Abraham Martin

Rose

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Henry Hudson'

Summary: The plant growth habit for 'Abraham Martin' is upright while it is arching for 'Henry Hudson'. 'Abraham Martin' has larger plants than 'Henry Hudson'. 'Abraham Martin' has glossier, lighter green leaves than 'Henry Hudson'. The flowers of 'Abraham Martin' are semi-double type while those of 'Henry Hudson' are double. 'Abraham Martin' has larger flowers with larger petals than 'Henry Hudson'. 'Abraham Martin' has prickles on the flower receptacle while 'Henry Hudson' does not.

Description:

'Abraham Martin' is a shrub rose variety with an upright growth habit. The young shoots have no anthocyanin colouration. The stems have numerous short and long prickles. The prickles/thorns are brown white and linear (needle shaped). The upper side of the leaves is medium green with weak glossiness. There are seven leaflets per leaf. The terminal leaflets have a rugose texture, obtuse shaped base and serrate to denticulate margin.

'Abraham Martin' begins flowering early and flowers almost continuously for more than ten weeks. There are a moderate number of flowers per flowering shoot and the flower pedicel has a many prickles. The flower bud is pointed in shape and the sepal extensions are absent to very weak. 'Abraham Martin' has semi-double type flowers which are very light pink when first open and fade to white. They have a medium strength, spicy fragrance. When viewed from the side, the shape of the fully opened flower is flat on the upper part and concave on the lower part. When viewed from above, the fully opened flower is round to irregularly rounded in shape. The flower center is in-folded. The petals have a very small petal spot at the base on the outer and inner sides. The margin of the petals is weakly reflexed with moderate undulation. The outer stamen filaments are white. The style is short, yellow and has a medium density of pubescence on the upper half. The stigma is positioned below the level of the anthers. The receptacle is medium in size, pitcher shaped in cross-section and there are prickles present. 'Abraham Martin' is resistant to mildew and blackspot.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Abraham Martin' originated from a controlled cross between the two rose varieties 'Jens Munk' and 'Martin Frobisher' which took place at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Canada. The cross was conducted by the breeder, Mrs. Félicitas Svejda, in 1973. It was evaluated for a few years but due to lack of interest the variety was set aside in 1983. After the retirement of Mrs. Svejda, all vegetative material was transfered to another breeder at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in l'Acadie, Québec, Canada. In 2003, a request for a large flowered, fragrant, white rose rekindled interest in this variety and 'Abraham Martin' was re-evaluated and selected by Mrs. Claude Richer based on its plant growth habit, hardiness, resistance to disease, flower size and colour, and length of flowering season.

Tests & Trials: The test and trial for 'Abraham Martin' was conducted at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station in l'Acadie, Québec during the summer of 2005. The trial consisted of 13 plants of the candidate variety and 5 plants of the reference variety. The trial plot was 5 X 1 metres and the plants were spaced 1 metre apart. All colour characteristics were determined using the 1986 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart and measured characteristics were based on 5 plant measurements for the candidate variety and 5 plant measurements of the reference variety.

Comparison tables for 'Abraham Martin' with reference variety 'Henry Hudson'

Plant height (m)

Plant width (m)

Flower diameter (mm)

Petal length (mm)

Petal width (mm)

Overall flower colour (RHS)