''Rosa'' 'Elina' (AKA DICjana) is a light yellow

hybrid tea rose Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Hybrid Perpetuals with the tall, elegant Tea roses. T ...

bred by Patrick Dickson of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1983. The variety was developed from the white floribunda 'Nana Mouskouri' (Dickson, 1975) and the apricot hybrid tea 'Lolita' (Kordes, 1972).

History

Dickson Nurseries is a family owned rose company in

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. The nursery was established in 1836 by Alexander Dickson (1801—1880). His son George (1832-1914) founded the rose nursery, ''Alexander Dickson and Sons'' and his son Hugh (1831—1904) established a separate rose nursery in 1869 called ''Royal Nurseries''. George's sons, Alexander II (1857-1949) and George II took over the company from their father in 1872. Alexander II began breeding roses in 1879. The firm's name changed to ''Dicksons of Hawlmark'' and later became ''Dickson Nurseries'' in 1969. Alexander Patrick (Patrick) Dickson (1926—2012), grandson of Alexander II, began working for Dickson Nurseries in 1957 and began hybridizing roses in 1958. During his career, Dickson developed many successful rose cultivars, including ''Rosa'' 'Sea Pearl', ''Rosa'' 'Irish Gold'', ''Rosa'' 'Red Gold' (AARS) and ''Rosa'' 'Red Devil'. Dickson created the new rose cultivar, 'Elina' from the white floribunda 'Nana Mouskouri' (Dickson, 1975) and the apricot hybrid tea 'Lolita' (Kordes, 1972). The rose was later used to hybridize one child plant, floribunda ''Rosa'' 'Whisper''.

Description

'Elina' is a medium-sized bushy shrub, 4 to 5 ft (121–152 cm) in height, with a 2 to 3 ft spread (60–91 cm). Its mildly fragrant flowers are high centered, have 17 to 35 petals and an average diameter of 15 cm (6"). Bloom colour is weather dependent and can reach from lemon to ivory. The pointed, ovoid buds open to very large flowers with an elegant, opulent bloom form. They grow mostly solitary on long firm stems and appear quite late, but then almost continuously throughout the season. The bushy rose shrub has dense, glossy foliage.'Elina' is only moderately winter hardy (

USDA zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

6b), a

thrips Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

favourite, but excepting

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

in humid conditions very disease resistant. Barlage recommends the plantation in groups or hedges.

Awards

* ADR 1987 * New Zealand Gold Star of the South Pacific 1987 * James Mason Medal 1994 * The World's Favourite Rose 2006

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed Elina 1983 introductions