''Rosa'' 'Chrysler Imperial' is a strongly fragrant, dark red hybrid tea rose cultivar. This variety was bred and publicly debuted by Dr. Walter E. Lammerts of

Descanso Gardens Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. It sits on the northern edge of the San Rafael Hills. Descanso Gardens features a wide area, mostly f ...

La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as just , is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley, it is the l ...

, US in 1952. Its stock parents 'Charlotte Armstrong' (cerise pink) and 'Mirandy' (dark oxblood red) are both 'All American Rose Selections'-roses (awarded in 1940 and 1945). The elegantly tapered buds open into high-centered blossoms with a diameter of about and can have up to 45–50 petals (which is a high number for a hybrid tea rose) with a rich, deep, velvety red color. The cultivar flushes in a chronological blooming pattern throughout its local season, starting in late spring until fall. The long-stemmed rose flowers are long lasting and showy and make excellent cut flowers, though they "blue" badly with age. The rose bush reaches height, and a diameter of . The shrub has an upright form with very thorny canes and semi-glossy dark green foliage. It is not a very cold hardy rose (

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 widely ...

6b through 9b) and needs good sun exposure. Without good air circulation it is susceptible to mildew and blackspot, particularly in cool climates. A distinguished descendant is Rosa 'Papa Meilland'. Cultivar (PP01528), United States Patent No: PP 1,167.

Honors

* 1951 Portland Gold Medal * 1953

All-America Rose Selections The All-America Rose Selections (AARS) is an award that was given annually, from 1940 to 2013, by the United States, American rose industry to an outstanding new rose variety. The AARS selection was regarded as the most prestigious rose prize in the ...

:1953 only two roses including Chrysler Imperial were awarded the All American Rose Selections. At the award presentation ceremony at

Rockefeller Plaza Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, US, the award to the Chrysler Imperial rose was presented by Miss Nancy True Thorne, Queen of the Tournament of Roses. * 1964 John Cook Medal * 1965 James Alexander Gamble Rose Fragrance Award

Official association with Chrysler Corporation (producers of the Chrysler Imperial automobile)

In the 1954

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, 25,000 Chrysler Imperial roses in individual refreshment tubes of water covered the base of the float entered by the City of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, US and

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

. The theme of the float was ''Life of an American Workman'', as Chrysler Corporation founder Walter P. Chrysler had titled his autobiography. The center of this float featured the figure of an American Workman striding out from the pages of a book to strike a heavy hammer upon an anvil from which floral "sparks" flowed, their trains leading in several directions to various Detroit signature products: an automobile, a truck, an airplane, a tank, and a boat.

Literature and references

* ''RHS Encyclopedia of Roses'', Charles and Brigid Quest-Ritson, 2008, Penguin (German translation: ''Rosen, die große Enzyklopedie'', Dorling Kinsley Verlag 2010, ) {{Rose, state=collapsed

Chrysler Imperial The Chrysler Imperial, introduced in 1926, was Chrysler (division), Chrysler's top-of-the-line vehicle for much of its history. Models were produced under the Chrysler name until 1954, after which Imperial became Imperial (automobile), a standal ...

1952 introductions