Mme Ernest Calvat has everything that makes a historic rose so appealing: richly filled flowers, a soft pink color, and an especially powerful fragrance. Her rounded flowers consist of densely packed petals, with lighter outer petals beautifully framing the pink heart.

This Bourbon rose was introduced in France by Schwartz in 1888, in the midst of the Belle Époque. It originated as a spontaneous color mutation of ‘Mme Isaac Pereire’. Such a natural variation is called a sport. Mme Ernest Calvat retained the classic flower shape and distinctive fragrance of her parent rose, but acquired a softer pink color.

Her history makes her a special addition to a collection of historic garden roses. What’s more, she blooms repeatedly: after the first summer flush, new waves of flowers follow, often with another beautiful bloom in autumn.

Mme Ernest Calvat grows upright and can be kept as a large shrub. Give her support and let her long canes grow, and you can also train her as a small climbing rose. She fits beautifully in a romantic border or along a trellis by a seating area, where her fragrance can be fully appreciated.

Plant her in fertile, well-drained soil, in sun or light partial shade. Water at the base during dry spells and remove spent flowers to encourage new blooms.