Midas Touch
Rosa 'Midas Touch'
A breathtaking hybrid tea rose with luminous golden-yellow blooms that seem to glow in the garden. This variety produces classic high-centered flowers perfect for cutting, with excellent form and strong stems that make it a florist's dream. Midas Touch combines the elegance of traditional hybrid teas with improved disease resistance for modern gardens.
Harvest
70-80d
Days to harvest
Sun
Full sun
Zones
5–11
USDA hardiness
Height
1-8 feet
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Midas Touch in USDA Zone 7
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Midas Touch · Zones 5–11
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
Complete Growing Guide
Golden-yellow hybrid teas like Midas Touch thrive with six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily and benefit from planting in early spring to establish strong root systems before peak summer heat. This cultivar's improved disease resistance makes it more forgiving than older hybrid tea varieties, though it still requires excellent air circulation to prevent powdery mildew in humid climates. Watch for spider mites during hot, dry spells, as they're attracted to stressed plants in poor conditions. Unlike many hybrid teas prone to leggy growth, Midas Touch maintains relatively compact form when deadheaded regularly, encouraging bushier development and continuous blooming through the 70-80 day season. Prune back to outward-facing buds in early spring and apply balanced fertilizer every four weeks during the growing season to sustain those luminous, exhibition-quality blooms that make this variety irresistible to florists.
Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day). Soil: Clay, Loam (Silt). Soil pH: Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0). Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.. Spread: 1 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: Less than 12 inches, 12 inches-3 feet, 3 feet-6 feet, 6-feet-12 feet. Growth rate: Medium. Maintenance: High. Propagation: Grafting.
Harvesting
Harvest Midas Touch roses when the outer petals have just begun to unfurl and the blooms display their characteristic golden-yellow color at peak intensity, feeling firm yet slightly yielding to gentle pressure. Cut stems in early morning when plants are fully hydrated, selecting those with at least three to four leaves below the bloom to encourage continued flowering. This variety responds excellently to continuous harvesting, producing successive flushes of flowers throughout the growing season when spent blooms are promptly removed. For optimal vase life, cut just as the outer guard petals loosen but before the bloom fully opens, allowing the flower to mature gracefully indoors over several days while maintaining its luminous yellow tone and strong fragrance.
The accessory fruit is called a hip and forms after the flowers finish blooming. The hip will appear under the sepals of where the flower was after the flower dies. They will turn from green to red. They are filled with many achenes surrounded by irritating hairs.
Color: Green, Red/Burgundy. Type: Achene. Length: < 1 inch. Width: < 1 inch.
Garden value: Showy
Harvest time: Fall
Edibility: The fruit (called the hip) is edible.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh-cut Midas Touch roses last 10–14 days in a vase with floral preservative and cool water. Change the water every 2–3 days and recut stems at a 45-degree angle to maximize water uptake. Keep arrangements out of direct sunlight and away from ripening fruit, which produces ethylene gas that shortens vase life.
For longer preservation, dry whole blooms by hanging them upside-down in a dark, well-ventilated space for 2–3 weeks. Dried Midas Touch blooms retain their golden color beautifully and work well in potpourri or pressed-flower crafts. Alternatively, freeze petals in ice cubes with water for decorative use, or dry individual petals on parchment paper in an oven set to its lowest temperature (150°F or lower) for 2–4 hours for use in herbal infusions or rose water.
History & Origin
Documentation on the specific origin of Midas Touch is limited in readily available sources. The variety appears to have emerged from modern hybrid tea breeding programs, likely developed in the late twentieth century as breeders sought to combine the classic form and cutting appeal of traditional hybrid teas with enhanced disease resistance traits valued in contemporary gardens. The golden-yellow coloring suggests descent from yellow hybrid tea lines that became prominent following the introduction of Peace and subsequent golden varieties. While the exact breeder and introduction year remain unclear, Midas Touch reflects the broader horticultural trend toward disease-resistant ornamental roses suited to home gardeners seeking low-maintenance specimens without sacrificing exhibition-quality blooms.
Origin: Temp. & Subtropical Northern Hemisphere (such as Europe & Asia)
Advantages
- +Stunning golden-yellow blooms with luminous glow add vibrant garden color
- +Excellent high-centered form makes Midas Touch ideal for cut flower arrangements
- +Strong stems and florist-quality blooms provide reliable cutting performance
- +Improved disease resistance compared to traditional hybrid tea varieties
- +Sweet citrus fragrance adds delightful sensory appeal to garden experience
Considerations
- -Downy mildew susceptibility requires careful watering and humid climate management
- -Vulnerable to aphids and thrips necessitating regular pest monitoring and treatment
- -Moderate growing difficulty demands consistent care for optimal performance
Companion Plants
Lavender and catmint planted within 18 inches of Midas Touch draw in predatory wasps and provide low-level aphid deterrence — and both share its preference for full sun and well-drained soil at pH 6.0–7.0, so you're not fighting the plant to keep them there. Garlic, chives, and other alliums are worth tucking in at the drip line; their sulfur compounds are widely credited with discouraging the aphids and thrips that NC State Extension flags as the main insect threats on roses. Keep Black Walnut at least 50 feet away — juglone leaches from the roots and hulls across a wide radius and will stunt or kill the rose outright — and skip large overhead trees entirely, since the shade and trapped moisture create the exact conditions that let Diplocarpon rosae get a foothold.
Plant Together
Lavender
Repels aphids, spider mites, and other rose pests while attracting beneficial pollinators
Marigolds
Deters nematodes, aphids, and whiteflies with natural compounds
Garlic
Repels aphids, spider mites, and fungal diseases like black spot
Chives
Natural aphid deterrent and helps prevent black spot disease
Catmint
Repels aphids, ants, and rodents while attracting beneficial insects
Alliums
Strong scent deters aphids, thrips, and helps prevent fungal infections
Clematis
Provides complementary vertical growth and shares similar soil preferences
Parsley
Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies that prey on rose pests
Keep Apart
Black Walnut
Produces juglone toxin that inhibits rose growth and can cause wilting
Large Trees
Compete for nutrients and water while creating excessive shade roses need full sun
Brassicas
Heavy feeders that compete for nutrients and may attract pests harmful to roses
Pests & Disease Resistance
Resistance
Excellent resistance to black spot, powdery mildew, and rust
Common Pests
Aphids, thrips, scale insects
Diseases
Occasional downy mildew in humid conditions
Troubleshooting Midas Touch
What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
Dark spots with irregular, 'feathered' edges on leaves, followed by yellowing and leaf drop — often starting mid-season
Likely Causes
- Black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) — a fungal disease that splashes up from soil or infected fallen leaves during rain
- Overhead watering that extends leaf wetness into morning or evening hours
- Poor air circulation from dense or unpruned canes
What to Do
- 1.Strip and trash (do not compost) all affected leaves; clean up any fallen debris at the base of the plant
- 2.Mulch around the shrub in late winter to reduce soil splash, and switch to drip or base watering only
- 3.Prune out infected canes in winter and open up the center of the plant for better airflow — NC State Extension's IPM guidance specifically names these practices for susceptible cultivars
New shoots abnormally elongated, leaves stay red instead of greening up, or excessive thorniness developing on one or more canes
Likely Causes
- Rose rosette disease (Rose rosette virus), transmitted by the microscopic eriophyid mite Phyllocoptes fructiphilus
- Witches'-broom proliferation — which can also result from glyphosate drift at low doses, so rule that out before assuming virus
What to Do
- 1.If you see hyper-thorniness combined with red shoot retention, treat it as RRD until proven otherwise — NC State's Plant Disease and Insect Clinic diagnoses based on the full symptom array, not a single sign
- 2.There is no cure; bag the entire plant and remove it to prevent mite spread to neighboring roses
- 3.Eliminate nearby wild multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) within 100 feet — it's the primary reservoir for both the virus and the mite vector
Distorted new growth, sticky residue or sooty mold on leaves and buds, sometimes visible clusters of small soft-bodied insects on new shoots
Likely Causes
- Aphids (most commonly Macrosiphum rosae, the rose aphid) congregating on tender new tissue
- Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) feeding inside buds, causing streaked or bronzed petals that fail to open cleanly
What to Do
- 1.Knock aphids off with a firm spray of water in the morning so foliage dries quickly before evening
- 2.For persistent aphid pressure, apply insecticidal soap directly to the colonies and repeat every 5–7 days
- 3.Thrips are harder to spot; if buds deform before opening, inspect inside the petals and treat with spinosad per label rates — it has meaningfully better activity on thrips than soap does