Henry Bennett

Henry Bennett (bapt. 3 August 1823 – 12 August 1890) was an English pioneer in the systematic, deliberate hybridisation of roses. Bennett, a tenant farmer from Stapleford in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, applied the systematic breeding used in raising cattle to roses, and emphasised that his roses were raised scientifically from known parents. His hybrids, between Teas and Hybrid Perpetuals, were called Pedigree Hybrids of the Tea Rose. He is considered the father of the Hybrid Tea class. Important cultivars are the Hybrid Tea 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam', a parent of 'Mme. Caroline Testout' and the Hybrid Perpetuals 'Captain Hayward' (1893) and 'Mrs. John Laing' (1887).

Biography Manor Farmhouse, Stapleford, Wilts. The front range was built c. 1860, during Bennett's tenancy. Henry Bennett was born in Codford, Wiltshire, to farmer John Bennett and his wife, Caroline Bennett. Henry was a cattle and wheat farmer at Manor Farm, Stapleford, Wiltshire in the mid-1800s. He married Emma Rebbeck in July 1852, and they had eight children.

Bennett decided that the future was not in cattle and wheat, but a new source of income was going to be necessary, and that would be roses. In 1865, he bought his first roses and planted them on the farm, to propagate for sale. His knowledge of cattle breeding suggested to him that he might be able to make great advances in rose cultivation by applying the same principles to rose breeding – that of using known parents, selected for the qualities desired in the progeny. His first efforts were unsuccessful, so from 1870 to 1872 he visited successful rose hybridizers in France. Still, controlled pollination was practised by very few people before Bennett began hybridising roses, inspired by his knowledge of cattle breeding. The National Rose Society in UK recognised the new class of Hybrid Tea in 1893. 'La France' also suffers from sterility, making it difficult to use in hybridising, while 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam' is very fertile. The online database HelpMeFind Roses lists over 14,000 descendants for 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam'.

In 1883, the National Rose Society introduced the gold medal, awarded to the most outstanding new rose introduced at one of its rose shows. Bennett won the first and second Gold Medals awarded, with 'Her Majesty' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1883 and 'Mrs. John Laing' (Hybrid Perpetual) in 1885.

While few of Bennett's roses are still in cultivation, he is credited with developing an entirely new system of rose hybridisation, still used in the 21st century; an entirely new class of roses; and with creating rose cultivars that served as critical genetic material for future hybridizers. 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam', in particular, is in the parentage of tens of thousands of modern hybrid tea roses, starting with Joseph Pernet-Ducher's 'Mme. Caroline Testout'. 'Mrs. John Laing', a pink Hybrid Perpetual, was described by the British horticulturalist Graham Stuart Thomas as "one of the most satisfying roses to grow and cut".

Partial list of Bennett cultivars

'Bennett's Seedling' (some time after he bought his first rose in 1865) 'Mme Welche' (1876) 'Cissie' (1879) 'Tiny Tears' (1879) 'Lady Mary Fitzwilliam' (1882) 'Folkestone' (1886) 'Her Majesty' (1883) (RNRS Gold Medal) 'Grace Darling' (1884) 'Mrs. John Laing' (1885) (RNRS Gold Medal) 'Viscountess Folkestone' (1886) 'Mrs John Laing' (1887) 'Captain Hayward' (1893) 'Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison' (1893)