Magazine  (Mar 2021)  Page(s) 19. Vol 43, No. 1.  Includes photo(s).
 
Margaret Furness:  So Many Pink-and-Silvers - a brief overview of found Hybrid Perpetuals at Renmark. 
One of the tangents we went along at Ruston’s, in the nominal HRIA Tea-Noisette- China Collection, was to collect found Hybrid Perpetuals. We ran out of time to study them well, but many of them were pink or mauve-pink with a silvery reverse to the petals, sometimes with a button eye. Many of those fell into one of two groups....
The second large group have several layers of outer petals that turn downwards, so that in time the flower becomes almost a column. I call these John Hopper Family. They are common survivors in damper areas of the Adelaide Hills. There does appear to be some variability among them, in particular whether they’re well-scented. Some were given to us as La Reine, because there was a mix-up between the two in Australia early on.

Photo: John Hopper family.  At times this is the brightest rose in my garden. Shrub-climber. 

Article (newspaper)  (Apr 2009)  Page(s) 3.  Includes photo(s).
 
Patricia Routley: I have always found faint amusement in the name of one of my roses, John Hopper, and the fact that one of the five versions which came into our garden, came from the Dickson Country Music Center at Boyup Brook. In moments of silly fantasy, I picture in my mind, my rose picking up its roots/boots and clod-hopping around merrily to some guitar-twanging. John Hopper certainly did dance around Australia because it is one of the more commonly found old roses. Anne Smith found it at Boyup Brook and asked Mrs. Harvey Dickson to pot some cuttings up for me, and which I duly received from Anne in 1997. In 1999 I found it again in Sheila Gravett’s beautiful garden and she had originally bought her plant with her in 1914 from their Capel property. Mostly Roses Nursery at Newlands gave me another plant in 2001 which they had found growing in Donnybrook. Unknowingly, I also took a cutting of it from the Pinjarra Heritage Rose Garden in 2002, later donating this to a Northcliffe fete; And again in 2002 a lady in Rockingham gave me a cutting of it (this one was passed on to Aunt Myrtle’s Garden in Bridgetown). I admit I got a bit sick of seeing them bloom one by one, and finding out they were all the same rose. Just recently, Alison Daubney showed me her old rose, and there it is again. (And no thanks Alison, no cuttings required.) I am being flippant here and I will try to be serious about the rose because it is beautiful and it is a survivor. ‘John Hopper’ is a hybrid perpetual rose, bred by a Mr. Ward in 1862 who lived in Ipswich, UK and who named it after his friend. It was said he bred ‘John Hopper’ from ‘Jules Margottin’ HP 1853 x ‘Mme. Vidot’ HP 1854. 1862 is very early for a pollen parent to have been known, but I am sure that nurserymen knew what to do long before Mr. Henry Bennett, with his “scientific breeding” that he had learnt while raising cattle, introduced his “pedigree hybrid roses” in 1879. ‘John Hopper’ is a tall upright bush, with bright pink, carmine-centred flowers with prominent veins. The reverse of the petals are much paler and it repeats a little. The 100 wedge-shaped petals arrange themselves in a way that I have not seen in any other rose. The outer edges roll under themselves and create a puffiness in the flower that reminds me of a foot-stool pouffe. It ends up being almost as deep as it is wide. It is quartered and very fragrant. The flower has a very upright stance and there seems to be no pedicel. The almost smooth receptacle gradually tapers down into the branch and you cannot cleanly snap off a hybrid perpetual hip as you can with other roses. The leaves are pale green, smooth and a little orbicular. It seems to be fairly thornless at the top of the bush, but below there is sometimes some armour.

Book  (Aug 2002)  Page(s) 51.  
 
John Hopper
Not rated

Book  (Nov 1994)  Page(s) 145.  
 
John Hopper Hybrid Perpetual. Ward (UK) 1862. 'Jules Margottin' x 'Mme. Vidot'. Description... vivid cerise-pink to light crimson... a real old 'cabbage' in its usually understood sense...

Book  (Dec 1993)  Page(s) 103.  
 
John Hopper
Hybrid Perpetual
Ward (UK) 1862
'Jules Margottin' x 'Madame Vidot'
... Large fragrant lilac-pink flowers, deepening towards the centre...

Book  (Apr 1993)  Page(s) 275.  
 
Hybrid Perpetual (Old Garden Rose) pink blend, 1862, 'Jules Margottin' x 'Mme. Vidot; ward. Flowers bright rose edged lilac, center carmine, double (70 petals), semi-globular, large; very fragrant; vigorous, upright, bushy growth; occasional recurrent bloom.

Book  (Feb 1993)  Page(s) 122.  Includes photo(s).
 
John Hopper
Hybrid Perpetual
Botanical grouping: Chinensis
England 1862
... thorny... clear pink flowers showing lavender shades as they fade... an outstanding speciment... Pruning should only be necessary to remove dead wood...

Book  (Jun 1992)  Page(s) 136.  
 
John Hopper Hybrid Perpetual. Ward, 1862. Parentage: 'Jules Margottin' x 'Mme Vidot'. [The author cites information from different sources. Robinson says the raiser named this rose for his friend.]

Book  (1988)  Page(s) 73.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (1987)  Page(s) 66.  
 
David Ruston, Heritage Rose Conference 1986.
Peter Beales identified a rich pink, upright growing and very free flowering Hybrid Perpetual, very common in old gardens as John Hopper and Gwen Fagan identified a rich mauvy pink, very double Hybrid Perpetual as ‘Anna de Diesbach’.