Capitaine John Ingram

A glance at our listing for Moss roses will show that we have a distinct fondness for these unique roses, both the old and the new. ‘Capitaine John Ingram’ was bred in France in 1854 by Jean Laffay, and is one of our favorites of the purple OGR Mosses. Sometimes confused with ‘Nuits de Young’, this variety is not as deeply colored and has more refined bloom form. Smallish #2.5 inch# burgundy-purple blooms are intensely double with a distinct button eye often showing. The petal reverse is a paler mauve color. Sometimes the overall bloom color is a much darker royal purple blend, and sometimes it has shades of lighter crimson and mauve. The fragrance is quite good, spicy rather than sweet, typical of most of the older Moss cultivars. The shrub is nicely compact, rarely exceeding 3 or 4 feet tall. It does sucker to form a thicket of spreading habit, but doesn’t sucker far from the original plant. One of its great virtues is its excellent disease resistance. The Montreal Botanical Garden evaluated ‘Capitaine John Ingram’ as being highly resistant to Blackspot, which we find it to be also. Spring blooming only. This is a most exqisite variety and is well worth including in any collection of older European roses. Photo and Comments Copyright 2007 Paul Barden and The Uncommon Rose Introduced in 1854.