Article (misc)  (31 Mar 2015)  
 
Source: Percy Wright fonds,

Indian Head Another “Old Rose’ that has been renamed here on the prairies, and a very valuable one too. It is enormously growthy, and suckers freely and layers readily, and hence is easy to multiply. After the double Cinnamon rose, it grows faster than any other rose I know. The large, fully double (about 50 petals) blossoms of a rich pink of good tone, slow to fade, is especially valuable, and their abundance is remarkable, even on small plants. The branches of the plant tend to be recumbent, lying somewhat along the ground, and therefore are sometimes covered automatically by snow. The hardiness is greater than that of Randall, and scarcely second to that of Alika. Its most remarkable feature is an ability to bloom on new wood, in this respect like a Hybrid Tea. The blooming period is late, beginning as Betty Bland is fading, at about the same date as the Dr. Merkeley rose. The large flowers appear in clusters, and I counted 19 buds on one small branch. The pink is not evenly diffused, but in this case its unevenness seems a point of attraction. It has almost no pollen, or I would have used it for a parent. It sets an occasional hip, and could probably be used as a mother parent in milder climates. I take this as one of our most important rose varieties, though I recognize that, on the prairies where snow is often absent during the cold season, it should receive a mulch covering. Not listed in Modern Roses or in Shepherd.”

Magazine  (23 Aug 1956)  
 
25th annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Horticultural Societies Association
Roses Neglected Too Often,Percy Wright Tells Conference

Mr. Wright described the origin and characteristics of many roses, including some of his own development, but enthused over the Indian Head rose. The origin of this rose had been lost and it received its name because it was found in a garden near Indian Head.  It was undoubtedly an old European rose to which the genes of the repeat blooms of the Far East had been infused. Indian Head was a variety possessing extraordinary vigor, considerable resistance to diseasee and sufficient hardiness to survive Saskatchewan winters. Its flower was well-formed and of an attractive shade of pink not subject to rapid fading.  "Indian Head had the remarkable feature of blooming on new wood," Mr. Wright said. "The plant could be killed to the snow line, yet in the spring it would grow again and later bloom on the new stems only one week behind the plants not killed to the snow line."