Wichuraiana hybrids
Rosa Wichuraiana first appeared in Europe thanks to Dr Max Erns Wichura, a Prussian diplomat. Posted in Japan, he first sent his rose seedlings to Europe in 1861 but plants did not survive.
He sent another set of plants to famous Belgian botanist Dr Crepin in 1871. His plants were successful and formed the beginning of a new species which he dedicaced to Dr Wichura.
Hybrid growers focused on this new species a lot and we owen them a good number of rose trees like famous Dorothy Perkins.
In France, brothers Barbier from Orléans, showed great interest to this new species ans launched on the market Paul transon with bigger flowers. These rose trees had a weakness: They did not stand upright. After numerous attemps, problem was naturally solved with New Dawn, a mutation from Dr van Fleet.
In this family, branches can spread out by 4 to 5 meters a year but they are incapable of straightening up and lie on the ground if not held on fences.