Roses: Two ladies and a pet

Marie Pavic

I had an idea for this post for a while, as something I would like to do if I had a chance to redesign my garden from the beginning. Each time I visit the Rosarium in Winschoten, there they are, three little white roses, Katharina Zeimet, Marie Pavic and Little White Pet. All three of them are old polyantha roses, with small blooms and moderate fragrance. All three of them were in my rose wish list, at some point in time, just never made that final cut; and each year, when I see them bloom in Rosarium, I regret that decision.

In general, polyantha roses are small and a bit odd group of roses. They appeared back in the 18th century: at that time there was an ongoing effort to develop an attractive, repeat blooming rose, mostly by crossing newly imported species roses from Asia, with pretty much everything else. Literally, polyantha means "many-flowered"; also one of the first polyantha roses had r. multiflora "Polyantha" in their parentage. Apart of the name, the novelty at the time was their prolific, almost continuous blooming, combined with low maintenance and reasonable hardiness (especially compared with one of their parents, r. chinensis), which, in many cases, is still not surpassed today.

Marie Pavic

Marie Pavic (sometimes spelled Marie Pavié, possibly also Marie Pavić) is the oldest of the three, a rose introduced in France by Alphonse Alegatiere in 1888. The story of this gentleman is quite an interesting one, originally he was a tanner and began growing flowers only late in his life, after he could not continue with his original trade due to the sickness. In the last decades of his long life (he died at age 72), he created a few new varieties of carnations and roses, among which was this remarkable polyantha, Marie Pavic. Also, interestingly, seemingly it is named after an amateur rose gardener, Marie Pavic, a lady from Agram (Zagreb) in Croatia. There are little known details, but it is possible that this lady was someone he kept a correspondence with; quite amusing really, considering that it all was back in the Victorian era, when it took weeks or even months for the letters to travel between the countries.

A bed of Marie Pavic, past prime

As for the rose herself, she is a small bush rose, white or nearly white (fresh blooms have a pale pink tint). Moderately fragrant, blooms in rapid flushes through the season. Almost thornless (which is always nice, especially in a patio garden!), grows to about 60 cm, but if sparingly pruned, and in good soil, can reach twice that size, eventually. Generally stays healthy and does not require spraying, young canes have a purplish tint, which later fades. Can tolerate a bit of dappled shade, especially in the warmer climates, and is surprisingly hardy, by some accounts up to zone 5, where she can overwinter with minimal protection.

Katharina Zeimet

Katharina Zeimet is, in a way, a younger relative of Marie Pavic, bred by a famous German rose breeder, Peter Lambert, at the turn of the century (1901). P. Lambert lived in Trier, close to the Germany - Luxembourg border. His legacy to the rose world was quite an important one, many of his roses became ancestors of the modern varieties, including a rose named Trier, a parent of many early hybrid musk roses. Katharina Zeimet is one of the many, and although it is not the most famous one, when a rose stays in commerce for more than 100 years, it certainly has some attractive properties and deserves the recognition.

There is little information known about who was the woman of the same name, quite likely it was some lady from Trier society, perhaps a relative (another of his roses is named after Therese Zeimet, born Lambert, which would indicate there were some family ties with Zeimets), or a wife of some important gentleman.

A bed of Katharina Zeimet

A rose, Katharina Zeimet, is a cross between Marie Pavic and another polyantha, most likely Étoile de Mai. In other words, Marie Pavic is its mommy, so it is not very strange that they share some similar qualities. Katharine Zeimet is white or near white, with a small tint of yellow. She is fragrant and, by the looks of it, blooms very early, one of the first roses in the Rosarium in Winschoten; and then keeps repeating till the end of the gardening season. She grows to about 60 cm and seems to stay that way, quite attractive form as a bush. Healthy and reasonably hardy, at least nothing to worry about in NL climate; and quite rain resistant, the petals show no damage even after long periods of rainy weather, which generally is quite rare for the white roses. Sometimes she is also sold under the name White Baby Rambler, which is rather misleading, because she has nothing to do with rambling or climbing, she does not grow even a bit close to that size.

Little White Pet

The last of the bunch, Little White Pet, also a polyantha, is a rose of a bit different origin. It is considered to be a sport: that's when a part of a rose plant for some reason mutates, for example a pink rose all of a sudden has a branch with white flowers, or small rose has one cane that grows very high, turning into a climber. It is a natural process, some of these sports are stable, some can revert to the original color or size. Either way, in case of Little White Pet, it was discovered in 1879 by a father of US horticulture, Peter Henderson, and thought to be is a miniature version of a massive rambler, Felicite Perpetue. Felicite Perpetuea, in her turn, is a rosa sempervirens hybrid, created by Antoine A. Jacques in France around 1827. There is some murkiness in this connection, because Felicite Perpetue can reach a height up to 6 meters and blooms once, when Little White Pet is a small, reblooming rose. It can as well be that White Little Pet was a seedling of Felicite Perpetue, and not a sport, or that they were were related in some other way, not excluding a simple mix up of the records when grafting.

A bed of Little White Pet

Either way, regardless of its origin, Little White Pet is a really nice little white rose, with small pompon like blooms. Flower buds, while closed, remain pinkish, which gives a pretty nice contrast to the open white blossoms. Fragrant, rebloom is decent, people say that in the winterless climates she can bloom as long as 10 months in the year. The whole rose shrub grows to about 60 cm high, although if it is very happy, it can get slightly bigger than that. Healthy, does not need spraying, can stand a bit of shade or drought, the later is quite handy when growing it in a pot, especially in the hot summer. Its quite vigorous for its size, forming a nice mound in one season, and reasonably hardy, at least here in NL.

Sooo... two ladies and one little pet... One day, perhaps, I will get to grow all three of them, in the pots, or maybe even in the ground, as a nice row of little white mounds. These three roses you have to grow to appreciate, they do not have the immediate wow-factor of the hybrid teas roses. You start to like these little gems later, after you look at your garden one day and think, that well.. actually... some of these modern hybrid teas look like they have been made of plastic, maybe I should've gone for something more natural. By many accounts, these three little polyanthas are very satisfying garden plants, blending in into the garden design, rather than screaming "LOOK AT ME"; and with the little care they require, they also are a joy to grow.