• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to footer

Garden Making

Inspiring ideas and information for great home gardens

  • Design
  • Containers
  • Food
  • Gardens to visit
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
    • Manitoba
    • Ontario
    • Quebec
    • New Brunswick
    • Nova Scotia
    • Newfoundland
    • England
    • U.S.
  • Events Calendar
    • By organizing group
    • By location of events
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
    • Saskatchewan
    • Manitoba
    • Ontario
    • Quebec
    • New Brunswick
    • Nova Scotia
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Newfoundland & Labrador
    • Form to list your event
  • Reader photos
    • Reader images of gardens
    • Container gardening images
    • Reader images of plants in 2019
    • Reader images of plants in 2018
    • Reader images of plants in 2017
    • Reader images of plants in 2016
    • Submit photo to Garden Making
  • Shop
You are here: Home / Plants / Canadian Shield roses taking hold nicely

Canadian Shield roses taking hold nicely

By Heather White Filed Under: Plants

Canadian Shield rose planted in the Hamilton, Ontario, garden of Allyn Walsh on Nov. 20, 2018 – five months after it was planted.
Canadian Shield rose blooming in the Hamilton, Ontario, garden of Allyn Walsh on Nov. 20, 2018 – five months after it was planted.

In spring 2017, the crew at Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, planted five of Vineland’s new Canadian Shield roses in its rose garden as part of a celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. Some 4,600 kilometres across the country, in Edmonton, the Landscape Alberta Nursery Trades Association planted 150 Canadian Shield roses on the southwest side of the legislature building just in time for the Canada Day speeches that year. This extremely hardy, disease-resistant repeat bloomer with vivid red blooms and glossy green foliage had been in development for several years, and the timing of its release couldn’t have been better. But beyond the fanfare, as the gardening world quietly slipped into its routine maintenance tasks, how has the iconic rose settled into the landscape?

Canadian Shield (Rosa ‘AAC576’) is the first release in a series of roses called Vineland’s 49th Parallel Collection, developed at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Vineland Station, Ontario, as part of Canada’s current national rose program, established in 2010 in partnership with the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. Vineland is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded in part by the federal and Ontario governments to support innovation in the horticultural industry.

The second rose in the series, Chinook Sunrise (Rosa ‘VLR001’), was unveiled at Canada Blooms in Toronto in March 2019. The roses are available at 700 retailers across the country (see list of sellers at 49throses.com). The third release, ‘Aurora Borealis’, is coming in 2021.

Joel Beatson, CEO of Landscape Alberta, says that, like all plants, Canadian Shield roses need a couple of seasons to settle in and come into their own. Still, he says, out of 150 plants, only one didn’t survive the first season.

“We had some extras in the on-site greenhouse on standby in case some didn’t make it, but in fact only one needed to be replaced,” Beatson says. “They are a beautiful specimen. We’re keen to see them this season after almost two full seasons to establish.”

Iris Hazen, past president of the Greater Toronto Rose and Garden Horticultural Society, says she received a Canadian Shield rose from her grandchildren for Mother’s Day two years ago.

“It’s a very nice small bush so far,” Hazen says. “She bloomed constantly last season, in spite of the heat… I use no chemicals or pesticides. I’m hoping this year Canadian Shield will show her promise, this being her third year in my garden.”

Paula Barton, in Hamilton, Ontario, planted a Canadian Shield rose last year. “It is well ahead of my other roses so far this season,” she says.

Allyn Walsh, also in Hamilton, similarly planted a Canadian Shield rose last year. “I love it,” she says. “It made it through last season without any sign of disease, and in particular no black spot! It bloomed from planting until early December in my Hamilton (Zone 6b) garden. The flowers are a true red without orange tones, with glossy dark green leaves; the plant looks lovely against my putty coloured porch… I am hopeful that I can train it to an espalier form.”

Judith Cox, in Stittsville, Ontario, planted Canadian Shield two years ago as a tribute to a friend who had passed away. “I found it quite hardy and the colour was superb,” she says. “I am looking forward to seeing how it progresses.”

Back at Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, horticultural manager Karen Achenbach says she has enjoyed the bed of five Canadian Shield roses installed two years ago. “We have found them to be hardy and disease resistant. An easy to care for rose!

“The lovely deep red of the flowers and glossy green foliage have made them a great addition to our collection of over 270 rose cultivars,” she adds. “They are also an important element in our mandate to illustrate the horticultural history of the area, including showcasing Canadian roses.”

Canadian Shield roses in the Canada 150 garden in Edmonton

Landscape Alberta members built a garden on the Alberta Legislature grounds in Edmonton to celebrate Canada 150 in 2017, says Landscape Alberta’s Joel Beatson. The garden featured a central maple leaf-shaped natural stone walled bed that contained 13 rose plants (one for each province and territory) with another 137 roses in beds circling the garden.  

  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    At Alberta Legislature in Edmonton …
  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    … a Canada 150 garden built in 2017 by Landscape Alberta…
  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    …with 13 Canadian Shield roses in the maple leaf…
  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    … and another 137 in beds circling the garden.
  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    One rose for each province and territory.
  • Alberta legislature garden - Canadian Shield roses
    Canadian Shield rose (photos thanks to Landscsape Alberta)

More about Vineland’s 49th Parallel Collection

  • Roses to inspire our sense of place
  • Canadian Shield first in new series of easy-to-grow roses (2018 interview with Amy Bowen at Vineland Research)
  • Vineland’s 49th Parallel rose collection website

This article was made possible thanks to sponsorship by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

Vineland Research

Published: April 29, 2019 | Updated: March 23, 2020

Sign up for Garden Making updates

We do not share emails. Your information will be used as outlined in our Privacy Policy.

Please look for our email. You must click on the link in the email to confirm. Check your inbox or spam folder.

About Heather White

Heather White in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a freelance writer and former editor of Saltscapes magazine.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gail says

    April 29, 2019 at 10:33 pm

    No mention whether this rose is fragrant…. one of the main reasons I would plant a rose bush.

    Reply
    • Michael Fox says

      April 30, 2019 at 9:40 am

      Canadian Shield is described as having a “mild fragrance.” Most of the modern, Canadian-bred roses have mild (or no) fragrance.

      Reply
      • Williams says

        July 9, 2020 at 12:12 pm

        It is also good to note the fragrance, though mild, is that of raspberries. The color cannot be truly photographed as it is so vivid, one must see it in person.

        I do not often go for plants of any kind that bear little fragrance when highly fragrant ones are available but the way this color glows from afar is well worth it!

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Search

Reader submissions

  • Enter draw to win a prize
  • Form to list your event
  • Submit photo to Garden Making

When you’re looking for

  • Books for gardeners
  • Containers in your garden
  • Design
  • Food to grow
  • Gardens to visit
  • Growing from seed
  • How to
  • Plant ideas
  • Tips for gardeners

Garden Making magazine

  • Buy magazine issues
  • Garden Making list of magazine issues
  • Garden Making index of magazine articles

Copyright © 2021 Inspiring Media Inc. | GARDEN MAKING is a registered trademark | About | Service | Terms of use | Privacy policy | Account