Yellow rose wins world's-favorite-rose honor

David Austin's English rose 'Graham Thomas' is the world's favorite rose, according to the rose aficionados in the 41 member countries that make up the World Federation of Rose Societies. It is considered by many rosarians to be the rose world's highest honor.

Each Hall of Fame inductee wears the crown of World's Most Favorite Rose for a three-year reign. The first world's-favorite winner was the famed 'Peace' rose, in 1976.

Introduced in 1983, 'Graham Thomas' was the first David Austin hybrid to fully meet its creator's vision for a new kind of rose: the plump, cabbage-rose form and fragrance of heirloom roses beloved by English cottage gardeners combined with the repeat-flowering and broad color range of modern hybrids.

The cup-shaped bloom has a strong, fresh tea rose fragrance and is a rich yellow with golden overtones.

'Graham Thomas,' a bushy shrub 5 feet high by 4 feet wide, is recommended by the company for areas where summer heat and humidity can be problematic. Summer pruning encourages repeat bloom.

The rose also can be trained as a climbing rose for a wall, rose pillar, obelisk or fence. It enjoys full sun but also will perform in partial shade, provided it is not planted directly underneath a canopy of trees, according to the British company's catalog.

David Austin's U.S. distribution center is in Tyler, Texas, where its grafted, bare-root roses are stashed in cold storage until shipping begins in January.

Chamblee's Rose Nursery, also in Tyler, is licensed to grow non-grafted, own-root roses taken from Austin's hybrids.

Many gardeners, myself included, believe own-root roses perform better in places with Texas heat and humidity, being better able to fight off diseases.

Mark Chamblee sells David Austin at his nursery on U.S. Highway 69 North in 1- and 2-gallon pots; he starts shipping 1-gallon pots again in mid-September.

"Oh, it's absolutely a good rose for North Texas," says Chamblee, who has 'Graham Thomas' in stock. "It's a climber here but it also can be grown as a weeping shrub. The yellow bloom holds its color well."

Several independent nursery retailers stock Chamblee's own-root versions of the David Austin hybrids. Call before driving, however, to make sure 'Graham Thomas' is available. If not, most nurseries will include it in their next order for you.