''Rosa'' 'Alexander Mackenzie' (aka A. MacKenzie) is a red, short climbing shrub rose, 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 ...

. It was introduced in Canada in 1985 by

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

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

Description

'Alexander MacKenzie' is a short climbing, shrub rose, in height, with a spread. It has a cupped, fully double bloom form, carried in large clusters of 5 to 5 medium-sized petals. Pointed, ovoid buds open to flowers that are a bright crimson colour with yellow undertones. The rose has a mild fragrance, and has glossy, medium dark green foliage. 'Alexander MacKenzie' has an arching growth habit and can either be grown as a short climber or a shrub. It is an excellent rose for hot climates.

History

Felicitas Svejda

Felicitas Svejda was born November 8, 1920, in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. 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. Professio ...

at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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: 'John Cabot', '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.

'Alexander MacKenzie'

Svejda bred 'Alexander MacKenzie' in 1985 using stock parents, 'Queen Elizabeth' × ('Red Dawn' × 'Suzanne'). The cultivar is one of the Explorer Roses that Svejda developed to withstand the harsh Canadian winters and thrive in its short growing season. The plant was named in honour of Alexander MacKenzie (1763—1820), the Scottish-born explorer who led the first expedition to cross the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in Canada and reach the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Notes

Sources

* * {{Rose, state=collapsed Alexander Mackenzie 1985 introductions