Book  (Aug 2002)  Page(s) 86.  
 
Tuscany
Hybrid Gallica, before 1867
mauve
Rated 8.6

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 605.  Includes photo(s).
 
‘Tuscany’ (syn. ‘The Old Velvet Rose’) – Ancien – Gallique – mauve. C’est l’un des plus anciens rosiers connus… description.. C’est sans doute la « rose de velours » décrite par l’herboriste John Gerard en 1596. Zones 4-10. Peut-être d’origine italienne, avant 1596. Ascendance inconnue.

Book  (Mar 1999)  Page(s) 104.  
 
Description. Dark wine crimson, loosely double flowers with a blackish blush and showy golden stamens... When grown in a sunny location, this is one of the darkest roses imaginable... In commenting on the darkness of its flowers, William Prince noted that this rose was also called 'Black Tuscany'.

Book  (Nov 1998)  Page(s) 20.  Includes photo(s).
 
Tuscany Susceptible to black spot.

Book  (Jul 1998)  Page(s) 110-111.  
 
TUSCANY Synonyms: Old Velvet Rose (in England). Old Tuscan (Rivers, 1837). Habit: 1.20 m, but may attain 2 to 2.50 m; slim branches, almost without prickles, but large and numerous bristles. Foliage: rounded leaflets, small. Bloom: flat, semi-double, small size, in clusters of 2 to 5; petals slightly reflexed; very visible golden-yellow stamens. Colour: beautiful carmine-red with violet reflexes and velvety; very discreet white stains or lines at the centre. Fragrance: very strong.

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 148.  
 
('Tuscany', 'Old Velvet Rose') Description and vital statistics. Beautiful rich dark red flower with pronounced stamens, seldom seen these days because it has been superseded by 'Tuscany Superb'... a rose fitting its description is to be found in Gerards Herball, 1596.

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 39.  
 
Tuscany can be grown in dappled shade

Book  (Sep 1996)  Page(s) 148.  
 
Foliage is large and crinkled-looking

Book  (Nov 1994)  Page(s) 37.  
 
('The Old Velvet Rose') One of the very best garden plants among the Gallicas. Description... intense dark murrey-purple, offset by yellow stamens...

Book  (Nov 1994)  Page(s) 27.  
 
In Rosa gallica officinalis, 'Versicolor', 'Conditorum', and 'Tuscany' we are looking at unsophisticated early cultivated forms.