Rose 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' is a magnificent heritage climbing rose dating from 1865. This exceptional Hybrid Perpetual rose produces sumptuous deep red blooms with an intoxicating fragrance.
Flower Characteristics:
Rich maroon to deep claret-coloured blooms
Medium-sized, semi-double flowers with velvety texture
Strongly fragrant with an intense, seductive perfume
Classic rosette form revealing hints of golden stamens
Repeat flowering from midsummer through autumn
Growth Habit:
Moderate climbing rose reaching 2.5-3 metres in height
Arching growth habit with relatively thornless stems
Pale green-grey foliage creating elegant backdrop
Can be grown as large shrub or trained as climber
Hardy and tolerant of poor soils
Excellent disease resistance
Historical Heritage
This distinguished rose honours Dr. Jamain, a 19th-century French physician and rose enthusiast. Created by renowned French breeder Lacharme in 1865, it represents the pinnacle of heritage rose breeding and remains one of the most celebrated old climbing roses for its unique shade tolerance and exceptional fragrance.
Ideal Growing Conditions
Position: A sheltered position on a sunny wall, fence or other support
Soil: Tolerant of poor soils; prefers well-draining conditions
pH: Adaptable to various soil types including calcareous soils
Spacing: Allow 2-2.5 metres between plants
Best planting time: November to March during dormancy
Care Requirements
Watering: Moderate watering; drought tolerant once established
Feeding: Light feeding with rose fertiliser in spring
Mulching: Annual organic mulch to retain moisture
Pruning: Light pruning in late winter; remove weak growth
Training: Tie in new shoots regularly to maintain shape
Support: Requires wall wires, trellis, or sturdy framework
This versatile rose excels in:
Walls
Fences
Pergolas and archways
Courtyards and enclosed gardens
Heritage and period garden recreations
Spring: Fresh pale foliage emerges with promise of blooms
Early Summer: First flush of intensely fragrant flowers
Midsummer: Peak flowering period with strongest perfume
Autumn: Continued smaller flushes extending the display
Winter: Attractive architectural form with minimal thorns
Shade advantage: Plant in partial shade for deepest colour and longest-lasting blooms
Fragrance timing: Cool mornings and evenings provide the strongest scent
Gentle handling: Relatively thornless stems make training and pruning easier
Patience required: May need regular attention to maintain health and vigour
Companion planting: Pairs beautifully with hostas, ferns, and shade perennials
As a mid-19th century variety, this rose brings authentic period character to heritage gardens whilst offering reliability and disease resistance that modern gardeners appreciate.
This extraordinary climbing rose combines exceptional beauty with outstanding fragrance and heritage charm. Its rich, velvety blooms and intense perfume create a sensory experience that few roses can match, whilst the relatively thornless stems make it particularly user-friendly for gardeners. The combination of disease resistance, reliability, and historical significance makes it an excellent choice for those seeking a premium heritage climbing rose.
The intense fragrance and stunning deep red colouration make this rose perfect for positions near seating areas, windows, or pathways where its perfume can be fully appreciated. For gardeners seeking a distinguished climbing rose with authentic period character and exceptional flower quality, 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' represents an outstanding choice.
Perfect for: Sunny walls, heritage gardens, fragrance gardens, formal rose displays, and positions where the exceptional perfume can be enjoyed.
Reasons to Buy Roses from Jacksons Nurseries
(1) ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot
Buy with confidence from the only online rose grower rated ‘Excellent’ 4.9* on Trustpilot. We have been a trusted supplier of roses for 3 generations. We take pride in growing our own roses in the field before potting them up, allowing for meticulous quality control to sale.

(2) Best Prices Guaranteed – Direct from the Grower
Save £££s by buying direct from a grower you can trust. We’ve already price checked all of our roses against competitors so you don’t have to. We are so confident we offer the best value, if you find a rose of the same type and grade elsewhere, we’ll beat it by 10%.

(3) 12 Month Plants Guarantee
We offer a 12 month guarantee on every plant that you buy from us that we have classified as Fully Hardy. If a plant you've bought from us fails in the first year, we will either replace it or refund you. See our satisfaction guarantee page for more details and conditions.

(4) Third generation family-owned nursery specialising in roses
Jackson’s Nurseries is a 3rd generation family owned business which has been growing roses for over 60 years. Roses have always been our specialty, as you can see from the colourful array of blooms in the background to the old family photo below. Today, we offer over 200 different varieties of floribundas, hybrid teas, patio, shrub and David Austin roses. Our roses are initially grown in the field before being potted up for website dispatch.

(5) Grown at altitude to produce strong, healthy plants
Our North Staffordshire nursery is situated at 250 metres above sea level, producing strong, hardy plants that will thrive in your garden. Our nursery sits on clay, so you can be sure our roses can handle heavy soil too.

(6) Help & Advice and Aftercare
We are help to help you with any help and advice you need in choosing, planting and growing your roses before, during and after your purchase from us. The help and advice section of our website has extensive information, see below some examples of articles you may find useful:

How our roses are supplied through the seasons
All our roses are cultivated in an open field and are carefully dug up when the weather is optimal, typically in October or November. While other nurseries supply roses bare root, once our field-grown roses have been potted up we supply them freshly potted. This better protects the roots and helps keep them moist in transit, ensuring your roses arrive as healthy as when they left our nursery. So don’t be alarmed if the compost comes away from the roots when you remove them from the pot.

The roses can remain in their pots over the winter, as long as they are properly watered and fed, but it's best to plant them out as soon as possible. If you do plant them straight away make sure the planting mix is prepared first, hold the root close to the top of the hole as you tip the pot upside down and try to keep as much compost as possible from falling away. They will already be pruned, so no additional pruning is needed except for trimming any dead tips. Regular pruning can start in late winter, the year after planting.

Rose Types
Hybrid Tea Roses (HT)
Hybrid Tea roses are probably the most popular group of roses, available in both bush and standard form they have long flower stems and shapely blooms. Blooms are typically medium to large in size, with many petals which form a distinct central cone.
Floribunda Roses (FL)
Floribunda roses bears its flowers in clusters or trusses, with several blooms open at time in each truss. A popular choice the Floribunda rose group is unrivalled for colour, reliability and longevity as a bedding display however the flower form in generally inferior to the Hybrid Tea.
Patio Roses (PATIO)
Patio roses were introduced in the 1980’s and the group now contains several popular varieties. Generally low-growing roses that were once grouped with the Floribuna group but have now been put in their own group of compact versions. Usually growing about 50cm high they make excellent plants for patio containers or at the front of borders.
Climbing Roses (CLM)
Climbing roses as the name suggests are the perfect choice for covering a wall or screen. Often grouped together with Ramblers, Climbers tend to have stiffer stems, larger flowers but smaller trusses than Ramblers.
Rambling Roses (RAM)
Rambling roses are often grouped with Climbing Roses but the ramblers tend to have a more pliable stems that can be used to run along the soil to use as groundcover or can be used to make weeping standards.
Miniature Roses (MINI)
Miniature roses have increased in popularity in recent years due to their versatility, even grown indoors as temporary pot plants that grow to a maximum height of 40cm. An ideal choice for planting in tubs, edging beds and rockeries.
English Roses (ENG)
Often referred to as Austin or David Austin Roses, English roses are hybrids of old English roses and more modern varieties bread by David Austin to provide the best of both, mixing old rose shapes and scents with more modern colour range, compact habits and repeat flowering.

Planting Advice
Roses like a generous root space, so dig a deep hole approximately twice as wide as the current root system, preferably adding composted organic matter to the soil. Never plant into frozen soil – in winter, await a frost-free period. Carefully remove the pot and gently tease the roots apart to spread them around the hole. Position the plant so that the ‘bud point’ (the place where the shoots emerge from, where the cultivated rose was grafted onto the rootstock) is at soil level. Replace the soil, firming it down gently, then water copiously. Ideally, a general purpose fertiliser should be applied to the surrounding soil as a top dressing. We also highly recommend the use of Rose Rootgrow, which provides a friendly fungus that prevents ‘rose replant syndrome’.

Buying our Roses
Most of our roses are supplied in a 4 litre pot although this may vary slightly depending on rose variety. If the size of pot differes significatly from 4 litres then we will make this clear somewhere on the product page.
Seasonality
Our roses are grown outdoors and as such are subject to seasonal changes. As we sell potted stock throughout the year your rose may not arrive and look like you expect it to. If you are uncertain how your rose will arrive (especially if buying for a gift) then we suggest you contact us prior to making a purchase.
Freshly Potted
Each year a new batch of roses is potted up ready for the following season. Once potted (usually November/December time) they go on sale as 'Freshly Potted'. If you purchase a freshly potted rose and plant it soon after you will find that when removing the rose from the pot there will be a lot of loose soil as the roots will not have had time to grow and bind the compost.

Pruned/Cut Back
In autumn the majority of our roses have finished flowering and begin to look untidy, at this point we prune them quite hard in preparation for the following season. We continue to sell roses throughout the year, when a rose has been pruned in such a way we will identify it has being so. If you are not sure what to expect then please ask prior to making a purchase. Some garden centres/supermarkets sell stock that has been grown abroad or in poly-tunnels so they look 'picture perfect' out of season, while this is ideal for a gift they are short lived once planted.

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