British Invasion, American Revolution

When roses were being chosen almost a decade ago for the gardens at the Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, assistant director Kevin Cartwright wanted to include varieties of the new English roses that had recently appeared on American shores.

He sought the advice of Clair Martin, curator of roses for the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino and a leading authority on the new roses with the old-fashioned look.

Martin was one of the first people to take an interest in these new creations, developed by English hybridizer David Austin, who began crossing Old Garden roses with modern roses in the ‘50s.

Austin had tired of hybrid tea roses and wanted to combine the rich, sweet fragrances and cupped, quartered, ruffled and other flower forms of old roses with the repeat bloom of modern roses. In doing so, he created a new class of roses that he called English roses.

In 1961, Austin brought to the marketplace the first of his new creations--’Constance Spry.’ It was followed by ‘Chianti’ in 1967 and ‘Shropshire Lass’ in 1968.

They caught the fancy of rose enthusiasts, even though his first attempts resulted in varieties that only bloomed once each year. Repeated hybridizing efforts resulted in his first repeat-blooming hybrids, ‘Canterbury’ and ‘The Knight,’ which took rosedom by storm in 1969.

But it wasn’t until 1983 that the David Austin English roses made their dramatic impact with the introduction of the butter yellow ‘Graham Thomas’ and prolific bloomer ‘Mary Rose.’

Martin’s love for old roses leads him on quests to view old roses and to hunt for lost or rare varieties. Touring Australia in 1986, he was stunned to see an impossible rose, one that seemed to be an old rose known as a damask.

Known for their powerfully sweet fragrance, damask roses have been grown since before the time of the Crusaders. Rose experts believe they originated in Persia and were introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages by returning Crusaders. Damask roses are characterized by arching canes forming a wide shrub. They mainly bloom once a year, although autumn damask roses have a sparse repeat bloom cycle in the fall.

Martin was astounded to view a variety that smelled and looked like a damask rose but with robust repeat bloom throughout the entire year. He had been introduced to ‘Mary Rose,’ and he was captivated.

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These roses were so new that they weren’t for sale anywhere in the U.S. Martin arranged to purchase 40 varieties through Hortus, a Canadian mail-order nursery that bought them from Austin’s English nursery.

“I didn’t even have a place to put them. The first shipment were planted in 5-gallon containers while I established beds for them at the Huntington,” Martin said.

Adjacent to the modern rose garden, the beds devoted to Austin roses increased over time. They now contain two each of 115 varieties of English roses, one of the largest collections in North America. Martin also grows 40 Austin roses in his home garden in Pasadena.

“I love their form and fragrance,” he said. “They work so well in landscapes, unlike many modern roses that are simply flower factories instead of landscape plants in their own right.”

Martin closely observed his new charges in the initial years and noticed inconsistencies in their performance at the Huntington in comparison with their descriptions in Austin’s catalog.

‘Graham Thomas’ was described as growing to 6 feet, but in less than a year, Martin’s had soared to 10 feet. ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ was supposed to grow to 6 feet but catapulted to 12.

He kept precise notes about their growth habits, size and susceptibility to the fungal diseases so troublesome to some roses in Southern California--mildew or rust. From that came “One Hundred English Roses for the American Garden” (Workman Publishing, 1997, $16.95). It contains explanations and definitions of old roses, modern roses and English roses, with full color photographs and details of each of 100 English roses that Martin recommends.

(Austin has developed 120 varieties; new introductions are planned.)

“The Austin roses have a tendency to grow larger in Southern California because of our abundant sunshine and 10-month growing period,” Martin said. “It’s also because of ‘hybrid vigor.’ By crossing old and new varieties, the offspring are more vigorous than both of the parents.”

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That vigor led to problems in their initial introductions in Southern California. Some hobbyists decided the new Brits were too aggressive for their gardens. ‘Graham Thomas’ quickly wore out its welcome in many gardens by growing so rampantly that the shrub overwhelmed surrounding plants.

But with a little study and careful placement in the landscape, Martin says, English roses have a place in California.

Martin recommends using the smaller varieties of English roses in containers around patios and decks, where their heady fragrances can be enjoyed.

But fragrance can come with a price, and some English roses are more disease-prone than modern roses bred to resist mildew or rust.

While mildew can look unsightly with its coating of powdery white on leaves and stems, the fungal disease won’t kill the plant. Martin advocates avoiding susceptible varieties, especially near the coast, where damp, cool conditions permit mildew infestation.

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Martin will present a brief overview of English roses at Smith & Hawken in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.