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Green Rose: Symbol of hope and freedom

Unusual flower has ties to Underground Railroad

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 18, 2021

A ray of January sunshine illuminates a Green Rose. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Horticulturists ridiculed it. Abolitionists wore it proudly. Wherever it grew, the Green Rose got noticed.

Passed down from one generation of gardeners to the next, this unique flower has come to mean freedom, resilience, hope and friendship. And its American story continues to inspire.

Officially named Rosa chinensis ‘Viridiflora,’ the Green Rose is unlike any other. The “petals” are actually modified sepals, packed into a tight cluster about the size of a golf ball. Tinged with pink or bronze, the flowers look as green as the plant’s foliage. Locally, it is grown in historic rose collections in Sacramento and Woodland as well as rose lovers' own gardens.

The original Green Rose most likely was a sport, a natural mutation. Truly asexual, the flowers have no pollen and never form hips or seed. The only way to propagate it is through rooted cuttings, which is how American gardeners have shared this rose for two centuries.

Classified as a China rose, Viridiflora may have its origins in ancient China. Something that looks similar to a green rose can be seen in Chinese paintings (but it may be a green mum).

Several green roses with reddish highlights

Green Rose flowers are often tinged with pink or

bronze.

Rose expert Stephen Scanniello, co-author of “A Rose by Any Name” (Algonquin Books), suggests that the American Green Rose may have originated in South Carolina or Georgia. Nursery records trace the Green Rose to Charleston in 1833; that’s when plants were sent north to Philadelphia. In 1843, a cotton merchant planted Viridiflora at his country house in Savannah, where it grows to this day.

Plant critics were never fond of the Green Rose; they called it “a green-eyed monster.”

But according to legend, the Green Rose became popular with abolitionists, who planted it in their gardens as a sign of welcome to escaped slaves. Members of the Underground Railroad wore the distinctive flower as a signal to one another.

“The Green Rose of Furley Hall,” a 1953 historical novel by Helen Corse Barney, recounts the story of her Quaker ancestor, William Corse, a Baltimore nurseryman and abolitionist who planted Viridiflora at his home. That book revived interest in what had become a horticultural curiosity.

Beyond the Underground Railroad, Viridiflora found another niche. In the language of flowers, a green rose symbolizes rejuvenation or abundance. With its unique appearance and long-lasting quality as a cut flower, Viridiflora became popular with floral designers. That’s a distinction it still holds.

For all these reasons, the Green Rose endures. It comes down to love.

Mountain Valley Growers, which propagates the Green Rose for sale, describes it this way:

“This plant only exists due to the kindness and love of gardeners who take cuttings and make more roses. It often has great sentimental value to those who grow it because it may have been a gift from a friend. Considering it is first recorded in the mid 1800s, that is a lot of love keeping a sterile rose with no real rose flower going.”

To order a Green Rose: https://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/rosviridiflora.htm

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Keywords:

historical plants gardening Sacramento Sacramento history plant history roses Woodland unusual plants Green Rose perennials plant symbolism

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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