Mike and I are always on the look-out for hardy, disease-resistant roses we can recommend. While these sustainable roses are not hard to find, we like varieties that are more than landscape roses and offer interesting color.
Enter Campfire, one of the Canadian Artists series from Agriculture Canada’s rose-breeding program. What sparked our interest in Campfire, aside from it being winter hardy to USDA Zone 3 and its disease resistance, is its color. Each bloom begins with yellow and red buds that open to yellow with deep pink edges. What’s unique about this rose is that the flowers that bloom early in the season will be yellow with pink edges, but later in the season, the pink edges becomes more pronounced. The bush has been described as harlequin-like with a display of yellow, red and pink flowers against a backdrop of glossy green foliage. Another plus for Campfire is its compact growth habit that doesn’t overwhelm the home garden. It also blooms all season up until the first hard frost.
Unfortunately, Campfire is not available locally. We searched on-line to see where we could find this rose and while it is advertised on Bailey Nurseries’ web site, it wasn’t available. Mike called a rose wholesaler in St. Catharines, Ontario who listed it in their catalog, to find out where in New England we could find Campfire. They knew of only one garden center in New England who carried it – Lake Street Nursery in Salem, New Hampshire. We called Lake Street twice. The first time Mike was told they hadn’t received their shipment from Canada yet. The second time he found out the order had arrived the day before and they had 10 Campfires in stock. We drove up to New Hampshire that afternoon and brought home two Campfires.
The research we did on Campfire yielded some interesting facts. One is that it is a hybrid of My Hero and Frontenac. My Hero, an Easy Elegance rose no longer available, was the predecessor of Super Hero, one of our favorite Easy Elegance roses that is extremely disease resistant.
The other interesting back story to this rose is that it was named to honor renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson’s painting called “Campfire” which shows a camp fire burning in front of a tent. (See photo below). Ironically, this masterpiece hangs in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, a museum Mike and I visited a few years ago. Unfortunately, we were unfamiliar with Tom Thomson’s work at the time and didn’t get the chance to see this painting.
Due to some horticultural sleuthing, good luck and timing, we now have the rose named after his painting and we’re looking forward to seeing the kaleidoscope of yellow, red and deep pink blooms all season long. We’ll let you know if Campfire lives up to its reputation.
Hi!
Is there an update on the Campfire roses? I’d love to know how they are faring!
Cheers,
Josh
Our two Campfire bushes are in their third season in our zone 6 southern New England USA garden. They feature a shrubby, almost procumbent growth habit, longer than tall, with explosive floriforousness. The generous red, yellow, and pink sprays form a harlequin palette and seem to be in bloom, to some degree, all summer. Our plants are budded and originated from JC Bakker in Ontario Canada but are widely available in the US. Campfire is a champ!