When I was growing up, there was a yellow rosebush on a neighboring farmstead that bloomed for a few weeks every spring. The farm was no longer occupied, the house dozed in, and the old barn was all that remained to show that people had once lived there. My mom took some cuttings from the bush, which eventually resulted in a blooming fragrant hedge in our yard. Last year, I decided I wanted to have that same rose. After doing some research on what variety it may be, I found out that it is called Harison’s Yellow Rose.
In 1824, George Folliott Harison, a New York lawyer and amateur rose hybridizer, crossed 2 rose varieties. The resulting hybrid was named Rosa x. arisonii, or Harison’s Yellow Rose. In the 1830s, a nurseryman took cuttings and marketed the rose. It was renowned at the time for its vigor, hardiness, resilience and resistance to disease. And with a yellow color rare in old rose varieties, it caught on quickly. It is also known as the Oregon Trail Rose due to the fact that it was often carried west by the American pioneers and now is naturalized in western North America. It is also thought to be the rose of “Yellow Rose Of Texas” song fame.
So I bought a bush from a mail order catalog, and planted the thorny 8 inch bare stem with roots when it arrived. Since last spring, it has grown into a 3ft. tall bush, and is now covered in blooms.
I’m so pleased with its growth rate and the fact that it is blooming the first year. Harison’s Rose only blooms a few weeks each spring, but what it lacks in bloom time, it makes up for in a profusion of lovely scented blooms.
Beautiful. Good job tracking down what rose it was. Sounds like it’s going to be a mainstay for your garden for years to come.
Hi Gardener on Sherlock Street,
Absolutely! I may have to buy a few more too.
Thanks for visiting!
The moment I saw this rose I thought of my Grandparents. This rose came with them from Texas to New Mexico to Colorado, and whenever it bloomed my Grandfather would sing to all of us —The Yellow Rose of Texas.
Thank you for the memories.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
Hi Linda,
Thank you for sharing your special memory. Really touching.
Take care.
Love that rose! From the looks of the buds I’d say it truly will be covered. I wonder what the bush looks like in full bloom?
Roses are new to me as of last year and mostly all I have are “knock out”.
Yellow is my favorite long stem.
Hi Patsi,
I’ve considered a “knock out” rose. My favorite color in roses is pink.
Take care,
Suzanne
I love the rose. It would be beautiful to plant here, but my goats have a way of escaping to eat my rose.
Hi Teresa,
Goats are crafty that way. Although, they may have trouble with this one – the stems are liberally covered with thorns of all sizes.
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I’m so glad you came over to my blog so I could follow you back here … I love this blog!
I love it when I’m able to trace plants that grew in my mother’s garden and then plant them in my own. It’s kind of like a link that I’m building through the generations. Who knows, maybe my daughter’ll do the same.
Here in India (especially the tropical coastal part) roses are a pampered lot. No matter how spectacular your garden is, unless there is at least one measly, bug-ridden rosebush in it, you’re just not considered worthy of the tag of ‘gardener’. But your yellow rose is so pretty… no wonder you took all that trouble to track it again.
Hello Sunita,
Thank you so much for dropping by! I also enjoy having plants that I remember from my mom’s garden. I have a bridal wreath bush, and irises, and phlox, and purple coneflower and chives. She gave me some plants years ago, and I’ve dug them up and brought them with me every time I’ve moved down the years. I would have to agree that everyone should have at least one rosebush.
Take care, and have a great day!
A rose that is tough and beautiful is always a boon. A lot of once bloomers are so special that I don’t mind if they only bloom in spring, especially with Japanese Beetles eating roses all summer.
Hello Sweetbay,
I agree with you – I don’t mind if it blooms just once. I just don’t have the time to spray and baby roses, so I love the Harison’s Rose, because it is virtually problem free.
Take care and have a great day.
My grandmother got a cutting of this beautiful yellow rose when she moved to Georgia from Washington State, which was 95 years ago as of 2011. My father and mother propagated it by cuttings and gave one to me. At the time, I had 23 hybrid tea roses in the yard of my future home, which was in the country. No house, just roses, and a dear father who brought water over in huge containers from his house about 1/3 mile away. Deer ate every blossom and every leaf of the hybrid teas, but they didn’t touch the Yellow Rose of Texas. Those thorns aren’t just rose thorns, they’re deadly rose thorns! They’re like closely spaced stalks of needles. I know goats are supposed to eat nearly everything, but they would certainly get little spines in their tongues if they tried this rose.
Hi Nancy,
Isn’t it just the best rose ever? I love that I don’t have to spray it either – no mold. So carefree, and the deer steer clear of it.
Thank you Suzanne. After moving back to Colorado 11 years aqo I have been looking for this rose. Growing up it grew wild all over the springs, down back alleys, in yards, cemetaries, etc. There aren’t many left. I am glad to know what to look for now. Thank you again for passing this information along.
You’re welcome Euni. If you are looking for one, I bought mine from Jung Seed co.. Here is a link. http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=24930&c=402&p=Harisons+Yellow+Rose
I didn’t thank you, Suzanne, for having this site so I could find out that my grandma’s rose is Harison’s Yellow Rose. I didn’t know it until yesterday when I Googled “Yellow Rose of Texas.” I was telling my friend about it, and wanted to send her a photo, not having one of my own. The long drought nearly did mine in a couple of years ago, but there is a nice little green shoot coming up now. Do you fertilize yours? I never have, but maybe it would help?
Hi Nancy,
I fertilize mine in the early spring, and water only if we have a bad drought. Otherwise it is pretty carefree.
Thanks for visiting Nancy.