Book  (Jul 1998)  Page(s) 122-123.  
 
Aimable Rouge Vibert, 1819-1820.
Synonyms: Boule d'hortensia (according to Pirolle, 1826). Le triomphe (idem). Triomphe biflore (idem).
Habit: 1.20 m, upright, some prickles. Foliage: light, small leaflets, rounded or elliptical, normally 5 per leaf, bu very often only 3. Bloom: solitary, medium size, cupped, well double, quartered. Colour: shaded red. Fragrance: medium.
References: Vibert, catal. 1820, no. 404 and following catalogues. Bibliography: Jacob et al. p. 96. Trade: Yes, but rare. Collections: author, Sangerhausen.
A first 'Aimable rouge' existed, which, according to Redouté, came from Holland. One finds this in the Almanach of Guerrapain (1811) who states there "a pink less dark than that of Centifolias, blended with white", and in the Nomenclature of Pronville (1818) who describes it as "a beautiful hydrangea-pink, fading to white towards the edges of the petals". It is perhaps this variety which Desportes, in his Rosetum gallicum (1828) names 'Aimable pourpre', effectively indicating that it comes from Holland. It was painted by Salomon Pinhas, at Wilhelmshöhe (Kassel, Germany), towards 1815: this painting is still found today in the collections of the castle. This first variety is probably extinct, contrary to what is indicated in the bibliography.
More probably, the current 'Aimable rouge' is the gallica obtained by Vibert in 1819, to which he gave the same name as the old variety. Apparently he strongly hesitated in ist classification, as he placed it among "Provins* in his catalogue of 1820, then in "Hybrid Centifolia" in that of 1822, and finally in "Hybrid Provence" in that of 1824 (but is that the same, as it is now dated 1820 and not 1819?)

Book  (1988)  Page(s) 44-45.  Includes photo(s).
 
Aimable Rouge (La Triomphe) A Gallica of unknown origin, probably dating from the 18th century, widely grown in Holland and France in the 1820s. Illustrated by Redoute, from Malmaison.

Book  (1986)  Page(s) 38.  Includes photo(s).
 
Aimable Rouge (1845) A beautiful rose with fragrant, medium-sized, double, pink to red flowers. A medium to tall grower.

Book  (1984)  Page(s) 24.  Includes photo(s).
 
"Aimable Rouge"
This small gallica rose was one of my first finds, and I was able to give it back ist true name when I found its double in 1979 in the rose section of a dealer specializing in old plants in Denmark. There it was called 'Aimable Rouge'. The pretty name suggests that it was given its name by Empress Josephine. At all events it is recorded that it grew in her garden in Malmaison.
Three years later in Kassel I celebrated a second, unexpected meeting with it. Rose lovers had unearthed in the Wilhelmshöhe Schloss Museum a forgotten treasure: 134 watercolour paintings of roses by the court painter Salomon Pinhas, which had been painted between 1806 and 1815 and had never been seen by the public. These coloured plates showed the roses of acollection that the Landgreve of Hesse began to build up from 1767 on. And lo and behold: 'Aimable Rouge' was also there, reproduced with accurate details down to the typical hollow, rounded foliage.
The blooms expand dark red and then become lighter and bluisher. The outer petals imprison the inner petals in a perfect circle, huddling them in delicate sirls, until a small firm button eye with a green point appears in the centre. Then the petals are reflexed in such an orderly manner that they lie on top of each other like minuscule roof tiles.
"Aimable Rouge" used to be found often in old hedges of cemeteries. She belongs to the sorts which probably are a victim of the wave of modernisation which currently has almost everywhere impacted the oldest parts of cemeteries. Despite her Beauty, she is no longer cultivated in gardens, perhaps due to the short habit. The stems are flexible and cannot carry the weight of the numerous double blooms. Has it been ever tried to graft it on a standard? She should be an ideal "weeping rose".

Book  (1984)  Page(s) 25.  
 
Rosa gallica "Aimable Rouge", bloom 6 cm, 70-80 cm tall, once-blooming, origin unknown, 1814.