A rose with an interesting history & rich in folklore:
Peter Harkness in his book, "A History of the Rose Family", states;...Read More
One of the most fascinating research papers has to do with R. laevigata, also known as the 'Cherokee Rose', and the national flower of the state of Georgia.
It is widespread in southeast USA and the general belief was that it seeded itself freely and thus became naturalised.
Not so, says Dr. Charles Walker of North Carolina, who with Dennis Werner conducted the research. According to Walker and Werner, in 1820 a farmer wrote to a newspaper praising R. laevigata as a wonderful plant for landowners to use as hedges and field boundaries. He offered to supply cuttings free of charge.
The result was that cuttings were sent all over the southeastern states and as far as California. Some farmers planted them by the mile. In the warm southern states it thrived to the extent that by 1852 someone reckoned that in just two counties of Mississippi there were more than 1,000 miles of Laevigata hedging.
Walker's team analysed samples from eight states and established that most of the plants growing today are derived by vegetative propagation from two clones of the plant material sent out in the 1820s. This means their spread was due not to seeding but by means of persistent suckering.
Therefore to say that the Cherokee Rose became naturalised is not strictly true, because that would imply it was successful in growing from its own seed, and evidence for this was lacking.
Fayetteville, AR (Zone 6b) | April 2005 | positive
Legend of the Cherokee Rose
When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much,...Read More they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.
A rose with an interesting history & rich in folklore:
Peter Harkness in his book, "A History of the Rose Family", states;...Read More
Legend of the Cherokee Rose
When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much,...Read More