An unknown poet wrote that this Gallica "is a noble flower; In color rich, and opulent of leaves..." Some have called it coarse, but Graham Thomas says that ‘Charles de Mills’ is "really splendid" and that it puts on "one of the best displays every year." The shrub is compact, with neat, dark green foliage and nearly thornless canes. The flowers are unique, often so perfectly flat across the top that they might have been sliced open with a sharp blade to display the neat arrangement of petals. Color ranges from maroon to purple in a fat, full and fragrant rose.

3 to 5 feet    Z5-9    O    Fr    m