lexington yesterday

Before Knockout roses, there were Seven Sister roses. It was Uncle Willie Lee who helped me to identify the Seven Sisters rose. They were introduced after 1817 and traveled west with the pioneers. Rose historians tell us the Seven Sisters rose was introduced to England in 1817 by Charles Greville. It is thought their origin was the Orient.

Today Seven Sisters roses can be seen everywhere in South Carolina, from the Sand Hills to the clay soil of the Dutch Fork. I have found them growing in the Dutch Fork near the old Pomaria nursery site and at the Lexington Museum. They tolerate poor soils and light shade. The Seven Sister rose is a cluster rose. They grow in varying colors from white to deep purple and bloom only once a year. They can either climb or grow into a bush.

Grandmother Corley was especially fond of them because of their lovely fragrance in early spring and showy clusters of bright pink growing together much like a cluster of sisters. These roses are in the Noisette classification. Philip Noisette was a London market gardener and importer of plants from the Orient.

It was during the Civil War that Northern troops destroyed Pomaria Nursery’s greenhouses and arboretum in Columbia along the Broad River. Some of the Summer family are known to have traveled to England during this period. The nurseries never fully recovered but escaped plant specimens can still be found at the old nursery site and surrounding area. Now and again a Pomaria plant comes up as a door prize at the Dutch Fork Reunion.

The rose had a slow start in local nurseries but eventually became a garden favorite. I looked in an 1861 Pomaria Nursery catalog and did not see a rose listed as the Seven Sisters rose. It was interesting to see that most varieties of roses could be purchased for 50 cents each or 5 for $1, even though the Seven Sisters rose was not listed among them. However, this may have been prior to the rose being given its current name.