Rosa x cantabrigiensis is probably the best known of a number of Cambridge roses, which arose from the ground breaking hybridisation work undertaken by the geneticist Dr Charles Chamberlain Hurst.
Working here at the Garden from 1922-1947, Hurst created many hybrid roses during his experimental work to disentangle the complex ancestry of the garden rose. Rosa x cantabrigiensis is arguably the most beautiful of these, producing primrose-yellow blooms on arching stems from May to June. It is a robust plant, which thrives for many years, having arisen from a hybrid of R. sericea and R. hugonis. It grows well on most soils, including our light, alluvial soils, and enjoys sun or semi-shade.