The wonderful Grootendorsts

Of the roses with Rosa rugosa parentage the Grootendorst roses are among the most gardenworthy. They bear copious trusses of very small flowers and the petals have an interesting crimped edge giving them a carnation look.

The most commonly seen is "Pink Grootendorst" with deep pink flowers. This is a sport from the original rose, the red "F.J. Grootendorst" (illustrated here). Pink Grootendorst has a tendency to sport back to F.J. Grootendorst and the occasional red or parti-coloured flower may be found on old bushes. A white sport (unsurprisingly named "White Grootendorst") was introduced more recently (in the 1960s).

However, the best of all, at least in colour, is "Grootendorst Supreme", a darker red sport of F.J. that has sumptuous, richly-coloured flowers. Unaccountably this variety is the least often seen, mainly because of its reputation to be less vigorous than F.J.

The Grootendorsts are easy to grow, very hardy (inheriting from their rugosa parent the ability to withstand zone 4 or even 3). They need no pruning and are long-lived, flowering year after year with little attention. These roses give some of the greatest reward for the least trouble.

Something of a mystery attends the origin of these roses. There is agreement that the original F.J. is a result of a cross between R. rugosa x "Mme. Norbert Levavasseur". It is usually attributed to the European rose breeder de Goey (in 1918). However, the great North American breeder Frank Skinner (of whom I have written elsewhere) claimed to have raised this plant from the same cross in 1908. He sent plants abroad only to have them return to Canada much later without being attributed to their original source. Is it possible that there were two separate origins from the same cross?