Harison's Yellow

Aka ‘Pioneer Rose,’ ‘Yellow Rose of Texas’

Old, miscellaneous, dark yellow

The small, semi-double blooms of bright yellow on this variety produce a brief but spectacular spring show, and they have a fruity fragrance. The long canes create a bushy, open shrub with many prickles. This rose is one of the hardiest in the family and spreads quickly by suckers; in fact, the best way to propagate it is by planting the runners. There are black, bristly oval hips. Reaching 10 feet by 12 feet in two seasons, it produces more blooms when in dry, cool positions. After it appeared in the garden of attorney and amateur hybridist George F. Harison in 1830 in what is today downtown Manhattan, it was carried by many pioneers on their journey west.

Zones 4-9

Harison, USA, circa 1830

Perhaps Rosa spinosissima x R. foetida

Page 295, Botanica’s Roses: The Encyclopedia of Roses

• Bloom color: dark yellow
• Flower size: small
• Flower type: semi-double
• Flower shape: cupped
• Fragrance amount: moderate
• Flowering habit: small clusters
• Flowering incidence: once
• Petal shape: plain