Jack E. Christensen
Jack E. Christensen (1949–2021) was an award-winning American rose hybridizer, garden writer and science teacher. He developed more than 80 rose varieties during his career. He was the youngest hybridizer to win an All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award in 1986. His most popular rose varieties are: 'Henry Fonda', 'Gold Medal', 'Midas Touch' and the AARS winner, 'Voodoo'.
Biography[edit]
Christensen was born in Glendale, California in 1949. He showed an early interest in nature and gardening when he was very young. In high school, Christensen won a scholarship to University of California, Los Angeles. He initially planned to become a doctor, but later changed his mind and transferred to Cal Poly Pomona to study Botany.[1]
Christensen's first job after college was at Armstrong Nurseries in Southern California, where according to his wife, Jeanie, "he hoed weeds for a year".[1] He progressed through the company until he became a hybridizer of roses and fruit trees, and vice-president of research. During his career, he developed over 80 new rose cultivars, including 'Henry Fonda', 'Gold Medal', and 'Midas Touch'. Christensen was the youngest hybridizer to win an All-America Rose Selections (AARS) in 1986, with his hybrid tea, 'Voodoo'.[2]
In 2001, Christensen left Armstrong Nurseries and became a gardening writer for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Southern California. He also took a position as a biology teacher at Chaffey High School in Ontario, where he taught for 20 years. On March 10, 2021, at the age of 72, Christensen died after a long illness.[3]
Selected roses[edit]
- 'White Lightnin', Grandiflora, (before 1979)
- 'Cricket', Miniature, (1978)
- 'Gold Medal', Grandiflora, (1982)
- 'Azure Sea', Hybrid tea, (1983)
- ''Voodoo, Hybrid tea Hybrid tea, (1986)
- 'Peppermint Twist', Floribunda, (1988)
- 'Fragrant Plum, Grandiflora, (1988)
- 'Midas Touch', Hybrid tea, (1992)
- 'Claude Monet', Hybrid tea, (1992)
- 'Brass Band', Floribunda, (1993)
- 'Henry Fonda', Hybrid tea, (1995)
- 'Almost Sunset', Hybrid tea, (1996)[4]
Rose gallery[edit]
-
'Claude Monet' -
'Fragrant Plum' -
'Gold Medal' -
'White Lightnin'
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (19 March 2021). "Remembering Jack Christensen, garden columnist, rose hybridizer, teacher and family man". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ Beales, Peter, ed. (1999). Botanica's Roses: The Encyclopedia of Roses. Welcome Rain. ISBN 978-1566491761.
- ^ "Jack E. Christensen". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ "Jack E. Christensen: Plants Bred". Help me find roses. Retrieved 22 February 2022.