If you remember old-fashioned roses growing off your grandmother’s front porch and long for that beauty at your home, consider the heirloom chestnut rose. Antique roses are those grown prior to 1867 — the date of the first hybrid-tea and of course the finest of the species of roses that have been growing seemingly forever.

The chestnut rose is also known as the burr rose and chinquapin rose. The old fashioned medium pink double form, Rosa roxburghii plena was discovered in the early 1800s in China and spread quickly to Europe and the United States. You can’t get more heirloom than that. Ours are blooming at the Columbus Botanical Garden, creating the perfect complement to our historic farmhouse.

It is an extremely tough rose, which puts it at the top of everyone’s list and is cold hardy though zone 5. We never spray ours. And though it is not a continuous repeat-blooming Knockout, it is definitely a long-blooming rose, which is a plus for such an antique. It offers a garden texture that few other roses can duplicate. I love the burr or chestnut-like buds when not yet opened, and the fern-like foliage. Every time I look at it I can imagine the famed artist Pierre Joseph Redoute’ applying its beauty to the canvas.

The plants reach close to 7 feet tall with a quarter equal spread, so plan on giving it room to be all it can be. Roses need five to six hours of direct sun each day. Morning sun is essential, but afternoon shade is tolerated. Good air movement helps the dew and rain dry quickly, discouraging disease pressure, which again is considered low with the chestnut rose.