ROSA VIRIDIFLORA – green historic China rose - Smith
Historic ROSA VIRIDIFLORA offers a distinctive green-flowered specialty option within the pharmaROSA® NEONATAL range, supplying uniform own-root propagation material optimised for professional shrub rose production. As a bushy, upright form with moderately dense, glossy foliage and small, pompon-type blooms, it suits premium 5–7 L container routes and bed or specimen applications where character planting is required. The strongly remontant flowering habit supports a reliable sales window for thematic rose gardens and collections, while the verified identity and “Green Rose” exhibition naming reassure nurseries building heritage-focused assortments. Medium maintenance needs and moderate disease resistance are manageable in structured UK nursery systems and supply chains serving public-realm projects in regions where winter and wind tolerance support stable, low-loss overwintering capacity. Own-root production allows durable, regenerating plants with predictable stands over successive cropping cycles, typically with roots establishing in year one, structural bush formation in year two and full ornamental expression in year three, supporting long-term lifespan planning and credibility with specialist wholesale partners and heritage-focused retail channels.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- 5–7 L Green Heritage Feature Bush – NEONATAL own-root plants grown to bush-trained form with discreet support and strong remontant flowering, positioned as premium container, specialty stock for display-led retail – retail/collector channels
- Rosarium Collection Bed Unit – batch-grown plants for bed use, medium maintenance and moderate disease resistance suiting curated heritage or China-group beds in thematic gardens – public-realm and show-garden suppliers
- Historic China Rose Container Line – unified 5–7 L heritage range using own-root stock blocks for predictable supply and collector-focused presentation under selection/specialty positioning – specialist heritage nurseries
- Specimen Accent for Display Borders – individual, well-branched bushes with pronounced green pompon bloom effect, grown in premium containers for use as focal accents in demonstration or retail display borders – rosarium and garden-centre partners
- Collector’s Signature Series – limited-run, authenticated plants grown from NEONATAL material, emphasising historic origin and unusual flower colour within a premium specialty offer – mail-order and niche retail networks
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Rosa viridiflora, a historic China rose marketed as ROSA VIRIDIFLORA – green historic China rose - Smith; also known in exhibition as Green Rose within shrub and old garden categories. |
| Origin and breeding |
Spontaneous sport of ‘Slater’s Crimson China’ (Rosa chinensis), bred by John Smith in the United States around 1827 and introduced into European cultivation from 1855 as a historical cultivar. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, upright shrub reaching about 80–130 cm in height and 60–100 cm spread, slightly thorny, with moderately dense, glossy mid-green foliage providing a balanced structural framework for small clustered blooms. |
| Flower morphology |
Double, ball to pompon-shaped, cluster-flowered blooms, small (0.5–1.5 in) with 26–39 petals; strongly remontant with abundant second flowering, though spent blooms are not fully self-cleaning and can require deadheading. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Uniform mid-green flowers (RHS 137A outer, 146A inner), buds deep oil-green, opening vivid mid-green with yellowish tips, then deep willow green; colour retains well in sun, fading only slightly to a bronzed yellow-green. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very weak, barely perceptible scent with a light spicy character; highly modified, double flowers limit pollen accessibility and result in only modest attractiveness to pollinating insects, marking it as principally ornamental. |
| Hip characteristics |
Because of the double flower form it only sets small, spherical hips where formed, typically around 6–10 mm in diameter, in green to brownish hues, with little ornamental significance compared with the foliage and bloom effect. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to about −21 to −18 °C (H7, Swedish zone 3, USDA 6b); generally tolerates heat but needs irrigation in prolonged drought; resistant to powdery mildew and black spot, with moderate susceptibility to rust. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Suitable for beds, specimen use and containers; medium maintenance with occasional plant protection; recommended as bush-trained with discreet support, targeting premium specialty 5–7 L containers and heritage ranges. |
ROSA VIRIDIFLORA – green historic China rose - Smith combines distinctive collector appeal, remontant flowering and stable own-root longevity for predictable heritage production; please feel free to contact us to align on volumes and scheduling.
