Our Story
Chris Warner is the son of a poultry farmer who produced cross-bred chickens and his mothers’ father was very active in the National Rose Society. From a rose breeding angle, you could say Chris chose his parents well.
Born in Shropshire, England, Chris began hybridising roses for the first time in 1968. Initially this was in a small lean-to glasshouse at his home in Devon, which quadrupled in size over the years. In 1984, Chris had his first international success in the Rose Trials held in Geneva, Switzerland for an orange climber, which now only sells in New Zealand and is named, ‘Lady Barbara’.
In 1987, aged 50, Chris was able to follow his dream and became a full-time rose breeder. Along with his wife Barbara (pictured above), and two adult children, the family moved back from Devon to his father’s home in Shropshire. He used the money from writing a book on climbing roses to pay for a 60ft glasshouse and there was sufficient land to increase seedling production from 2,000 to around 15,000.
In the first year (1988), Chris’s patio climber, Rosa ‘Warm Welcome’ (above), won the top prize, The President’s Trophy, at the RNRS trials at St Albans. Another patio climber, ‘Laura Ford’ won a Certificate of Merit at St Albans and a silver medal at the Baden-Baden rose trials. These were the first two of an eventual range of patio climbers, i.e small flowers and small leaves, but growth to 7ft to 9ft and a width of about 2ft6, essentially a column of colour.
Another significant milestone in Chris’s breeding career has been the development of the Persica hybrid. This was sparked into life on a visit to Harkness Roses in the 1970’s, where he saw Jack Harkness’ Persica roses cascading down the side of the glasshouse benches. Beginning with Rosa Tigress, Chris bred around 30 hybrids, two of which he shared with a small group of purposeful amateur breeders. One of the group, Ronnie Rawlins from Yorkshire, produced a very healthy hybrid, but the flower colour was too similar to the eye colour. This seedling crossed with many other varieties, has produced a very healthy line for Chris, starting with Rosa ‘Bright as a Button’, (Chewsumsigns). Chris’s following Persica varieties have gone on to win multiple awards including, Rosa ‘For Your Eyes Only’, Rosa ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and most recently, the climber, Rosa ‘Peter’s Persica’. Today Chris continues this work, seeking the Persica hybrid in all types of rose.
In 2021 Catherine Shaw (pictured below) started working full time with Chris. She completed the RHS Level II certificate in Horticulture whilst working in marketing and publishing in London, and made the move to Shropshire, jumping straight in to the pollinating season in May. Catherine continues to learn every detail of rose hybridising at Warners, including the management of the surrounding land at Greenfields.
Moving forward, Chris and Catherine will continue to explore new and novel rose varieties, and above all, develop outstanding health in the full range of garden roses.
Warners Roses are proud members of The Rose Society UK and The British Association of Rose Breeders (BARB).