'Golden Wings'. Hybrid pimpinellifolia 
n August of 1996 I visited my
favorite nursery, Mary's Plant Farm, to choose between two single, yellow
shrubs: 'Flutterby' and 'Golden Wings'. I only wanted one. 'Flutterby' had
brighter yellow petals, and 'Golden Wings' were a more subdued creamy, yellow
color. 'Flutterby' had a waxy, shiny look to the flowers and leaves, and a sort
of stiffness to the plant. It looked, well, a bit artificial to me. 'Golden
Wings' had a flat, lighter green leaf, and very dainty yet prominent stamens-
and a more relaxed, refined look about it. I bent to smell the flowers and
there was no contest.: the strong, honey and spice scent of 'Golden Wings'
clinched it for me. This rose has grown over four seasons into a 6' high by 6'
wide shrub with stiff vertical canes, some of which are black and brown and
sure look dead to me, but are not for they bear plenty of foliage and bloom.
The buds are somewhat high centered, medium yellow, and unfold in a sort of
hollow shell form before completely opening up. See the photo below. The strong
spicy scent is attractive to bees, as well a Japanese beetles ( the Jap beetle
traps have a floral scent that smells much like 'Golden Wings'), and cucumber
beetles. Big, round, orange hips set early and easily and persist well into
winter. It does suffer somewhat from blackspot, and it will slowly send up
suckers. And 'Golden Wings' repeats it's bloom well. As I write this on October
22, there are perhaps a dozen well formed flowers decorating the shrub. I must
make my way to see it soon and deeply inhale its honey-spice fragrance. --kbk 1999 October 22
Roy E. Shepherd, the breeder of this rose writes in his excellent book History of the Rose:
"A hybrid of a seedling of R. spinosissima and Souer Therese. The large, single, sulphur-yellow blossoms have prominent amber stamens and are produced abundantly throughout the summer on a vigorous 4-foot plant that shows no winter injury, though unprotected, at below zero temperatures. The desirable characteristics of both parents have apparently been happily combined in this variety."
"This valuable shrub has wide single flowers which attract the eye like a magnet, so that the bush is a joy to look at even when it has few blooms on it. Its attraction lies, I think, in the deep colour of its stamens and stigmas at the heart of its creamy spread. It is half way, or perhaps three-quarters, towards being modern rather than Scotch. Raised by Roy Shepherd of Medina, Ohio, from 'Soeur Thérèse' x (R. spinosissima altaica x 'Ormiston Roy'). 'Ormiston Roy' is an interesting hybrid from S. Doorenbos of The Hague, from R. spinosissima x R. xanthina."
-- Jack Harkness, 1978, Roses
This rose is a prolific bearer of large hips that remain attractive for much of the winter months adding interest to the garden in dormancy. During the blooming season, I am often quite reluctant as I approach 'Golden Wings' with pruners in hand and dead-heading on my mind. Shall I remove the spent blooms to encourage new growth and more blooms? This year I did very little dead-heading, and hips began forming in June, lots of them. There were still blooms throughout the season until November, though I admit fewer than in past years when I was more disciplined in my pruning practices.
kbk 2000 December 14
"Although there is no accurate knowledge of the derivation of the name Rosa, it is possible that it was originally applied to the genus because the normal blossom color of the earliest discovered roses is deep pink. In all languages in which reference has been made to the genus the name is synonymous with the color."
Roy E. Shepherd, 1954