Autumn hips on Rosa 'Isabella Skinner'

Isabella Skinner is a much loved rose, particularly in the Prairies as it is exceedingly cold tolerant. Although the double pink scented flowers (freely produced on relatively thornless tall arching shrubs) are usually what is admired about it, less frequently mentioned is the fine autumn display of rich red, good sized hips.

The rose was bred by the Canadian plant breeder extraordinaire Frank Leith Skinner who had a nursery in the Dropmore area of Manitoba. His father was one of the original homesteaders of the area, but the young Frank was forced by a lung injury caused by pneumonia to spend less time rounding up cattle and more time gardening. Later his nursery became famous. The nursery no longer exists, but happily the old property is now the home of the "Frank Skinner Arboretum Trail", preserving his legacy.

The mysterious origin of Mr Doncaster's Rose

Rosa "Doncasteri" is a particularly good form of Rosa macrophylla, the big hip rose.

Graham Stuart Thomas (one of the all time great rosarians) gives the origin of this rose as follows:

"A form of Rosa macrophylla put on the market between the wars by Mr Doncaster of Messrs J. Burrell and Co. of Cambridge, but probably one of Dr Hurst's seedlings. It has narrower, darker green leaves than the type, and smaller darker flowers and a less free and graceful habit. Its chief glory is the sumptuous display of large red, flagon-shaped hips in early autumn." - The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book (1994).

Graham Stuart Thomas studied in the University Botanical Garden in Cambridge and therefore knew Dr C.C. Hurst (1870-1947) the rose geneticist with close connections to Cambridge. When he ascribes this rose to Dr Hurst he is likely right. That Hurst worked on this plant is beyond doubt because he published chromosome details (diploid, 2n=14) in his "The Mechanism of Creative Evolution" of 1932.

But what is Rosa "Doncasteri" and how did it arise? Probably the best guess is that it is a hybrid between R. macrophylla and some other, unknown, diploid species, and it is sometimes written as Rosa x doncasteri to indicate that fact. Whatever the origin, the hips and dark flowers make it an excellent garden plant.