How to Plant, Grow, and Care for ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ Roses

Rosa ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ is a decadent heirloom rose loaded with silvery pink blooms and an exceptional classic rose fragrance. The luscious flowers carry notes of raspberry in their cupped and nodding forms.

This stunning rose is of Bourbon lineage, a classification of old garden roses bred for repeat flowering, vigorous growth, and high fragrance. Long, arching canes and a bushy habit make it ideal as a graceful specimen shrub or short climbing rose.

Antique roses tell tales of travel, culture, and garden history. Exploring their origin is like tracing a family tree, with new names and faces among the familiar and noteworthy. Let’s indulge in rosa ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ and the beauty she brings to the garden.

What are Madame Ernest Calvat Roses?

‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ is a stunning rose with fully-petaled pink blooms and an exceptional old rose fragrance. She belongs to the Bourbon rose classification of old garden roses known for their vigorous growth, hardiness, disease resistance, and repeat flowering.

Bourbon roses represent a group of old garden rose hybrids from around 1817. A natural cross between wild roses occurred on the Ile de Bourbon (now Réunion) in the Indian Ocean near Mauritius and off Madagascar. The new Bourbon roses arrived in France two years later, where they went on to produce more hybrids like ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ and modern roses.

This variety was discovered in France by esteemed rose breeder Marie-Louise Schwartz in 1888. The new cultivar grew as a sport (a genetic mutation) of the Bourbon Rosa ‘Madame Isaac Pereire.’ The difference between the two roses is the bloom color and form – ‘Mme. Isaac Pereire’ is deep pink-violet with a tall, arching habit, while ‘Mme. Ernest Calvat’ is lighter pink with a slightly bushier form.

Heritage

Rosa ‘Madame Isaac Pereire’, a parent of ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’, is one of the world’s most fragrant roses. Its old-fashioned raspberry-purple blooms match its intensely fruity, old-rose fragrance. Fully-petaled flowers are cupped and quartered for a lush display from spring through frost. ‘Mme. Isaac’ grows vigorously as an arching shrub or climbing rose and tolerates dappled shade. Armand Garcon bred this award-winning rose in 1881 in France.

As a sport of ‘Mme. Isaac Pereire,’ the beautiful ‘Mme. Ernest Calvat’ features the same hardy stock and plant qualities. Marie-Louise Schwartz of the esteemed Schwartz House of Horticulture in France’s rose-growing capital of Lyon found and propagated the new cultivar. 

Marie-Louise’s husband, Joseph Schwartz, was a renowned breeder who introduced many favored old garden roses, including ‘Madame Alfred Carrier,’ a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit recipient. After Joseph’s death, Marie-Louise successfully continued the operation. ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ was one of her several rose introductions.

We don’t know much about the rose’s namesake, other than that her husband, Ernest Calvat, was an amateur horticulturist who contributed to chrysanthemums. Ernest Calvat was a glove manufacturer from a prominent Grenoble family. His father (also Ernest Calvat) was mayor at one time. Ernest Calvat left a legacy of several chrysanthemum introductions.

Characteristics

This rose features fully double blooms, cupped and quartered, with fifty or more pink petals per flower. Slightly nodding blooms boast a strong raspberry scent.

Green canes grow long and arching, making ‘Mme. Ernest Calvat’ beautiful as a specimen shrub or climber on posts, arbors, trellises, and walls. Dark green foliage provides a leafy backdrop to the prolific blooms in repeat flushes.

When the flat flowers are fully open, bright yellow stamens attract pollinators. As blooms fade, rose hips emerge, bringing lasting winter interest and food for birds and other wildlife.

As a Bourbon rose, it flushes heavily in spring, with repeat flowering throughout the season until frost. Fall may see another bloom flush.

Native Area

Bourbon roses came about on Réunion Island when a lineage of ‘Autumn Damask’ hybridized with a China rose. The Damask and China rose parents of Bourbon roses account for their heavenly fragrance and continual blooming.

The parent Damask roses originated in Central Asia by crossing three wild species:  R. gallica, R. moschata (the musk rose), and R. fedtschenkoana. Hybridization likely occurred in cultivation since the habitats of these roses don’t overlap. The resulting ‘Autumn Damask’ (or ‘Quatre Saisons’ in France) is prized for its repeat flowering.

Their other Bourbon parent, Rosa chinensis, is a vigorous climber native to China. ‘Old Blush’ became an important repeat-flowering China rose as it flowers continuously and is the foundation for many repeat-blooming rose cultivars.

Planting

Roses with arching canes grow in various situations and versatile positions. For climbing, place them near a support structure like a pillar, wall, arbor, or trellis. It’s best to have supports in place when planting to avoid disturbing rose roots later on.

For good air circulation and to plan for maturity, leave ample space around the plant for air movement and ensure roots have enough room to spread. Leave at least one foot between roses and companion plantings and three to four feet between larger plants to avoid overcrowding.

Transplanting

Roses can be planted year-round, with the best conditions generally in late winter, early spring, and fall. Cool temperatures and seasonal moisture set the site for success. Avoid frozen or waterlogged conditions and periods of extreme heat or drought for the least stress on the new plant.

Roses ship potted or bare-root, usually from January through May, depending on your climate. Look for “own root” roses, which are plants propagated from a single variety with a developed root system or grafted stock for increased vigor.

Bare root roses arrive dormant without soil but quickly fill out after planting and with warming temperatures. They’ll establish over the spring for summer blooming. Before planting a bare-root rose, soak it in water for 24 hours.

For nursery potted and bare-root plants, dig a hole six to eight inches larger than the root ball to accommodate all the roots and loosen the surrounding soil. Amend the native soil with compost.

How to Grow

As roses go, Bourbons thrive in the right cultural conditions. They are good options for containers, climbing obelisks and pillars, and pegging (an old garden technique of pegging down stems).

‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ reaches around seven feet tall and is considered a short climber. Long canes train easily on upright structures. They don’t twine independently, so they’ll continue to need tying off as they grow.

Ensuring air circulation for plant vigor and health while preventing foliar diseases is essential to growing healthy roses. This rose thrives with the same foundational requirements as other roses and is relatively carefree.

Light

‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ roses grow best in full sun, where blooming and disease resistance improve, though she’s unique in tolerating partial shade. Dappled sunlight is fine for this tough Bourbon, though full shade decreases blooming and overall health. In hot summer climates, she’ll benefit from the morning sun with protection from direct afternoon rays.

Water

Water deeply (rather than frequently) throughout the growing season to a depth of one inch. When newly planted, ensure the soil stays moist until the roses establish (about one month). Once established, water needs are average at about one inch per week. Watering too frequently increases root diseases.

Roses do best with morning water, preferably drip or ground-level irrigation. Refrain from overhead watering to help prevent foliar diseases, especially avoiding evening or nighttime sprinklers. Either way, watering in the morning gives leaves time to dry in the day’s sun.

Soil

Like all roses, ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ roses prefer loose, rich, slightly acidic soils with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. They thrive in well-draining soils with even moisture.

This hybrid grows in a variety of soil conditions, best with organic material added to native soils. Add three to six inches of compost from completely broken-down plant material at planting. Compost will help with aeration, moisture retention, drainage, and nutrition. 

Temperature and Humidity

‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ is hardy down to USDA zone 6 and withstands hot and cold temperatures. For planting, roses prefer temperatures between 40 and 60°F (4-16°C).

Mulch in the summer to regulate temperatures by keeping roots cool. In cold winter areas, protect the rose crowns for best overwintering.

In areas with high humidity, give your rose plenty of air circulation. Ensure enough space around the plant and between its support structures, and avoid overcrowding with other plants.

Fertilizing

A balanced fertilizer in early spring and early summer ensures a vital growing season. Fish emulsion, seaweed extract, or an organic rose fertilizer do the trick throughout the growing season. Mycorrhizal fungi promote healthy roots and soil.

Maintenance

For the best growth, roses require a few seasonal garden tasks. Year-round, maintain a three-inch layer of mulch to retain moisture, regulate temperature, and suppress weeds. Mulch also adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes.

To encourage reblooming, remove spent flowers, although ‘Madame Ernest’ repeat flowers without deadheading. She’ll just produce flowers more quickly when not directing energy to seed. Stop pruning and deadheading flowers in late summer so showy hips will set for fall interest and wildlife forage.

Remove diseased leaves, plus those from the ground during the growing season and in winter, as part of regular maintenance. Removing fallen leaves and flowers promotes overall health and reduces the occurrence of pests and diseases.

Pruning in late winter before spring buds set helps plant vigor by increasing circulation and shaping plant form. As preventative maintenance, remove any crossed, diseased, or dead canes.

Training and Pegging

In the third year and beyond, ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ is ready for training as a climbing rose with long, pliable canes. A simple technique to increase flowering is to train the main canes horizontally to start. Climbing roses typically produce bloom clusters on the tip of stems as they scramble toward the sun. To promote flowers along the stem for an all-over bloom appearance, promote the growth of side shoots (laterals). 

Choose the sturdiest canes and tie them loosely to the support. Leave enough “give” for cane movement and thickening. Evenly space canes as close to horizontal as possible (between 45 and 90 degrees). This horizontal positioning allows each leaf node and bud eye to develop a stem to hold bloom clusters. Continue tying canes as they grow on your support structure.

“Pegging” is an old garden technique to increase flowering among climbing roses. As with horizontal training, pegging stems promotes blooms along the length of the cane from the ground up. 

Pegging is anchoring stems to the ground or tying them in loops around each other to create a full appearance. When canes are long enough, they’re bent back to the base of the plant, tied to a stake, or pegged into the ground. Pegging makes an interesting rose form full of blooms and saves space when working with a climbing rose in smaller garden spots.

Propagation

Propagate roses through softwood cuttings. Rose cuttings may take a few years to develop into full, multi-stemmed plants, but reproducing the parent plant through cuttings is relatively easy.

Cuttings

Propagate roses from cuttings in the spring or fall. Take multiple cuttings since not all may root. Here are guidelines for taking rose cuttings:

Common Problems

Choosing a disease-resistant plant like Rosa ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’ and providing the appropriate cultural conditions are the first steps to a healthy and beautiful rose.

Roses are susceptible to black spot, powdery mildew, rust, and rose rosette. They may incur aphids, beetles, scale, and spider mites, among other insects. 

Planting in full sun with plenty of air circulation and average moisture helps stave off infections. Pruning and removing diseased leaves helps prevent the spread of pests and diseases. For best health, remove fallen leaves and flowers from the base of the plant during the growing season and in winter.

Certain companion plantings for roses, like lavender, catmint, allium, geranium, and agastache, help repel pests like aphids and beetles. They’ll also attract beneficial insects, creating a well-rounded garden system.

Pests

The best way to control insects is to spot them early. You’ll likely see the insects themselves or notice their sticky waste on plants, nibble damage, yellowing leaves, or stunted growth.

Aphids are common garden insects usually treated with non-chemical means. Often, they cause no plant damage, but severe infestations cause plant stress. Signs of stress include curled leaves and stunted growth.

Scale are common garden pests that pierce plants to feed on sap. You may notice a sticky residue from sap-sucking pests. The little legless blobs usually appear on the undersides of leaves and stems as black, gray, or silvery dots. Leaves may yellow and drop, with branches dying back in heavy infestations. Remove affected leaves (and branches, if severe).

Spider mites live on the undersides of leaves, indicated by webbing and light yellowing of leaf surfaces. Beneficial predatory insects like ladybugs and predatory mites help control populations.

Japanese beetles feed on leaves. They cause leaves to skeletonize or turn yellow and drop.

In the active growing season, spray the plant with a strong stream of water to deter and knock insects off the stems. Do this in the morning so leaves dry in the early sun. A simple horticultural soap rids the plant of insects if an infestation occurs, but be sure to follow label directions, as these affect beneficial insects as well.

Diseases

As with pests, the best disease control is prevention through cultural conditions. In general, remove problem roses from the garden to minimize chemical treatments and promote the health of surrounding plants.

Black spot is probably the most common disease for roses. Black spot fungus causes black spots with feathery margins on leaves and stems. It occurs when leaves remain overly wet (from overhead watering or periods of prolonged moisture). If spraying leaves with water to deter pests, do so in the morning or midday when leaves will have time to dry in the sun.

Rust, a common fungal disease, occurs in hot, humid summer climates. Powdery spores appear on the undersides of yellowing leaves. If you spot rust, cut off the infected leaves. Rust spreads readily, so destroy the infected plant parts.

Powdery mildew is another common fungal disease indicated by a gray-white powdery substance on leaves, stems, and buds. Leaves may distort and drop.

Rose rosette is a virus that causes growth malformation (like witch’s broom) and kills the plant. Remove roses with symptoms of rose rosette to prevent the fast-spreading disease.

Horticultural oils like Neem treat black spot, rust, and powdery mildew (but again, these impact beneficial insects, so be sure to follow application requirements). Before a spray treatment, try removing diseased leaves and plant parts from the plant and ground to prevent spread.

Frequently Asked Questions