Portland Gold Award

The Portland Gold Award is given annually by the Portland Rose Society to new rose cultivars that demonstrate exceptional performance in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The first award was given in 1919 by the city of Portland, Oregon. ^[1]

History

The Portland Rose Society began as an informal rose society in 1888, organized by Georgiana Pittock, wife of the first Oregonian publisher, Henry Pittock. The first rose competition was held in Pittock's garden. She had been inspired to form the gardening club after a holiday in England, where she toured rose gardens and attended a rose show. The next year, Pittock turned her backyard rose competition into a fundraiser for her church. She added a judging tent to her garden and charged admission to the event. This annual event would later include a city parade, where local gardeners would strip their gardens of all but competition roses to decorate cars, horses, floats and wagons. From these early beginnings, the Portland Rose Festival was born. The group officially established the Portland Rose Society as a formal gardening organization in 1907, and established the annual tradition of a judged, flower competition. ^[2] It is the oldest and largest rose society in the United States. ^[3]

Portland Gold Award winners

This is a partial list of Portland Gold Award winners. ^[4]

Award Year	Cultivar	Marketing Name	Hybridizer	Country	Cultivar Group	Color	Image
1941		'Charlotte Armstrong'	Lammerts (US)	USA	Hybrid Tea	Pink	[5]
1951		'Chrysler Imperial'	Lammerts	United States	Hybrid Tea	Red	[6]
1954		'Queen Elizabeth'	Lammerts	United States	Grandiflora	Pink	[7]
1954		'Tiffany'	Lindquist	United States	Hybrid Tea	Pink blend	[8]
1955		'Spartan'	Boerner	United States	Grandiflora	Orange blend	[9]
1955		'Ena Harkness'	Norman	Great Britain	Hybrid Tea	Crimson red	[10]
1961		'Royal Highness'	Morey	United States	Floribunda	Pink	[11]
1962	JOHnago	' Chicago Peace'	Johnston	United States	Hybrid tea	Pink blend	[12]
1966	MEIdaud	'Miss All-American Beauty'	Meilland	France	Hybrid tea	Bright pink	[13]
1966	TANellis	Fragrant Cloud'	Tantau	Germany	Hybrid tea	Orange blend	[14]
1967		'Bewitched'	Lammerts	United States	Hybrid tea	Candy pink	[15]
1967		'Pascali'	Lens	Belgium	Hybrid tea	White blend	[16]
1970		'Europeana'	de Ruiter Innovations	Belgium	Floribunda	Red	[17]
1973		'Electron'	McGredy IV	Northern Ireland	Hybrid tea	Medium pink	[18]
1975	MACha	'Handel'	McGredy IV	Northern Ireland	Modern climber	Pink blend	[19]
1977	JACven	'Evening Star'	Warriner	United States	Floribunda	White	[20]
1978	JAColite	'Honor'	Warriner	United States	Hybrid tea	White	[21]
1980	JACtwin	'Love'	Warriner	United States	Grandiflora	Red blend	[22]
1980	JACtwin	'Love'	Warriner	United States	Grandiflora	Red blend	[22]
1981		'Silver Jubilee'	Alec Cocker	Great Britain	Hybrid tea	Apricot blend	[23]
1986	JACjem	'Sun Flare'	Warriner	United States	Floribunda	Yellow	[24]
1990	MACrexy	'Sexy Rexy'	McGredy IV	New Zealand	Floribunda	Medium pink	[25]
1993		'Sally Holmes'	Holmes	Great Britain	Shrub rose	White blend	[26]
1996	MACgenev	'New Zealand'	McGredy IV	New Zealand	Grandiflora	Light pink	[27]
1997	HARwelcome	'Livin' Easy'	Harkness	Great Britain	Floribunda	Orange-apricot	[28]
2001	WEKplapic	'Betty Boop'	Carruth	United States	Floribunda	Red & white	[29]
2001	FRYxotic	'Sunset Celebration'	Fryer	Great Britain	Floribunda	Apricot blend	[30]
2002	WEKcryplag	'Blueberry Hill'	Carruth	United States	Floribunda	Mauve blend	[31]
2003	RADrazz	'Knock Out'	Radler	United States	Shrub rose	Red blend	[32]
2006	WEKsunspat	'Marilyn Monroe'	Carruth	United States	Hybrid tea	Apricot blend	[33]
2008	WEKvossutono	'Julia Child'	Carruth	United States	Floribunda	Yellow	[34]
2009	WEKisoblip	'Wild Blue Yonder'	Carruth	United States	Grandiflora	Mauve blend	[35]
2010	WEKbepmey	'Strike It Rich'	Carruth	United States	Grandiflora	Orange-Yellow	[36]
2011	WEKosupalz	'About Face'	Carruth	United States	Grandiflora	Orange blend	[37]
2013	ORAclelon	'Over the Moon'	Orard	France	Hybrid tea	Apricot blend	[38]
2014	WEKmemolo	'Sugar Moon'	Bedard	United States	Hybrid tea	White blend	[39]
2017	KORaruli	'Sunny Sky'	Kordes	Germany	Hybrid tea	Yellow blend	[40]
2018	WEKsirjuci	'Happy Go Lucky'	Bedard	United States	Floribunda	Yellow	[41]
2018	WEKgobafa	'Good as Gold'	Carruth	United States	Hybrid tea	Orange blend	[42]
2019	KORsteflali	'Wedding Bells'	Kordes	Germany	Hybrid tea	Medium pink	[43]
2019	JACgemze	'Crescendo'	Zary	United States	Hybrid tea	Pink blend	[44]
2020	WEKwibysicpep	'Violet's Pride	Bedard	United States	Floribunda	Mauve	[45]

See also

• International Rose Test Garden
• List of Award of Garden Merit roses
• Rose Hall of Fame
• All-America Rose Selections
• ADR rose

Notes

1. "Washington Park - International Rose Test Garden". Portland Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
2. Wilson 2014, pp. 52–54.
3. Swindler, Samantha (26 June 2019). "Royal Rosarians find, and award, the best rose gardens in Portland". The Oregonian. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
4. "Portland Gold Medal Award Winners". Portland Rose Society. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
5. "Rosa 'Charlotte Armstrong'". Help me find roses. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
6. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 123.
7. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 328.
8. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 398.
9. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 376.
10. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 137.
11. "Rosa 'Royal Highness'". National Gardening Association Plants Database. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
12. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 263.
13. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 247.
14. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 130.
15. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 59.
16. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 297.
17. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 142.
18. "Rosa 'Electron'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
19. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 183.
20. "Rosa 'Evening Star'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
21. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 194.
22. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 239.
23. "Rosa 'Silver Jubilee' awards". Help me find roses. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
24. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 382.
25. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 362.
26. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 353.
27. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 284.
28. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 148.
29. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 58.
30. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 415.
31. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 66.
32. Quest-Ritson & Quest-Ritson 2011, p. 219.
33. "Rosa 'Marilyn Monroe'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
34. "rosa 'Julia Child'". National Gardening Assoc. Plants database. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
35. "rosa 'Wild Blue Yonder'". National Gardening Assoc. Plants database. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
36. "Portland Gold Medal Winners". Portland Rose Society. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
37. "rosa 'About Face'". National Gardening Association's Plants database. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
38. "'Over the Moon' rose". Help me find roses, clematis, peonies. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
39. "Rosa 'Sugar Moon'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
40. "Sunny Sky rose". Help me find roses, clematis and peonies. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
41. "Rosa 'Happy Go Lucky'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
42. "Orange blend". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
43. "Rosa 'Wedding Bells'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
44. "Rosa 'Crescendo'". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
45. "Portland's Best Rose" (PDF). Friends of the Intetnational Rose Test Gardens. Retrieved 8 July 2025.

References

• Quest-Ritson, Brigid; Quest-Ritson, Charles (2011). Encyclopedia of Roses (Reprint ed.). DK. ISBN   978-0756688684.
• Wilson, Janet L. (2014). The Queen of Portland's Roses: The Life of Georgiana Burton Pittock. Lake Oswego, Oregon: Panoply Press. ISBN   978-1882877447.