Oklahoma Rose, the state flower of Oklahoma

How to recognize it

The Oklahoma Rose is a hybrid tea, not a wild species. Its blooms are dark red, high-centered and double, about 5 inches across with roughly 45 to 50 petals, and they have a strong, sweet old-rose fragrance. The shrub grows about 4 to 8 feet tall and up to 4 feet wide, with matte, leathery dark-green leaves, and it blooms in flushes through the growing season.

A breeder’s rose

The rose was bred by Herbert Swim and O. L. Weeks from two older roses, ‘Chrysler Imperial’ and ‘Charles Mallerin,’ patented in December 1963 and introduced in 1964. It came from the same seedling program as the well-known red rose ‘Mister Lincoln.’ As a garden hybrid, it does not grow wild in Oklahoma or anywhere else.

Thirty years of campaigning

The Oklahoma Rose owes its title to persistence. Dottie Weissenberger campaigned for more than 30 years to make it the state flower, and Governor Brad Henry signed the bill on April 14, 2004.

Mistletoe, the floral emblem

The rose did not replace Oklahoma’s oldest symbol. In 1893 the legislature of Oklahoma Territory made mistletoe its floral emblem, and it kept that status after statehood. It is still the state floral emblem, alongside the state flower.

The Indian blanket

For a native flower, Oklahoma has the Indian blanket, also called blanket flower or firewheel, the state wildflower since 1986. It is a drought-tolerant, daisy-like plant up to about 2 feet tall whose red petals are tipped with yellow. It is common along roadsides and field edges from Nebraska and Colorado south into Texas, Arizona and Mexico, and in Oklahoma it grows mainly in the western two-thirds of the state.

Where to see them

The Oklahoma Rose is grown in gardens; look for it at rose gardens and nurseries. For the Indian blanket, watch roadsides and field edges, especially in the western two-thirds of the state.