Centifolias, Roses of One Hundred Petals
Roses of One Hundred Petals, also known as the Provence Roses, date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
They are the full faced, blowsy roses so often found in the works of the Old Masters, where they appear absolutely gorgeous but, these portrayals are purely aesthetic and lead us to forget that some of them can be cumbersome in growth and difficult to situate in the garden. If long, thorny and arching branches can be coped with, the larger varieties often do bear beautiful shaggy, highly perfumed blooms but they will require some support. The smaller Centifolias however are often quite neat with flowers more in proportion to their size.
