Joseph Pernet-Ducher

Joseph Pernet-Ducher (1859–1928) was a French rosarian and hybridizer. Born near Lyon, the son of Jean Pernet, he was a third generation rose-grower. In 1879 he began his apprenticeship in the rose-breeding business with the Ducher nursery in Lyon. In 1882, he married Marie Ducher, the owner's daughter, and adopted the name "Pernet-Ducher" to signify the two rose growing entities.

Using Rosa foetida in 1887, he and his father began developing yellow rose cultivars through a cross between a red hybrid perpetual and 'Persian Yellow'. After his father's death in 1896, Joseph Pernet-Ducher carried on the experiments and developed a worldwide reputation in 1900 when he introduced 'Soleil d'Or', the first yellow Hybrid Tea. This rose it is now recognized as the first of the "Pernetiana" roses (Roses of Pernet) and an important ancestor of 'Peace', introduced by Meilland in 1945.

Between 1907 and 1925, Joseph Pernet-Ducher won the Gold Medal thirteen times at the "Concours de Bagatelle", the international competition for new roses held each June in Paris. Some of his other rose creations include:

Both of Joseph Pernet-Ducher's sons were killed in action the World War I. He named the roses 'Souvenir de Claudius Pernet' and the 'Souvenir de Georges Pernet' in their memory. With no heir to follow in his footsteps, Joseph Pernet-Ducher arranged for Jean Gaujard to take over the business.

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