Thornless Roses
Facts About Thornless Roses, 1907 to Present Day
It is difficult to pinpoint when thornless roses became commercially available. Although officially invented in the 1930s, they were not available among non-horticulturists for many decades.
Antique rose lovers report there is a thornless tea rose circa 1907, called Mrs. Dudley Cross. It is called the official “San Antonio Rose”, widely found in Texas, and able to withstand harsh Texas environs. Mrs. Dudley Cross is cream with some pink, colors swirled together similar to the peace rose.
Popular Science magazine, 1939, printed a story about Nicholas Grillo, who had finally invented a thornless rose through an incubation process involving cross breeding of 2 roses. Thornless roses had been sought for centuries before that. Mr. Grillo had patented his thornless rose initially in 1932. According to horticultural archives, the thornless was called simply Thornless Beauty, and can be found in a US patent record, dated March 5, 1940 next to the name Nicholas Grillo.
Raised in Italy, arriving in America when he was 18, Mr. Grillo had a passion for roses and a long held dream of developing a thornless. As an adult, he had a fantastic greenhouse in Milldale, Connecticut where he perfected his creation.
In 2006, Mr. Grillo’s youngest daughter passed away. She was born in 1919. Her father developed numerous varieties of roses that are still being grown around the world. His roses won numerous gold metals at flower shows in New York and Philadelphia, and Eleanor Roosevelt ordered roses for the white house from Nicholas Grillo.
Another man, Harvey Davidson, was a hobby rose grower, and he is said to have invented a thornless rose in 1962 in California. It occurred by accident when he was experimenting with ways to breed in resistance to disease in roses. He named that rose Smooth Sailing. He proceeded to build his own business selling thornless roses. The business is still in operation, and continually seeking better varieties of thornless roses.
There are thornless roses that tend to be more popular because of their beauty, hardiness, and fair to high degree of resistance to disease and mold. Here is a list of some thornless roses for your consideration.
1) Explorer Rose is easy to grow, a virtually thornless rambling shrub that can be trained up a trellis or wall although not technically a climber. It is hardy in winter in zone 5 or warmer and a vigorous grower, if initially grafted. It is mildew resistant if well ventilated. It likes frequent watering.
2) The smooth buttercup thornless, a floribunda with gold flowers
3) Zepherine Drouhin, a very fragrant bourbon rose that grows to about 10 feet tall.
4) Banksias Rose, with prolific though small yellow flowers. If you get this one, do not prune. Trim after bloom time only. Pruning other times of the year could do it in.
5) Crown princess Victoria, an exquisite pink bush rose
6) Veilchenblua, a climbing rose, called the Blue Rose, introduced in 1909, nearly thornless.
There is no shortage of 100% thornless roses in the present day. Sans gloves, happy rose gardening.