Quite tender.
Not a particularly strong grower. And prone to blackspot where that is a problem -- problems inherited, along with its color, from R. foetida.

Absolutely lovely in the bloom.
There was an old one at a historic home here. They insisted on moving it, and killed it, darnit.
It grows in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden.

A landmark rose for what it brought to roses in the West, and for what its descendants became.

Jeri

So, Jeri, why do you think it's tender? It's described as tough down to zone three if you scroll to the bottom of its page in helpme find. I can't see it, as I've tested some hybrid perpetuals and Bourbons here, and its other parent was an HP, Antione Ducher.

Grown it for about 6 years, do not protect it anymore and lose about 40% of the canes over winter - better survival than the Explorers and Mordens. First two seasons no blackspot, three years of fighting it even in an essentially a low blackspot pressure area - my Persiana Yellows do not get blackspot (totally cane hardy here).

Blooms are gorgeous but are crowded in - smartened up this year as a result of spraying in June (fuginex) and stayed reasonably clean. When healthy I get two flushes .. a nice experiment if your into it and with a much drier climate than me and probably warmer in winter. But don't expect it to look like any hybrid tea or ogr rose as it produces a strange bush shape of long stiff canes. I have a couple in the back north gardens that are in high competition plantings and they are still alive and blooming.

So, Jeri, why do you think it's tender?

*** Book larnin', not personal experience. Roses surely can fool you.
Pernetianas are considered to like desert-y conditions.

But here's what I say:
If you want to grow a rose badly enough, plant it.
If it makes it great.
If it doesn't at least you'll have the satisfaction of having tried.

Jeri

I happen to adore this rose. Yes, it has serious faults, not the least of which is its propensity to Blackspot, but it is also a wonderful landmark in rose breeding and still has its charms even today. The fragrance alone is worth growing it for. It doesn't rebloom well until it is three years old or so, and then it flowers with about four flushes a year in an average climate. It performs best in full, bright sun (in my experience) and makes a manageable bush without too much work. You may find this is the first rose you grow that gets Blackspot, even where you don't normally have that disease. It is very inclined to get it unless sprayed regularly.

For me, the rewards outweigh the faults, but not everyone would agree with me.

Jeri, I know your practical experience out weighs mine, hands down. I do know how to freeze and thaw them, though.
Riku, thanks for the info. The canes sound like Austrian Copper, in fact the whole plant seems more like a cross between AC and Antoine Ducher.
The purebred rosa foetida lutea smells good to me, Harison's Yellow is not bad, but what really stinks is Persian Yellow.
Paul, I never get tired of reading your website. If only you could charge admission.
I've got this spot west of the house I stick all the natives and yellow roses in. It's a mess, but I'm getting to it. I practice Segregation of Yellow, or SOY Farming. Don't know why, they just seem to clash.
I had this looking good a long time ago, all full of easy care wildflowers which take all day to keep them looking easy.
you know what I mean. Well, it's back up on the list. It's over-run with Prunus Americana, 20 or so off spring from one tree,and the xanthina and H. Yellow are not happy.
I've got this idea for a hot garden to incorporate my husband's marigold and moss rose fetish.
What else do you suppose would make it pop?

Jeri I think when they mention desert-like conditions they are meaning because of the bs. That's was my understanding anyway.
I believe I saw on another forum where Paul,trospero, said it was useless in hybridizing. I bet it was bred with everything available at the time though, and
Maybe it's already given it's best or what can be obtained from it
I planted one this fall, it is just such an intriguing rose.
How a rose can have so many faults, while at the same time being so important in rose history, it just seems so perverse, and sounds like my kind of rose!LOL

I might add that I planted it in a bed with another rose with a bad reputation, multi flora carnea, well maybe not the carnea part, that's probably the part that may save me from going to jail for planting a noxious weed.LOL!

I can't deny the beauty of the thing.
I don't WANT one, here. But I can't think of a rose with lovelier blooms.

Jeri

I did use it in breeding for two seasons because I wanted to see what kind of seedlings it generated. It was all junk. I can't imagine how many seedlings must have been grown from it to find one of two decent plants. Talk about perseverance!

Paul

I tried growing it for one season in Minnesota, but alas, couldn't keep leaves on the thing (they would literally get a spot or two and then leap off the plant). It died within the year - I just couldn't bring myself to start using synthetic fungicides because of it, and Bordeaux mixture had no effect at all. Even that stuff scares me, to be honest. From the plant's perspective, though, I may as well have been spraying it with water.

Did anybody try dryland farming with this thing? Austrian Copper grows in the alleys here. Hard to find-I've spotted most of the alley Copper for miles around. Always was curious how it ended up in the alley. Anyway, it needs very little water, and will get about 4 feet tall.
Here's a website where it notes that rosa lutea gets blackspot, down towards the bottom.

Here is a link that might be useful: rosa lutea

The images are over several years to give an idea of the blooms and bush form in my zone3. This is the main and oldest bush planted in the south garden in all day sun.

A interesting attribute of this rose is it sets it first buds very early and is easily the 2 or 3 rose in my garden to show them. However they do not open until early July.

I find spraying this year before the bloom was probably the reason for the better behaviour and low blackspot. The blackspot attacks begin during and after the 1st bloom period.

Blooms from I believe year 2 or 3.

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Blooms this year in 2008

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Bush form in year 2 or 3 - acceptable but to my eyes leaning towards a wild species like form. After the second year of rampant untreated blackspot (used sulphur as a first attempt at treatment - useless) I lost a lot of the cane length, canes and form you see to winter. Before that winter kill had been insignificant. I find it hates this kind of "pruning" so to speak and basal breaks are few and far between, though they do occur. It will take a couple of years of no upsets to get something pleasing as in year 2 or 3.

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Return from vacation in August 2005 to San Francisco to find blackspot attacking the bush. This is the start of the first attack and early. By the end of summer I only had a couple of new leaves left.

The next year it was worse and the next spring the shortest the bush ever came out of winter. This year was to be it's last, but the acceptable response to spraying saved it for another year. By the way the "only" rose in a garden of a few hundred I sprayed.

{{gwi:320123}}

Riku, the leaves on that SDO are nothing like rosa lutea-they're more large and shiny.
I read over on Helpmefind that Soleil D'or has over 9900 descendants. I don't spose anybody ever classified them according to blackspot. Kind of a pickle, in order to introduce yellow.
I found another interesting descendant in the first generation, Juliet. HMF said, "hates warmer climates", zone 4-5, and also said that about her other parent, Captain Hayward. Now, HMF rates everything zone 6, so I had to wonder about this.
Beautiful pics, Riku, blackspot or not.

Here is a link that might be useful: Juliet

Hi Kaylah

I grow?/grew? Juliet and with protection in the hostile north side gardens. It made it through the first winter ... the inclusion of past tense is because I do not remember looking for, or accidentally noting her this year so can not say if she is still around.

I remember thinking that it would of been wiser to put her in the south gardens as her leaves and form looked a little too removed from SdO which really looks so close to foetida that that was what made me confident SdO would do well in winter.

... mind you me using that simple leaf diagnostic has been wrong more times than right such as thinking his Reve d' Or would do well in winter ... nope grew 4 to 5 feet and nada a bloom and not winter hardy "one bit" ... while at tth same time I get surprises such as R. primula which is totally cane hardy to the near the tip ends (lose an inch) in my garden. It is 5 feet high and planted in the hostile north gardens and on the shady east side. Because of the "misnaming" of so many of these yellows ... I add the one I am talking about is the one Pickering sells as "primula".

The below is a photo of Juliet after the first winter.

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I should mention the photo showing the canes and glossy leaves of SdO is one during a fall bloom ... pretty good in my opinion to have a young rose do that up here. Though lately with the garden approaching 9 years old I am noticing a lot off my roses are starting to give two flushes (second lame but still satisfying).

As for the leaves, the real color and form of them is so close to my Persiana Yellows that that is the image I suggest is more representative. This photo I found in my files might show it better ... you got to ignore the HT leaves on the right hand side of the photo.

{{gwi:320125}}

I can see how it looks confusing with that HT hanging over SDO. I have rosa xanthina on the north with shade, too. No problems surviving. I was thinking about primula because it's supposed to smell good, too. I keep a big nasty eglanteria hedge for the hips, apple smell, and frightening canes. Greenmantle has much scarier canes, large hot pink flowers but less smell.
I love terrifying canes almost as much as the flowers.
Greenmantle's are blood red. Xanthina's are too, but pretty and delicate.
It does not sound like my plan to incorporate some SDO and descendants into this North side is going to work due to the exposure.
All this time I was thinking about how Jon of Wessex hates orange roses. You know Peace is descended from this rose, and I don't have any use for that one. It's interesting how they bred and bred for form, and lost the scent and naturalness.
You might try growing Reve D'Or inside. I've got the Souvenir De La Malmaison inside in a pot at our shop. It's doing great. In one more year it will need the whole room. It's 3 by 3 now. This is a hundred year old brick building with little insulation. Lately I've been wondering if you could get by in a regular building with lots of fungicide. Something about a noisette wandering through the rooms has got me fascinated.
Tell you what though, I know nothing about pruning. A lifetime of treasuring every little bit you got through the winter and reckoning on short growing seasons has left me completely screwed up.

I have 2 and love them.