R. gallica officinalis

Where to plant. Apothecary and medicinal gardens (a literal continuation of a thousand-year-old tradition); monastery corners and historic flower gardens; as a hedge, thanks to its toughness and root suckers; for 'permanent' borders — it needs no care or feeding.

Climate. All of Ukraine without winter protection (USDA 4–9); ideal for cold regions; undemanding of soil — grows even on poor soils.

Care. Minimal — old gallicas are naturally tough. Prune only sanitarily after flowering; keep root suckers in check (otherwise it spreads); petals are picked at dawn for perfumery, tea and jam.

Name. 'Officinalis' — Latin for 'of the apothecary' (from officina, pharmacy or workshop). 'Apothecary's Rose' — English for 'the apothecary rose'. 'Rose of Provins' — after the town of Provins in France, where a whole industry of apothecaries trading in dried petals for medicines and perfume had existed since the XIII century.

Breeding. An ancient cultivated form, known since classical times. In Europe it is documented from around 1240, when Thibault IV Chansonnier (Thibault IV, Count of Champagne, King of Navarre) brought it from the Sixth Crusade to the town of Provins in France, along with a fragment of the 'True Cross'. The sport of this rose is Rosa Mundi (R. gallica versicolor), a striped child of Officinalis.

Significance. WFRS Old Rose Hall of Fame 2012; RHS Award of Garden Merit. The red rose of the House of Lancaster — Shakespeare's 'red rose of Lancaster' in the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) — was this very variety. 800+ years of pharmaceutical history: used to treat gout, skin and eye diseases, and as a calming remedy. The basis of Provins's perfume industry — the petals keep their scent even when dried, which made the town the European centre of 'rose water' in the Middle Ages. A living legend of gardening: a plant that has remained in cultivation without a break since the XIII century.