Loubert roses: Largest collection of heritage roses

Not so long ago Old Heritage roses were seen as corny, outdated remnants from a bygone era. Modern roses with their bright, often screaming, colors were all the rage. However, an unease crept in as many modern roses looked dull and unrefined with lack of finesse and fragrance. This was the start of a Renaissance of the Old Heritage roses which is gaining more speed every year. Rose lovers now recognize the fact that Old roses have more finesse, refinement, fragrance and elegance. People are willing to overlook the couple of disadvantages ancient roses have.

Raymond and Thérèse Loubert started their nursery in the seventies after consulting that other rose giant Georges Delbard. In the beginning they also sold fruit trees, irises and peonies but Raymond got more and more attached to roses. Soon they only sold roses and in the seventies and eighties the majority were modern roses with only a small collection of old roses but a change was coming...

Both got the Heritage rose virus and they started to expand their collection of these old gems. They traveled to California, the Southern USA, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and even Japan to find long forgotten varieties. By the turn of the century Pépinières Loubert had the biggest old rose collection in the world and they were all available to the consumer. 

Raymond died in 2015 but Thérèse kept going. She released a book about the nursery. In "Roses grandeur nature" you could read about the history of the nursery and the collection.

Luckily a successor was found in 2019. Jérôme Chêne and his wife took over the commercial aspect of the nursery while Thérèse kept searching for new additions. Today she's working together with scientists to isolate those genes that keep roses healthy. Many roses in her 3 hectares big garden are more than 50 years old and start to deteriorate and again, with the help of science, she's creating them In Vitro to ensure their survival.

We haven't heard the last of Thérèse Loubert as she has no plans to stop soon... 

For rose lovers like me the Loubert nursery is a real outcome. I know how blessed we are in Europe to have such a great old rose resource. 

Lets hope Roses Loubert will stay in business for decades to come... 

The nursery can be found HERE

Raymond Loubert 

Thérèse Loubert 

Jérôme Chêne 

The Loubert book