''Rosa'' 'Harison's Yellow', also known as ''R. × harisonii'', the Oregon Trail Rose or the Yellow Rose of Texas, is a rose cultivar which originated as a chance hybrid in the early 19th century. It probably is a seedling of ''

Rosa foetida ''Rosa foetida'', known by several common names, including Austrian briar, Persian yellow rose, and Austrian copper rose, is a species of rose, native to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. It has yellow flowers with a scent whic ...

'' and ''

Rosa pimpinellifolia ''Rosa pimpinellifolia'', the burnet rose, is a species of rose native to western, central and southern Europe (north to Iceland and Norway) and northwest Africa. Habitat It is generally restricted to sand dunes or limestone pavements and typic ...

''. The cultivar first bloomed at the suburban villa of George Folliott Harison, attorney, between 8th and 9th Avenues on 32nd Street, north of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The site of Harison's villa is now just south of the present

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

. The nurseryman William Prince of Flushing, Long Island took cuttings and marketed the rose in 1830. 'Harison's Yellow' is naturalized at abandoned house sites through the west and is found as a

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

rose along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. 'Harison's Yellow' was planted by the Heritage Rose Foundation in the Spring of 2009 near the grave of George Folliott Harison. The planting is now a part of the Heritage Rose District of NYC. The cultivar has semi-double, clear yellow flowers with an average diameter of , up to 25

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s, a slightly cupped bloom form, and a fruity fragrance. They appear in clusters in an early spring flush, lasting for three to four weeks. 'Harison's Yellow' has prickles, small, greenish grey leaves with seven to nine leaflets, and develops many small, globular

rose hip The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollina ...

s. The young hips are first green, then red, and turn to black in the ripe fruits, that reach an average diameter of . The bushy shrub forms suckers on its own roots, and reaches a height and width of . The cultivar tolerates drought, shade and poorer soils, needs little care, and is very winter hardy – down to −35 °C (

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 ...

4). It can be planted solitary, in groups or as hedges.

References

Schaffert, Nancy. "My favorite plant: 'Harison's Yellow' rose," ''Flower & Garden Magazine''
March–April, 1997 *Christopher, Thomas. ''In Search of Lost Roses'' 1983; paperback 2002 {{Rose, state=collapsed

Harison's Yellow ''Rosa'' 'Harison's Yellow', also known as ''R. × harisonii'', the Oregon Trail Rose or the Yellow Rose of Texas, is a rose cultivar which originated as a chance hybrid in the early 19th century. It probably is a seedling of ''Rosa foetida'' an ...