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"Rose de Bouffarik" rose Reviews & Comments
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This rose really is heat tolerant. In my zone 11 frying pan of a rooftop garden, it is not only perfectly healthy but has been blooming in repeated flushes since May, and is now gearing up for yet another flush. I didn't expect it the remontancy to be this good. Perhaps it's fabulous performance here is because my climate is close to that of it's native lands? Malta is at about the same latitude as the town of Boufarik.
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In Europe, this rose is sold as 'Boufarik' [see Roseraie Ducher]… so if you search for it under this name on HMF, no results are returned....
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I agree, Marlorena.
I just received this rose from Ducher. The label, website, and printed catalog all spell the name with one "f": Boufarik. Why is it listed here with two? At least, the other spelling should be recognized in the search as well.
More info per the Ducher catalog: the height is given as 1.2m
Heat resistant. Strong damask fragrance. Autumn rebloom.
Also, regarding the "found rose" designation in the description, I am not sure this is completely accurate.
The Ducher website says this is an Algerian creation. My translation of the French description on the Boufarik page:
"The shrub rose Boufarik was created in Algeria. Indeed the town of Boufarik wanted to develop the cultivation of roses for perfume."
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I would guess the Algerian creation story is not entirely true, as I suspect it found its way there during French colonial times... I'm almost sure it's the same rose as 'Rose de Rescht' which in itself is another fanciful name... it's lovely in the Spring, with large heavily scented blooms, which turn smaller later on and in my garden got covered in BS and Crud, to intolerable levels..
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Indeed, Algeria would have been French at that time.
Your comment prompted me to look further into this and here's what I found so far. The following is collated from various sources, I will add the references if you or anyone is interested.
Boufarik, along with the neighboring town of Blida, is notorious to this day for being a fertile area where roses and citrus once were cultivated extensively. Fun fact: this is the area where the Orangina drink was originally produced.
During colonial times, at least two French perfume makers from Grasse established production facilities in Boufarik: Chiris in 1865, and Roure-Bertrand, shortly afterwards.
So, it's easy to imagine that "Boufarik" could be one of those perfumers' roses "gone native".
However, I can't find any mention of Rose de Rescht being grown there. The only rose mentioned in cultivation for perfume by the Grasse perfume industry at the time seems to be Rosa Centifolia.
And here's an interesting twist: the late 19th century french authors on rose cultivation in the colonies say that the local population in Algeria had already been growing Damasks for a long time in their gardens. They suppose the Damasks would have been introduced there way back in the middle ages, during the arab invasions of North Africa.
I will add more info here if I find anything else.
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Yes, interesting isn't it, I found that too when researching this rose.. but, as we know, Rose de Rescht was a name given by Nancy Lindsey, and is a rose that some say was already known in Europe, and UK, before she 'found' it.. depends who you want to believe on that..
We have to be aware that nurseries in Europe and UK occasionally sell the same rose under different names... whatever they sent me as 'Boufarik' seemed to be Rose de Rescht, which they also sell, although I do not have this rose to compare it with, I've only gone from what I've seen of this rose in other gardens.. so I couldn't be certain about it without growing side by side...
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Reply
#5 of 6 posted
16 JAN 22 by
 jedmar
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Here is a history (in French) of the society Chiris:
journals.openedition.org/cdlm/8391
Accordingly the factory of Chris in Boufarik operated 1865-1963. However, roses are not mentioned: " He bought the domain of Sainte-Marguerite in 1836....In 1865 they constructed a factory of 3000 sq. meters on the domaine of Sainte-Marguerite for the exploitation of geraniums [pelargonium], flowers of oranges and indian laburnum [Cassia], and Eucalyptus."
Boufarik was built on drained marshland (Eucalyptus would make sense for the draining of marshes) and is flat ground at 63m over sea level. Not the place to grow roses. Other sources indicate that essential oils Geraniol and Nerol came from Boufarik. The Pelargonium grown there was also calles the Rose geranium.
From other sources we know that the valley of Dadès (1932m) in Morocco was chosen to grow Damask roses.
The origin of the "Rose of Boufarik" must be a different one. In the middle of the 20th century (ca. 1935-1960), the French nursery Dieudonné had apparently a subsidiary in Boufarik, where they grew roses for Meilland. Is this the clue?
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Well, Jedmar, that's interesting, but Boufarik, just south of Algiers, sits next to the city of Blida, which is also known as the City of Roses, for obvious reasons.. looking at google maps of the area, it seems Boufarik in the modern age, is surrounded by cultivated fields, presumably some of which will be roses..
At the turn of the 20th C, the character of the area was mostly French..
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