Graham Thomas

class: David Austin Rose
breeding: Austin, 1983
photographed by Daphne Filiberti in her garden
another photo of Graham Thomas

'Graham Thomas' is an exceptionally beautiful rose of a pure yellow color. The roses of 'Graham Thomas' are fully double, and deeply cupped. The form is very attractive, with the outer petals forming a perfectly cupped circle of petals that interlace together. The rose has inherited good disease resistance from 'Iceberg', one of the parents. 'Graham Thomas' is about 9 feet tall here in my Southern California garden. The first year I cut the rose back pretty hard because I didn't understand the long canes. I have two plants of 'Graham Thomas' that have been planted for more than five years and they seem to like a little shade. Paul Zimmerman and one of his friends trained the roses around tee-pees (the rose is planted at the center of a small group of ten foot poles that are gathered together at the top-I also call this a tripod or pyramid?) about three years ago. The tee-pees work well for the rose. The canes are a little stiff and upright, but they yield to the tee-pees and have many lateral branches. The roses drape down and the height is good because you can see the roses at the back of a border. The rose has a pleasant tea fragrance. I wish the roses lasted longer in the vase, but that might be the way I am cutting them instead of any fault of their own. The roses are named after the famous rosarian, Graham Thomas.