This Gallica was planted as a rooted cane. Planted in November of 2004, last year (2005) it put out some growth, and this year it finally bloomed. It is still quite small (2 feet or so), so I do not yet know how big it will eventually become.

The person who sent it to me does not know which Gallica it could be.

So far, its growth has been upright -- more like Tuscany in growth habit than, say, Hippolyte or Belle de Crecy. But it's so young that it's hard to say whether or not it is showing its ultimate growth pattern yet.

Naturally, being a Gallica, it is a once bloomer. It has a sweet, but not overwhelmingly strong, Gallica fragrance. I am fragrance challenged, so this might have a stronger fragrance to those who have a more developed sense of smell. To my nose, it has a moderate, sweet, Gallica fragrance; it does not quite have the depth of fragrance of Hippolyte, but it is similar.

I'm hoping that the photos of the blooms will ring a bell with someone, or at least get us pointed in the right direction. I realize that it may take another year or so of growth and bloom to get enough info for a proper ID.

The color of the bloom in these photos looks true on my monitor -- a reddish purple, or purpley red. There are striations of a lavender-purple in the bloom, which are more pronounced as the bloom ages. Also, there are reflections of a lighter, white-like color on the outer sides of some of the petals.

There were fewer than a dozen blooms this year and I didn't get a chance to do a petal count.

Of course, I could be way off base and this might be a Gallica imposter of some sort, but it sure looks and behaves like a G, especially with those Gallica-like leaves. :-)

Thank you for any and all suggestions!!

-- Deb

Here's a pic of it:

Robert has a lot more petals, it seems, than this Gallica, and the growth habit is (so far) more formal than that of RlD; Robert likes to sprawl and get blooms along his canes, but this rose is more upright, with blooms mostly at the ends of the canes, at least for the first year. I may have been premature in asking for an ID, since it is so young. But you know how we get antsy about our roses. :-)

The Gallica's blooms, from across the field, actually look like a crimson color, until you get close up and it's a purplish crimson with striations of mauvey lavender. As the bloom ages, it goes more to purple and the striations are more obvious. Looks like it might need another year, as the infant blooms might be different from its eventual mature blooms.

Thanks again!

Deb

Here is a link to a page with tons of excellent photos
of gallicas, damasks, etc.

go to the column on the far right, to the blue square-
there you can get to the 'rose class'.

alida

Altorama, thank you for the link. I'll start looking there. I've seen that website before, yet couldn't find it amongst my links. Thank you!

Hi Olga. I will try again next year when the plant is more mature and there are more blooms and a better idea of its growth characteristics.

Thanks, folks, for all your help!