Rosa sericia ssp. omeiensis Var. pteracantha & Rosa 'Mrs. Oakley Fisher'12 August 2025

Species roses or wild roses have five petals. One exception is my very vigorous Rosa sericea ssp. omeiensis Var. pteracantha. It blooms on May 1 well before any of my other roses. In the fall it has huge red prickles (thorns are not the correct botanical name). Because it is a species rose it only blooms once in the season unlike my many remontant roses (that’s the correct botanical nomenclature for roses that bloom more than once). Today as I was taking all my green stuff to the green garbage container (it was garbage pickup day) I noticed, to my pleasant surprise, that there were two little blooms.

The other surprise is somewhat bitter. I first brought into our Kerrisdale garden the single tea rose (and yes it has five petals Rosa ‘Mrs. Oakley Fisher’ 20 years ago. Rosemary did not like yellow in her garden. She did not smile when I brought her home. As soon as she saw my portrait of our then 8-year-old granddaughter Rebecca, wearing a sailor dress, and with a Mrs. Oakley Fisher in her hair, it became her and my favourite rose. Through the years it has come and gone. It is not an easy rose. A couple of years ago I purchased two of them from Rogue Valley Roses in Oregon. One survived and it is healthy.

I should have scanned it yesterday when it was at its best. Today one of the petals fell off. I propped it up for the scan.

My granddaughter has presently lost her way. I believe that this blooming Mrs. Oakley Fisher is a harbinger that she will be soon back and be who she was and will be.