Joseph Pernet-Ducher

Joseph Pernet-Ducher (1859-1928) was a French rosarian and hybridizer. Born near Lyon, the son of Jean Pernet, he was a third generation rose-grower. In 1879 he began his apprenticeship in the rose-breeding business with the Ducher nursery in Lyon. In 1882, he married Marie Ducher, the owner's daughter, and adopted the name "Pernet-Ducher" to signify the two rose growing entities.

Using "Rosa foetida" in 1887, he and his father began developing yellow rose cultivars through a cross between a red hybrid perpetual and 'Persian Yellow'. After his father's death in 1896, Joseph Pernet-Ducher carried on the experiments and developed a world-wide reputation in 1900 when he introduced 'Soleil d'Or', the first yellow Hybrid Tea. This rose it is now recognized as the first of the "Pernetiana" roses (Roses of Pernet) and an important ancestor of 'Peace', introduced by Meilland in 1945.

Between 1907 and 1925, Joseph Pernet-Ducher won the Gold Medal thirteen times at the "Concours de Bagatelle", the international competition for new roses held each June in Paris. Some of his other rose creations include:

*'Mme. Caroline Testout' - (Hybrid Tea) 1890
*'Beaute Inconstante' - (Tea) 1892
*'Souvenir du President Carnot' - (Hybrid Tea) 1894
*'Antoine Rivoire' - (Hybrid Tea) 1895
*'Mme. Abel Chatenay' - (Hybrid Tea) 1895
*'Mme. Ravary' - (Pernetiana) 1899
*'Prince de Bulgarie' - (Hybrid Tea) 1900
*'Soleil d'Or' - (Pernetiana) 1900
*'Etoile de France' - (Hybrid Tea) 1904
*'Lyon Rose' - (Pernetiana) 1907
*'Mrs. Aaron Ward' - (Hybrid Tea) 1907
*'Château de Clos Vougeot' - (Hybrid Tea) 1908
*'Mrs. Arthur Robert Waddell' - (Hybrid Tea) 1909
*'Rayon d'Or' - (Hybrid Tea) 1910
*'Sunburst' - (Pernetiana) 1912
*'Daily Mail Rose' - (Hybrid Tea) 1913
*'Souvenir de Claudius Pernet' - (Hybrid Tea) 1920
*'Etoile de Feu' - (Pernetiana) 1921
*'Souvenir de Georges Pernet' - (Pernetiana) 1921
*'Souvenir de Mme. Boullet' - (Hybrid Tea) 1921
*'Toison d'Or' - (Hybrid Tea) 1921
*'Mrs. Herbert Stevens' - (Climbing Hybrid Tea) 1922
*'Angèle Pernet' - (Hybrid Tea) 1924
*'Ville de Paris' - (Pernetiana) 1925
*'Cuba' - (Pernetiana) 1926
*'Julien Potin' - (Hybrid Tea) 1927

Both of Joseph Pernet-Ducher's sons were killed in action the World War I. He named the roses 'Souvenir de Claudius Pernet' and the 'Souvenir de Georges Pernet' in their memory. With no heir to follow in his footsteps, Joseph Pernet-Ducher arranged for Jean Gaujard to take over the business.

References

* "Modern Garden Roses" by Peter Harkness (1988) Globe Pequot, Chester, Connecticut ISBN 978-0-87106-744-9
* "The Old Rose Advisor" by Brent C. Dickerson (1992) Timber Press, Portland, Oregon ISBN 978-0-88192-216-5
* "The Quest for the Rose" by Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix (1993) Random House, New York ISBN 978-0-679-43573-0