Rosa Foetida - Cultivation History

Cultivation History

Rosa foetida was imported to Europe from Persia (R. foetida 'persiana' being the name of one of its varieties), and was important to European horticulture since it had no native yellow roses. It was described (in 1583) and successfully cultivated by Carolus Clusius; he grew them in the imperial garden of Rudolf II in Vienna. Its popularity was aided by Clusius's contemporary, Flemish painter and engraver Joris Hoefnagel, who contrasted it with the Eglantine rose in a manuscript illustration.

An important rose, inasmuch as it is the source of yellow in modern-day hybrids, most famously 'Soleil d'Or' (R. foetida x 'Antoine Ducher'; 1900), was bred by Joseph Pernet-Ducher. One variety, Rosa foetida var. 'bicolor', the Austrian Copper rose, blooms early in the season and has flowers with petals that are red or orange on the upper interior surface but yellow on the lower exterior surface. Rosa foetida has exerted great influence on the modern stock of cultivated roses, contributing also its susceptibility to black spot.

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