''Rosa'' 'John Cabot' is a dark pink Hybrid Kordesii,

shrub rose Garden roses are predominantly Hybrid (biology), hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. A ...

, bred by Canadian rose breeder,

Felicitas Svejda Felicitas Svejda (November 8, 1920 – January 19, 2016) was a federal scientist in Canada who developed roses that could survive Canada's short growing season and bitter winter conditions. She led the rose-breeding program at the Central Experim ...

in 1969. It was introduced in Canada in 1978 by

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC; sometimes Ag-Canada; french: Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada)''Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Agriculture ...

. It was the first of the Canadian Explorer roses that Svejda developed and named in honour of legendary Canadian explorers.

Description

'John Cabot' is a tall, bushy hybrid Kordesii shrub rose, in height, with a spread. It has a double (17–25) cupped, bloom form of medium-sized petals. Flower color ranges from dark pink to reddish-purple, sometimes with streaks of white, and the colour fades as blooms age. Flowers are borne in clusters of 3–10. 'John Cabot' flowers abundantly in the first seven weeks of the season, then occasionally until the autumn, when it has a final, big flowering. The rose has a light, musky fragrance, and has light green, glossy foliage. Leaves are susceptible to blackspot. 'John Cabot' has an arching growth habit, and in warmer climates can be trained as a climbing rose up to 10 feet.

History

Felicitas Svejda

Felicitas Svejda was born November 8, 1920, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She studied

agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where she earned a PhD in 1948. She moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1953, and was hired by the Canadian Department of Agriculture's research division in Ottawa, Ontario. Her first project was researching cereal grains, but later began working with ornamental plants. Svejda was given a new project in 1961 to create a series of winter hardy roses, which would thrive in the coldest regions of Canada, with sub-freezing winter temperatures of -50 C, and would also flower regularly during Canada's short growing season. With no prior knowledge of roses, Svejvda developed a successful rose-breeding program at the

Central Experimental Farm The Central Experimental Farm (CEF), commonly known as the Experimental Farm, is an agricultural facility, working farm, and research centre of the Science and Technology Branch, formerly the Research Branch, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. ...

(CEF) in Ottawa. From the 1960s to the 1980s, she introduced many new cultivars, including 22 roses in the Explorer Rose Series, named in honour of Canadian explorers. Some of her most popular cultivars are: 'Alexander Mackenzie', 'Jens Munk', 'David Thompson', and 'Henry Kelsey'. Svejvda led the rose-breeding program at CEF for 25 years, until her retirement in 1985. Her roses continued to be introduced in Canada well into the 1990s. Svejda died Jan. 19, 2016 in Ottawa at the age 95.

'Captain John Cabot'

Svejda bred 'John Cabot' in 1969, using stock parents, 'Kordesii' x ('Masquerade' x ''Rosa laxa''). The cultivar is the first of the Explorer Roses series that Svejda developed to withstand the harsh Canadian winters and thrive in its short growing season. The rose variety was named in honour of

John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...

(1450–1500), an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

navigator who first explored the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa 'John Cabot'

1978 introductions