Twigs from my garden

Fossils indicate that roses have been around for at least 32 million years. Until roses were hybridized, native roses in America, Europe and the Orient were either white or variations of pink, with European roses blooming the deepest shades of pink, from blush pink to deep crimson. White roses had the most variations in forms. Native species of roses in America had the least variation in pinks and bloomed later than their European cousins. Oriental roses were able to repeat blooming.

Europeans loved their beautiful white and pink roses until sometime in the 18th century, when wild yellow roses were discovered growing in the Middle East. The wild roses that grew in Afghanistan and southwest Asia ranged in colors from pale yellow to deep sulphur. What a sensation the yellow roses caused in Europe! As soon as they were transplanted to Europe, the race to hybridize pink roses with the newly-discovered yellow was on!

There are three yellow species of roses from which all yellow roses have been hybridized: Rosa Ecae, Rosa Foetida and Rosa Hemisphaerica. Rosa Ecae, native to Afghanistan, is an extremely thorny shrub about eight feet high with reddish-brown wood, black thorns, ferny leaves, true yellow stamens and small blossoms resembling buttercups. It is not a hardy species in our northern climate. Rosa Hemisphaerica, native to southwest Asia, is called the "sulphur" rose. Not only are the blooms a lovely pure yellow, they are also double. These bushes grow to about six feet and are covered in gray-green foliage. The scent of the sulphur rose, unfortunately, was, well, like sulphur.

The Dutch and French were especially good at hybridizing. Before discovery of yellow roses, there were maybe 24 species in Europe. However, by the end of that century, more than 1,000 varieties of roses were hybridized, yet mostly in white, pink and crimson!

There was a downside to the appearance of yellow roses - black spot, a nasty fungus that appears on leaves and progresses to black spots fringed with yellow rings on both sides of the leaves. As the disease spreads, the entire leaves change to yellow, then drop to the ground. In time, the entire bush may become defoliated. Leaves less than two weeks old are the most susceptible to this disease. Yellow roses, not being native to our northern climate, were simply not resistant to the fungal disease, which is worse in wet, humid climate. Neither were the yellow roses as vigorous as the native pink and white roses. Worse, they did not smell good, some actually smelling decayed. With time and patience, hybridizers began to create species with fuller shapes, pleasant fragrances and varying shades of yellow, from pale lemon to almost peach and copper.

The yellow roses have come a long way, baby. Many modern species of yellow roses have had resistance to disease bred into them, they are vigorous shrubs and climbers, and they come in a variety of flower forms from single to "petal-packed doubles" in glorious shades of pale lemon cream to deep gold, true yellow, buff, peach and coppery yellows. Finally - perhaps most importantly - the undesirable smells indigenous to the original yellow roses were hybridized to flowers with the pleasing scents we all equate with roses.

I will never look at a yellow rose or listen to "The Yellow Rose of Texas" again without appreciating its hybridizing history!

Garden contest and event

The Gardeners of Lima once again invites anyone to enter or nominate a favorite garden - vegetable, herb or flower - for its annual contest. Contact Rex Maurer at 419-222-4356 if you have a special garden in mind. The winners win an award, invitation to at the gardeners' annual Christmas dinner, and the club will tour their gardens next summer. Gardeners of Lima will be touring last year's winners on Tuesday evening. Contact Dick Hussey at 419-991-6396 for details about the club's annual garden tour. Guests are always welcome to attend meetings and events of this long-standing club, which meets in the evening on the second Tuesday of the month.

Master gardener tip of the week

Recent interest in growing what are referred to as old, antique or heirloom roses - those hybridized, but existing before 1878 when the first hybrid tea rose called LaFrance appeared on the rose scene. The old roses are fairly disease-resistant; some have wonderful fragrances, and all bear old-fashioned flowers in many varieties. Some are hardier than others so check before you buy. Look for Alba, Damask, Gallica, Centifolia (cabbage rose), Portland, Bourbon, Hybrid Rugosa, China, Noisette, and Tea roses and, of course, the humble moss rose, a ground cover.