''Rosa'' 'White Lightnin'' (aka AROwhif) is a white Grandiflora rose cultivar, bred by American hybridizers, Jack E. Christensen and Herbert Swim, before 1979. The rose was introduced in the United States by Armstrong Roses in 1980 and won the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award in 1981.

Description

'White Lightnin'' is a medium, bushy, upright Grandiflora tea rose, in height, with a } spread. It has a high-centered, ruffled bloom form. Bloom size is . The rose has a strong citrus fragrance. The flower color is a white blend; it is pure white with a pale yellow center and golden stamens. The flowers are typically borne singly on long, straight stems or in small clusters. 'White Lightnin'' blooms in flushes throughout the growing season and has large, glossy medium green leaves.

History

Jack E. Christensen

Jack E. Christensen (1949–2021) was an award-winning American rose breeder, garden writer and biology teacher from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Christensen was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

in 1949. He showed an early interest in nature and gardening when he was very young. In high school, Christensen won a scholarship to

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. He initially planned to become a doctor, but later changed his mind and transferred to

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a public polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the largest of the three polytechnic universities in the California State University syst ...

to study

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Christensen spent most of his horticultural career at Armstrong Nurseries in

. He progressed through the company until he became a hybridizer of roses and fruit trees, and vice-president of research. During his career, he developed over 80 new rose cultivars, including 'Henry Fonda', 'Gold Medal', 'Cricket', 'White Lightnin' and 'Fragrant Plum'. Christensen was the youngest hybridizer to win an All-America Rose Selections (AARS) in 1986, with his hybrid tea, 'Voodoo'.

'White Lightnin''

'White Lightnin'' was developed by Jack Christensen and Herbert Swim before 1979 from a cross between mauve Floribunda, 'Angel Face' and white

Hybrid tea rose Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Garden roses#Hybrid perpetual, hybrid perpetuals with ...

, 'Misty'. The new rose cultivar was introduced in the United States by Armstrong Roses in 1980. The rose won the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award in 1981.

References

{{Rose, state=collapsed White Lightnin 1980 introductions