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 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. ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada (now

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 ...

) for nearly 25 years. She developed the Explorer Rose Series named in honour of Canadian explorers. Many of her roses also thrive in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Felicitas Svejda was born November 8, 1920, in

Vienna, Austria 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. ...

. She obtained her Ph.D. in

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 ...

in 1948 from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Hochschule fur Bodenkultur) 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. ...

. She later 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 settled in Ottawa, Ontario. She died on January 19, 2016, at the age of 95, in the city of Ottawa from brief complications following

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Career

After graduation, Svejda remained at the university in Vienna where she worked as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

from 1947-1951. She then moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to work at the Swedish Association of Seed Selection for a year. When she moved to

she worked for the federal government's Department of Agriculture (now

) as a

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

in the cereal division from 1953-1961 before accepting the position in

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

breeding. The Canadian Explorer Rose series, developed by Svejda, made the

famous for

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

breeding by creating a plant both hardy and recurrently blooming. In 1961 she reactivated the rose breeding program in Ottawa aimed to develop completely winter-hardy, recurrent-flowering varieties. She also sought varieties resistant to black spot and

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mold, largely by its colour: molds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consisti ...

, and ones with good ornamental features of flower and shrub.T.H. Anstey, Agriculture Canada One Hundred Harvests, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, 1886-1986. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Horticulture Series No. 27, 1986. p. 252-256 The rose varieties available in Canada in 1961 could not survive without winter protection outside the warmer conditions of

southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

(

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

) and the coast of

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 ...

. Armed with patience and determination, Svejda managed to succeed in developing a first variety with these characteristics after 8 years. In 1968 she launched the first national trial of ornamental shrubs in Canada whereby she sent her roses and other plants to locations across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

to test their survival rates in local climates. The Explorer rose series includes 25 different varieties released between 1968 and 1999; 13 developed during her career, the remainder developed by the program after her retirement. The Explorer Roses are winter hardy, recurrent-flowering, disease-resistant plants that have made their way into park gardens and backyards all over Canada. Some of the hardier cultivars are also grown in

and her homeland of Austria, and have been adapted by others for harsh climates such as the

Nevada desert Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the List of U.S. stat ...

. The Explorer Roses include: 'Alexander MacKenzie', 'Captain Samuel Holland', David Thompson, 'Jens Munk', and 'John Cabot'. Svejda also worked with ornamental shrubs; five weigelias named after dances inuet, Rumba, Samba, Tango and Polka robust

forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to Eastern Asia, but one native to Southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is named ...

s Northern Gold and Happy Centennial, and three mock oranges including Buckley's Quill.

Honours and awards

Svejda received several awards and recognitions. She received a certificate of merit from the Royal National Rose Society of Great Britain (1985) and the Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation (1999), the prestigious Portland Gold Medal (2004), and an honorary Doctorate of Science from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, Toronto (2000) for her scientific career and contributions to ornamental

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

. She was also the honorary patron of the Canadian Rose Society. The "Explorer Rose Garden" was planted in 2005 at the

in Ottawa to proudly display the results of her research. It combines plants from the original collection as well as more recent varieties. Svejda was a special guest at the official opening ceremony. In 2010, she generously donated her personal records, correspondence, and library to the

Montreal Botanical Garden The Montreal Botanical Garden (, ) is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it i ...

Library. The Felicitas Svejda: Scientist and rosarian collection is available online.

Selected roses

* 'John Cabot', (1978) * 'Alexander MacKenzie', (1985) * 'Captain Samuel Holland', (1991) * 'Jens Munk', (1979) * 'Henry Hudson', (1976) * 'Henry Kelsey', (1984) * 'David Thompson', (1979) * 'John Franklin', (1979) * 'Champlain', (1982) * 'John Davis', (1986) * 'J.P. Connell', (1986) * 'William Baffin', (1983) * 'Frontenac', (1992) * 'Lambert Closse', (1992)

Rose gallery

Rosa_A._Mackenzie_2019-06-05_8450.jpg, 'Alexander MacKenzie' Rosa_Captain_Samuel_Holland_2019-06-06_9411.jpg, 'Captain Samuel Holland' Rosa_%27John_Cabot%27,_Devonian_Botanic_Garden.jpg, 'John Cabot' Rose,_John_Davis,_%E3%83%90%E3%83%A9,_%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3_%E3%83%87%E3%82%A4%E3%83%93%E3%82%B9,_(14078724318)_(cropped).jpg, 'John Davis' Jens_Munk_flower.JPG, 'Jens Munk'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svejda, Felicitas Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 20th-century Canadian botanists 21st-century Canadian botanists 20th-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian biologists Canadian women botanists 20th-century Austrian botanists Canadian geneticists Austrian geneticists Canadian women biologists Rose breeders Scientists from Vienna University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna alumni 1920 births 2016 deaths Austrian emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Canadian women scientists Canadian women geneticists Scientists from Ottawa Civil servants from Ottawa