There are few rambling roses with the flowering attributes of the musk rose, Rambling Rector. It is a very old rose. Its origin and breeder is unknown, but it is believed to be a cross between Rosa Multiflora and Rosa Moschata.
This rose is also known affectionately as Shakespeare's Musk because he mentioned the musk rose in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but Shakespeare's Musk was the R. Moschata itself, not the cultivar, Rambling Rector.
R. Moschata Minor and R. Moschata Major
According to John Ray's Historia Plantarum, 1688, and a very good piece of research by 20th century garden writer, Graham Thomas, there are two R. Moschata roses – R. Moschata Minor and R. Moschata Major. The minor is a smaller rose, of course, which flowers late in the season. The major is the taller musk rose flowering in spring, so Rambling Rector was very likely first bred with the R. Mochata Major.
R. Multiflora has always been useful as rootstock for cultivating other roses, so rosarians see this parentage as a possibility. Some botanists and rosarians are confident this rose began its life in the garden of a rectory, but little else is known.
Rambling Rector's Scent and Flowers
The appeal of this rose is also in the intense fragrance of the flowers as well as the flowers themselves. They offer a stunning display in June as clusters of creamy-white flowers cascade through the greenery. Each flower is double-petaled and measures approximately 1-1/2" in diameter, but the small individual size of the flowers is lost in the mass of those clusters.
When Lord Francis Bacon, early 17th century statesman and philosopher, wrote of the musk rose, he said the scent is "... sweeter in the air than in the hand ... comes and goes like the warbling of music." In the evenings its scent is stronger and if you are lucky to have your rose planted near your opened window, the scent will waft into the room.
Placement and Care
This rose is a perfect choice for planting beside an unattractive shed and is often seen climbing up through the tree branches in shadier gardens, reaching for the sun. All roses thrive best with at least 6 hours of full sun each day, so if you want to grow this rose up through a tree, let it at least have dappled shape at the start.
Rambling Rector will prove to be a vigorous rose offering a mass of growth over time. It can't be pruned when it's grown up a tree, so be prepared to let the rose do as it pleases. Once it heads for the upper canopy, the gardener is committed. It's height can be controlled only by cutting it back to a few feet after flowering. This will rejuvenate the rose.
Rambling Rector a big rose and needs a large space with a 5 foot area around it free of other roses and shrubs. It grows upwards to 30 feet or more and has been seen in a west coast garden growing up to 50 feet through an arbutis tree – a rare sight.
It can can also be trained over a pergola or a large sturdy arbor. To keep the rose in check when grown over these structures, cut the oldest stems to the ground once a year. This will increase the plants vigor.
Rambling Rector flowers once in the season, but it offers a beautiful show for a short period. It flowers on new wood, rather than the previous year's growth and it offers red hips for winter interest. Bees and gardeners alike love the abundance of sweet-scented flowers.
Please read Rambling Roses for the Romantic Garden for more information on choosing and growing rambling roses.
Sources
My own knowledge and experience.
Online
Rockwell's Complete Book of Roses, Copyright 1958, Rockwell and Grayson
Botanica's Roses, Copyright 2001, Botanica
Gardening With Old Roses, Copyright 1996. John Scarman
 |
