Today’s rose gardens sparkle with color and vigor. Their long-stemmed beauties spring from thickly branched, well-foliaged plants, and each season sees many additions to the list of novelties from which to choose.
Perhaps the patent tag with which so many of our newest roses are hung may lead to the belief that they are turned out mechanically by some plant wizard with a magic formula for a yellow rose, a red rose, or a rose of blended colors.
Even a garden with only the latest varieties in it is a treasure-house of human endeavor and accomplishment. It has been said that the history of the rose is the history of humanity, and so it would appear when we look at the personalities who gave us our roses.
A Story Yet to be Told
The complete story of the people who have developed our roses is still to be written. It will, of course, be an impressive, world-encircling volume containing names from every nation. To attempt to cover the subject in a short space may seem presumptuous, but, if we cannot have the whole cake, let us at least have a sample of it in the form of a cupcake!
As we stroll through our gardens and those of our neighbors, what varieties are we most likely to see, time after time? Peace? Yes, and certainly Crimson Glory, Eclipse, Margaret MeGredy, Etoile de Hollande, Condesa de Sastago, Paul’s Scarlet Climber — these are household words with rosarians all over America.
And where did these varieties come from? Peace, the rose of roses, is the proud contribution of Francis Meilland of France; Crimson Glory is from Germany, Eclipse from the United States, Margaret McGredy from Ireland, Etoile de Hollande from Holland, Condesa de Sastago from Spain, and Paul’s Scarlet Climber from England. Truly, no one country has a monopoly on rose production; “the universality of the rose” is more than a noble-sounding phrase.
Challenge of Rose Breeding
Scientific hybridization of any plant is not a haphazard matter. There have been instances of “lucky breaks,” but serious rose breeders have definite goals toward which they work. This has been true in the past, when a rose that would bloom repeatedly through the season was something to work for, or when a yellow rose seemed always to be just out of reach.
It is still true, as workers with roses strive for more abundant bloom, for winter hardiness, for disease-resistant foliage, for flowers either of the show-table type or the decorative type. Experimentation with under stocks that will adapt a rose to a particular locality is a field that still needs exploring.
So, although hundreds of varieties are now on the market and many hundreds more have been in the catalogs, only to disappear after a time, rose hybridization will go on and on, to obtain better roses.
The Production Of New Varieties
There is a tradition that places George Washington himself among the very first American rose hybridizers. At any rate, noisette climbers were being put out in Charleston, S. C., in the early 1800s. It came at first largely from commercial greenhouse growers such as John Cook of Baltimore who, as the raiser of Radiance alone, would be an important figure.
But this veteran, who lived to be almost a hundred, was the inspiration for many other breeders, for he was an untiring worker, ruthless in throwing out seedlings that he considered inferior. His first successful hybrid was put into commerce in 1888. H. B. Ellwanger of Rochester was instrumental in promoting the development of the first outdoor roses.
Jackson Dawson, superintendent of the Arnold Arboretum, gave years of devotion to the breeding of roses. He raised several good climbers, among them the first multi-flora climber produced in this country.
“Gurney” Hill, a Modest Quaker
Walsh, Van Fleet, and Hill are other names prominent in American rose hybridizing. E. G. (familiarly “Gurney”) Hill was a gentle, modest Quaker born in England who developed an extensive greenhouse business in Richmond, Ind. He made many trips to Europe in search of new varieties, and in the early days of the hybrid teas, he tested and introduced many new kinds.
In his own hybridizing he worked largely with the varieties Liberty and Ophelia. His most noted roses are Columbia, Mme. Butterfly, Premier, General MacArthur, and E. G. Hill.
M. H. Walsh made an enormous advance by crossing species of roses and thus bringing in new blood.
He pioneered with wichuraiana hybrids. Walsh, too, came to America from England and grew roses from the time he was eleven years old. About 38 hardy ramblers are chalked up to his credit, such as Hiawatha, Excelsa, and Evangeline.
A Remarkable Man, Dr. Walter Van Fleet
Died in the same year as Walsh — 1922. He was connected with the Bell Experiment Station of the United States Department of Agriculture. There he worked with various plants, among them the gladiolus, strawberry, canna, and chestnut, after giving up a career in medicine.
His ideal was the “dooryard” rose. By this, he meant a continuous-blooming rose that would be hardy anywhere and grow with the least possible fuss. The Van Fleet climber is a contribution of his, as well as American Pillar, Silver Moon, and Mary Wallace.
Jacob D. Eisele adopted Dr. Van Fleet’s objective, as did M. H. Horvath, who worked first with Rosa wichuraiana and then with Rosa setigera. Horvath, born in Hungary and educated as a forester, did noteworthy landscape work on estates and parks in the Cleveland area.
He wanted hardy roses with large flowers, and his Mahe & Stearns is one of the best of door-yard roses. The yellow Doubloons, too, were produced by Horvath.
Captain Thomas, Famous Amateur
Among the most distinguished amateur rosarians was Captain George C. Thomas, Jr., who gardened first near Philadelphia and then in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he had over 1200 varieties of roses. A deep-sea fisherman and aeronautics expert, Captain Thomas also wrote several books on rose growing. The hardy, everblooming climber was his aim.
He named his deep red climber Dr. Huey for the man who helped to develop his knowledge of roses.
The Montgomery and Pierson firms deserve mention for their introduction of many important greenhouse roses, and the Arnold Arboretum for sponsoring the collection and introduction of species roses from all over the world.
An Internationally Known Rosarian, Dr. J. H. Nicolas
At home in many countries, perhaps most notable to today’s gardeners because of his having been the raiser of Eclipse, among others. Born and educated in France, he came to the United States as a buyer of raw cotton for his father’s mills, only to marry and settle down here, where his interest in rose culture soon became his profession.
As lecturer, writer, and hybridizer, Dr. Nicolas traveled widely. In the research department of The Conard-Pyle Company and then of Jackson & Perkins Company, he bred the hardy nutkana into hybrid tea roses. To “Nick” we owe the publicizing of the word “Floribunda.”
So-called park roses are coming into modern catalogs. Peter Lambert of Germany was the originator of this type and the term, too, for he was especially interested in the hardy pillar type of rose. He conscientiously sought species that would produce healthier foliage.
But Lambert will forever be remembered as the introducer of two old but superior white garden roses, Frau Karl Druschki and Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria. These two outrank all others in his long list of productions.
Greatest Rose Hybridizer Pernet-Ducher
But among all these giants of the past, one name stands out so brightly as to be almost legendary. He died in 1928 at the age of 70, after a most distinguished life with roses. Born of a long line of rose breeders, the Pernets, he married into another ancient rose family, the Duellers; both names were preserved by combining them into Pernet-Ducher.
Until Pernet-Ducher, a yellow rose was unknown except in certain species. He produced the first yellow garden variety by blending Austrian briers with hybrid perpetual and hybrid teas. Thus came Soleil d’Or, in 1900, causing a real furor.
His two sons, Claudius and Georges, who were killed in the same week during World War I, were honored by their saddened father in the naming of Souvenir de Claudius Pernet, a perfectly yellow hybrid tea, and Souvenir de Georges Pcrnet, an Oriental red, which is shaded yellow.
The successor to Pernet-Ducher, Jean Gaujard, is carrying on the traditions of the old firm, which he learned first-hand as a pupil of the master. Gaujard, too, comes from one of the oldest, horticulturally prominent families in France.
Versatile “Gene” Boerner
Starting in the East, there is “Gene” Boerner, who fell heir to Dr. Nicolas’ mantle as head of the research department of Jackson & Perkins Company in Newark, N. Y. His Vogue won an All-America gold medal in 1952. Other good roses of his, with pleasing names as well, are Fashion, Goldilocks, Masquerade, and Holiday, in addition to Ernie Pyle, New Yorker, Chatter, Katherine T. Marshall, and Diamond Jubilee, among others.
They have won for him the Gold Honor Medal awarded by the American Rose Society.
The results of Martin R. Jacobus’ labors in New Jersey have been put on the market by Bobbink & Atkins. His Dream Girl and Inspiration are good climbers, while Autumn Bouquet, Fragrant Beauty, and Oratam are shrub types.
Hybridizers In California Are A Busy Lot
There the name of Howard is one to reckon with: Paul J. Howard produced Sleigh Bells, besides the Golden Hour, and the late Fred H. Howard gave us several fine roses, including The Doctor, Heart’s Desire, California Centennial, Babe Ruth, Los Angeles, and the All-America winner, Fred Howard.
Howard & Smith of Montebello has a long and impressive list of introductions. Carl Duehrsen is their present hybridizer, with Bright Eyes, Gold Rush, Mme. Chiang Kai-shek, Connie Mack, and Carrousel to his credit, in addition to several new ones just coining out.
Herbert C. Swim recently won the American Rose Society Gold Honor Medal. Director of research at Armstrong Nurseries in Ontario, California, he works with fruit, ornamentals, and roses. Believing that inbreeding reduces rose vigor, he uses varieties originating from different breeding lines.
As geneticist and plant breeder, Dr. Walter E. Lammerts has made important additions to many fields, notably peaches and camellias, as well as roses. He is presently associated with Rancho del Descanso in La Canada, Calif.
His famous Charlotte Armstrong won several gold medals, while High Noon, Mirandy, Show Girl, Taffeta, and American Flagship are among the top garden favorites. Lammerts, too, holds the American Bose Society Gold Medal.
Francis MeiHand, previously mentioned as the producer of Peace, is one of the most prolific modern French hybridizers. His father Antoine was a pupil of PernetDueller, and together father and son have an important business. The actual crosses are made by Francis’ wife, while Francis observes, selects, and supervises the work.
Charles Mallerin is another keen, observant Frenchman whose contributions have been considerable over several years. Leaving his profession of engineering, he turned his hobby of hybridizing into a second profession. Dr. Nicolas was responsible for bringing two of Mallerin’s best to this country, the yellow Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont and rosy Editor McFarland.
In German areas, Wilhelm Kordes and Mathias Tantau are among present-day leaders. Kordes is especially interested in Floribundas, with Pinocchio and World’s Fair as shining examples, although his hybrid tea Crimson Glory is also a prime favorite. Tantau’s City of York won the American Rose Society Gold Medal in 1950. Floradora, too, is a Tantau rose.
Pedro Dot is the outstanding rose man in Spain and has been for many years. Living within sight of the snow-covered Pyrenees, he works largely with Rosa moyesii. His roses, Condesa de Sastago, Federico Casas, and Angels Mitten are brightly hued.
The leading rose growers, as well as hybridizers, of Denmark, are the Poulsen’s. Svend Poulsen, the hybridizer of the firm, aims for hardy roses with the form and color of hybrid teas and the strong growth habit and continuous bloom of the polyanthus. Numerous floribundas carry the Poulsen name, including the new Mrs. Inge Paulsen.
In Ireland are two old and honored rose firms responsible for many of our best varieties — Samuel McGredy & Son and Alex Dickson & Sons. Both have devoted generations to the development of roses, McGredy primarily for decorative purposes and Dickson for exhibition.
Liberty, Killarney, Betty Uprichard, and Edith Nellie Perkins are among the Dickson varieties, while MeGredy has given us the “Irish singles,” Rex Anderson, rubaiyat, and dozens of others.
Hybridizers of America
Several hybridizers whose aim is hardiness in particular. Walter D. and Josephine Brownell of Rhode Island have been working diligently for years to give us roses that will bloom freely without dusting or spraying even in localities with low winter temperatures. Their “sub-zero” hybrid teas are derived mostly from Rosa wichuraiana.
Anne Vanderbilt, Mrs. Arthur Curtiss James, Coral Creeper, Lily Pons, King Boreas, and Shades of Autumn are among the numerous Brownell offerings. Dr. L. E. Longley is working for hardy roses in Minnesota, and Percy H. Wright and F. L. Skinner are breeding varieties for the prairies of western Canada. Niels E. Hansen worked fifty-five years trying to obtain hardy roses without thorns.
But one cannot overlook all those devotees of the rose who are laboring on other phases than hybridizing. Control of diseases and insects and testing of soils, fertilizers, and under stocks are being studied in-state colleges and experiment stations. Great municipal, test, and private gardens give inspiration as well as working knowledge to all who visit them.
The Hybridizers for Tireless Plant Scouts
Among these, Dr. L. M. Massey is a leading rose disease investigator. Mrs. Harriett R. Foote designed many famous gardens and vigorously advocated cultural methods that she believed in. Robert Pyle, a commanding figure in the whole world of horticulture, was the American ambassador of the rose as he made trip after trip to Europe in search of the newest and best.
Lambertus C. Bobbink, an expert plants-man, and nurseryman was the first successful producer of field-grown roses in this country because he had the will to experiment until he found an understock (Rosa multiflora) that would grow them here.
And close to the heart of every rosarian should be the memory of Dr. J. Horace McFarland, whose life-long love of roses and rose growing led him to write and talk about them until the day of his death, at the age of 89, in 1948. As editor of the American Rose Annual for twenty-nine years, he was influential in the movement to bring roses into every home garden.
Indeed, we would all be poorer without these indefatigable champions of the rose.
41472 by Catherine Meikle