My front garden has a bad case of hybrid Hulthemia.
This Hulthemia phenomenon is manifesting itself on a new rose bush, ‘In Your Eyes’, causing it to erupt in blooms that open yellow, with a pronounced maroon “eye zone” in the middle of each flower. The petals gradually age to cream, while the “eye zones” fade to pale purple. When multiple flowers are in different stages of openness, the shrub appears to have blooms adorned with at least two color combinations.
The shrub in question is gorgeous, but why is this happening?
Rose breeders are always looking for something new—blue roses, continuous bloomers, roses that flower in the shade, not to mention plants that are absolutely impervious to climate change, pests and diseases. This quest has been going on for centuries, but in an era when breeding advances can be communicated around the world in an instant, the hunt for the unusual has become intense. Roses with “eye zones” are unusual, and therefore sought after.
The genes for the “eye zone” trait came from a plant known botanically as Rosa persica, Hulthemia persica or Hulthemia berberifolia. This dispute over genetics and nomenclature, is ongoing, at least in some quarters. The important thing to remember is that Hulthemia, a plant native to eastern Iran and surrounding areas, is a thorny, scraggly shrub that sports bright yellow flowers with unusual red centers. It blooms in summer and is well adapted to its native hot, dry climate. It is clearly related to true roses, but lacks some rose characteristics.
Hulthemia would still be an obscure plant, if not for those “eyes”, which have made rose breeders’ hearts thump loudly for years. Other rose species simply do not have “eyes”.
Some of the first matchmaking attempts were made by an Englishman, Jack Harkness, who bred roses for his family’s firm from 1964 until his death in 1994. Obtaining Hulthemia seeds, Harkness set about the business of trying to breed reblooming rose varieties that had the characteristic Hulthemia “eyes”. Harkness eventually introduced four Hulthemia/rose varieties: ‘Euphrates,’ ‘Tigris,’ ‘Nigel Hawthorne’ and ‘Xerxes.’ Of these roses, none were reliable rebloomers and only ‘Tigris’ produced viable seed for future crosses. The matchmaking efforts continued, with further crosses made by Harkness and other breeders in England and America, including Ralph Moore, a Californian best known for his miniature roses.
In a 2007 article, an American rose breeder named James A. Sproul of Bakersfield, California, wrote about the Hulthemia breeding process. Acording to Sproul, the genes that produce the characteristic “eyes” seem to be linked to genes for non-repeat blooming. Modern mass market buyers expect roses to rebloom reliably, which made the matchmaking an even greater challenge.
In his article, Sproul predicted that either the Harkness firm or one of several other breeders would create a Hulthemia breakthrough and have a reblooming rose with eyes ready for introduction within five years. Sproul went the other breeders one better and did it himself, introducing his trademarked “Eyeconic” series, beginning with ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Pink Lemonade’ in 2011. The plants were marketed by the Pennsylvania-based wholesaler, Star Roses
The Eyeconic series has since expanded to include delectable-sounding varieties like ‘Lychee Lemonade’, ‘Mango Lemonade’: ‘Plum Lemonade’, ‘Melon Lemonade’ and ‘Pomegranate Lemonade.’ In all cases, the fruit designation refers to the base petal color. All feature darker central “eyes”. The “Eyeconic” shrubs are medium size bushes, growing to around four feet tall, with semi-double flowers bearing eight to ten petals apiece. All are repeat bloomers and all are striking plants.
Once breeders like Sproul figured out the reblooming equation, more “eye zone” roses came to market. Most are now characterized as “hybrid Hulthemia” roses, because of their mixed genetic heritage.
In 2019, American rose breeder Tom Carruth introduced ‘In Your Eyes’, the reblooming rose that has caused such a stir in my front garden.
The hybrid Hulthemias, with their heritage of heat tolerance, are useful in areas where summers can be torrid. To curb the tendency to legginess, cut back by one third after each flush of bloom.
Going forward, we will certainly see more trademarked lines of “eye zone” roses, possibly with fully double flowers and/or more compact habits. Fragrance is not a strong feature, so hybridizers are almost undoubtedly working to breed that trait back into the shrubs.
Local retailers will probably stock at least one of the hybrid Hulthemias this season and they leap out from rose displays when they are in bloom. You can also order ‘In Your Eyes’ from High Country Roses; P.O. Box 22901 Denver, CO 80222; (800) 552-2082; www.highcountryroses.com.