These tender roses were very popular in the early 1800s. They are vigorous growers reaching a height of 6 feet or more and may be grown as climbers too. The flowers are often double or semi-double and in white, pink, red and purple shades. It is said that the flowers have an "apple like" scent. They bloom first in midsummer and may repeat a bit in the fall.

The rose gets its name because French colonists on the Isle of Bourbon first grew them. They are a result of breeding using Damask and China types of roses.

Some cultivars of Bourbon roses include:

• 'Boule de Neige' - white, full, rounded, very fragrant blooms.

• 'Commandant Beaurepaire' ('Panachee d'Angers') - bright rose-pink, streaked and marbled with violet and white.

• 'La Reine Victoria' - soft pink flowers that generally rebloom in fall. certainly will. It has cupped blooms with delicate, shell-like petals.

• 'Zéphirine Droubin' - shrub or climber up to 10 feet tall with scented Cercise-carmine flowers. It is almost thornless.