP, didn't question it until now. I very much like the rose, but I apologize for misleading anyone that it was an noteworthy and successful Boule de Neige!
I did previously mention that Hummingbird Roses in northern Michigan has BdN on her list-it so happened that I was able to physically visit her and verified that her parent plant of BdN is definitely more like the descriptions and character that I had read, with shiny, larger, darker green coloring in the foliage and a less lanky habit than what I have growing. In doublechecking, I saw a photo here from May of 2013 of a plant that was labeled BdN but questioned by knowledgeable rosarians, one of whom suggested it was an Alba. Sure enough, my plant looks like that one, and since I could make a direct comparison to Mme. Plantier, I feel confident they are the same.
All to say that, what I was crowing about is not BdN, but Mme. Plantier or another Alba. (I'm removing my photo of it from this rose commentary and may post it under MP.) I'm also going to keep trying to get a Boule de Neige!
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Can someone comment on the repeat flowering of this Bourbon? Thanks.
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Initial post
7 JAN 19 by
Spotto
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Can anyone explain why HMF describes this rose as a Noisette? I raise the question because it is nothing like a Noisette and the stated breeding is consistent with its appearance and fragrance i.e it is a white damask type of Bourbon rose.
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Lacharme was apparently someone who believed "if you're onto a good thing, stick to it". He released at least five roses with the same parentage. They are often called Bourbon-Noisettes, presumably on a historical basis, since Boule de Neige was called a hybrid Noisette in 1880.
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#2 of 3 posted
7 JAN 19 by
Spotto
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Thanks for the explanation, Margaret. The rose stubbornly refuses to embrace its attributed classification.
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Mme Alfred de Rougement: "the French have consistently classed it as hybrid Noisette" - since 1863!
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