Graham Thomas (aka AUSmas) is a deep yellow shrub rose bred by British rose breeder, David C.H. Austin, and introduced into the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by David Austin Roses Limited (UK) in 1983. The cultivar was named for legendary rose horticulturalist

Graham Thomas Graham Stuart Thomas (3 April 1909 – 17 April 2003) was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on garden ...

. The rose was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and inducted into the

Rose Hall of Fame The Rose Hall of Fame contains roses considered world favourites by a vote of members of the World Federation of Rose Societies. Inductees are announced every three years at World Rose Conventions. Additionally, popular historical roses and roses ...

in 2009 as "World's Favourite Rose".

Description

'Graham Thomas' is an upright yellow shrub rose, in height, with a spread. The large flowers have a full, cupped bloom form and are borne mostly solitary or in large, long-stemmed clusters of 3 to 9 flowers. The color has been described variously as "rich deep yellow", "golden yellow", "amber" and "ochre yellow", and fades to a pale lemon as the bloom ages. The plant blooms in flushes throughout the season. It has a strong "tea" fragrance and is very disease resistant. Flowers are short-lived, so they do not make good cut flowers. Leaves are large and vary in colour from bright to pale green. The plant can reach in hot climates, but is difficult to train as a climber because of its rigid stems and upright habit.

History

David Austin roses

David C. H. Austin (1926 – 2018) was an award-winning rose breeder, nursery owner and writer from

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He began breeding roses in the 1950s with the goal of creating new shrub rose varieties that would possess the best qualities of old-fashioned roses while incorporating the long flowering characteristics of

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 ...

s and floribundas. His first commercially successful rose cultivar was 'Constance Spry', which he introduced in 1961. He created a new, informal class of roses in the 1960s, which he named "English Roses". Austin's roses are generally known today as "David Austin Roses". Austin attained international commercial success with his new rose varieties. Some of his most popular roses include 'Wife of Bath' (1969), 'Graham Thomas' (1983), 'Abraham Darby' (1985), and 'A Shropshire Lad'.

'Graham Thomas'

Austin developed 'Graham Thomas' by crossing the white floribunda, 'Iceberg', and an 'Unnamed seedling' with the shrub rose, 'Charles Austin'. The new cultivar was named for legendary horticulturalist and restorer of old roses

. David Austin Roses Limited (UK) introduced 'Graham Thomas' into the UK in 1983. Austin used 'Graham Thomas' extensively in further breeding. Over 20 child plants of 'Graham Thomas' have been developed by Austin and other rose-breeders. Selected child plants include, 'Anne Boleyn' (1991), 'Evelyn' (1992), 'The Pilgrim' (1991), 'Versigny' (1992), 'Charlotte' (1994), 'Molineux' (1994), and 'Charity' (1998). 'Graham Thomas' has been described as "the most popular" of Austin's creations and has won numerous horticultural awards. It was the first Austin rose to win the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

at the Chelsea Flower show ten years after its introduction in 1993. It was named The World's Favourite Rose, entering the Rose Society Hall of Fame in 2009.Graham Thomas Graham Stuart Thomas (3 April 1909 – 17 April 2003) was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on garden ...