Ispahan – pharmaROSA® NEONATAL rooted cutting for professional production
Damask heritage material such as Ispahan offers a highly recognisable fragrance signature and stable, bushy structure that adapts well to premium-container shrub production and hedge or specimen positioning in thematic rose gardens. With a medium maintenance profile and reliable hardiness, it can underpin nursery propagation beds and 5–7 litre premium lines where historical character and fragrance gardens are a primary focus. Own‑root NEONATAL cuttings support renewable growth and long lifespan, helping You build homogeneous, low‑replacement shrub stands for retail collectors and public‑realm collections while remaining compatible with systems that must cope with winter and wind exposure in northern and Scottish sites. The combination of very strong Damask scent, pastel pink flower effect and controlled, bushy height allows You to schedule release as a finished, bush‑trained product with discreet support, following a natural development arc from root establishment through shoot build‑up to full ornamental value by Year three, aligning with specialty, selection‑level ranges and long‑term rose collections.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- 5–7 L premium heritage shrub – Bush-trained Ispahan in 5–7 litre containers, marketed for fragrance gardens and traditional ambiance, built from uniform NEONATAL own-root batches – target: retail/collector and specialist rose centres.
- Fragrance-hedge multi-pack – Bundled units of Ispahan for hedge or boundary planting, leveraging its bushy habit, medium maintenance need and heat/drought tolerance – target: landscapers and public-realm suppliers.
- Historic Damask collection line – Curated range where Ispahan is a flagship Damask, grown in premium container, specialty format as a selection / specialty hero plant – target: nurseries building thematic rose collections.
- Exhibition-ready Dowager shrub – Carefully trained shrubs from NEONATAL stock for Dowager and shrub show categories, emphasising heritage, award record and scent – target: rose exhibitors via specialist nurseries.
- Own-root mother-bed starter pack – Batch of uniform NEONATAL cuttings positioned as sustainable long-term stock for propagation beds, exploiting hardiness and disease profile – target: nursery networks and integrator systems.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Ispahan is a historical Damask shrub rose traded as Ispahan Heritage rose, used in shrub and Dowager classes; not formally registered, authenticity of this clone verified for professional use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Originates from probable natural selection within Damascena populations, recorded from 1827 and introduced around 1832; breeder and original distributor unknown, widely adopted as a classic heritage cultivar. |
| Awards and recognition |
Holds RHS Award of Garden Merit (1993), ARS Dowager Rose Queen (1998), Longwood Ten‑Year Trials Certificate of Merit and Montréal Botanical Garden “highly disease-resistant” designation, supporting specification in high-profile projects. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy shrub 160–220 cm high and 130–180 cm wide, with moderately dense, matt grey‑green foliage, sparsely thorned shoots and medium self-cleaning, suitable for specimen, hedge and park use where structure and texture are valued. |
| Flower morphology |
Very full, rosette-shaped, cluster-flowered blooms with over forty petals and small individual flower size, once-blooming rather than remontant, providing a concentrated seasonal display suitable for heritage and thematic planting schemes. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Warm pink flowers with subtle silvery sheen; ARS MP, RHS 65C/65D, opening clear light pink then fading through pastel to near silk white with powder-pink edging, colour persisting longer in cooler conditions and bleaching faster in strong sun. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very strong, garden-filling Damask fragrance with deep traditional character; primarily ornamental due to very double form, with limited pollinator access and best placement where scent is a key design and marketing consideration. |
| Hip characteristics |
Hip set is generally sparse because of the highly double flowers; when present, produces ellipsoidal orange-red hips around 15–22 mm, offering light seasonal interest without being a dominant ornamental feature for planning. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated H7 with Swedish zone 5 and USDA 4b performance, tolerating approximately -32 to -29 °C; medium resistance to powdery mildew and black spot, rust resistant, with good heat and moderate drought tolerance given irrigation in prolonged dry periods. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Recommended as specimen, park rose, hedge and for cut stems; medium maintenance with occasional plant protection; best as bush-trained with discreet support, grown on primarily as premium container, specialty product in 5–7 litre pots. |
Ispahan Heritage rose as pharmaROSA® NEONATAL material combines historic Damask character, strong fragrance and robust hardiness in a long-lived own-root form that supports predictable, regenerating stock stands; we would be pleased to discuss volumes and scheduling.
