Rose Bourbon

The island of Bourbon is now called "Réunion". It lies off the east coast of Africa, not very far from Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Until the opening of the Suez Canal, it was on the trade route from China to Europe and viceversa. Its inhabitants were mainly French colo-nists, who, to indicate the borders of their farms planted along the country lanes on one side hedges of Damask Roses, and, on the other, hedges of "Parson's Pink China" imported directly from Canton. The two roses hybridized naturally, giving birth to a repeating rose halfway between Damasks and China Roses, which local people called "Rose Edward" The botanist Bréon sent the seeds of this plant to Jacques, the head gardener of Louis-Philippe d'Orleans (who was not yet king), and from the seeds grew some plants which were called "Rosier de l'île de Bourbon", sold in France from 1823 and in England from 1825. They became fashionable, as most of them were repea-ting, and 428 varieties of them were created. About 50 different Bourbon Roses are still in cultivation. Bourbon Roses have the shape and the bearing of Old Roses.