''Rosa'' 'American Beauty' is a deep pink to crimson rose cultivar, bred by

Henri Lédéchaux Henri Lédéchaux was a French rose breeder based in Villecresnes, Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the nort ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 1875, and was originally named Madame Ferdinand Jamin.

Description

The hybrid perpetual has cup-shaped flowers with a brilliant crimson colour and up to 50

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, situated on long stiff stems. The buds are thick and globular and open to strongly scented, hybrid tea-like flowers with a diameter of 11 cm. They appear in flushes over a long period, but according to the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, only sparingly. The height of the upright, vigorous shrub ranges between at an average width of . 'American Beauty' has prickly shoots, dark green foliage and is winter hardy up to −29 °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 ...

5), but is susceptible to the fungi diseases mildew,

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), ...

and black spot. It is well suited as cut flower, and can be grown in greenhouses, in containers or as garden rose, planted solitary or in groups.

History

In 1875 it was brought to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

George Valentine Nash George Valentine Nash (May 6, 1864 – July 15, 1921) was an American botanist. He was the Head Gardener and Curator of the Plantations at the New York Botanical Garden, for whom he did field work in the Bahamas, South Florida and Haiti. Life ...

. It was introduced as a new rose cultivar named 'American Beauty' by Bancroft and Field Bros in 1886, but quite soon identified as 'Madame Ferdinand Jamin'. In 1888, Bassett & Washburn first introduced the rose to other florists for purchase. It became a famous greenhouse variety and was the best selling rose cultivar in the United States until the 1920s. Due to its high price per stem (at least two dollars per stem right from its launch in 1886) and its popularity, the cultivar was called the ''million-dollar rose''. Its popularity remained focused on the United States, while it is only rarely cultivated in other countries.

Symbol

The flower is commemorated in the Joseph Lamb

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

composition "American Beauty Rag". In a pastiche Ziegfeld-style number, 'The Flower Garden Of My Heart' in the 1940 Rodgers & Hart Broadway musical Pal Joey, one of the six 'flower' girls appears as the American Beauty Rose. The song

American Beauty Rose ''Rosa'' 'American Beauty' is a deep pink to crimson rose cultivar, bred by Henri Lédéchaux in France in 1875, and was originally named Madame Ferdinand Jamin. Description The hybrid perpetual has cup-shaped flowers with a brilliant crims ...

was written in 1950 and popularized by Frank Sinatra. In Joseph Heller's novel ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-c ...

'' an aged Italian hurls an American Beauty rose at Major de Coverly, wounding him in the eye. The flower is a recurring motif in the Oscar-winning 1999 film ''American Beauty''. It was also featured on the cover of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

album '' American Beauty''. 'American Beauty' is the official flower of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. It was further adopted as the formal symbol of the upscale

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as a ...

store chain in 1943, and as the official flower of several fraternities and sororities ( Sigma Phi Delta fraternity, Mu Beta Psi fraternity, Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, Tau Beta Sigma sorority, Beta Beta Beta, a coed

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

fraternity for biology majors, and

Alpha Rho Omega Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , wh ...

sorority).

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed American Beauty 1875 introductions Symbols of the District of Columbia