Outstanding New Roses for Your Garden!

There are some great new roses coming out this spring. We trialed 30 new varieties at the nursery in 20" diameter pots. We kept spraying and fertilization at a minimum, so that we could get a good sense of their "real world" performance. Of these new varieties several caught my eye for their good garden performance. In particular, the new rose Fabulous is quite outstanding. This rose is a cross between two exemplary parents, Iceberg and Sexy Rexy. This new floribunda proved to be very disease resistant and bloomed quite heavily all summer long. The white blooms were reminiscent of Iceberg, but with a bit more substance and the flowers had a higher petal count. Another rose that really rang out as a superior performer is the new climbing rose High Hopes. The blooms are well formed and are very clear, true pink. This Harkness rose blooms reliably all summer long, and the blossoms have a fruity fragrance, somewhat strawberry-like!High Hopes will reach 12 feet tall and will be covered in dark green foliage. Really worth considering if you are looking for a new climber...Black Magic, a very dark red rose, hails from Tantau's breeding program. I usually consider dark reds to be a bit mildew prone, but this rose was remarkably clean. The color is excellent, and Black Magic is a long lasting cutting rose. We finally are able to offer 777 again. This grandiflora has deep plum to purple coloring and an excellent fragrance.We are glad to have it back in our inventory after a two-year absence. Another rose worth considering is Burning Desire which is another Olympiad and Ingrid Bergman (pictured right) cross. This red hybrid tea has strong stems and, like its parents, is quite productive. I love red roses, and Burning Desire would be a welcome addition to any garden. (Okay, I like just about every color in roses...)

Another rose that we trialed was Andrea Stelzer which is one of the most outstanding pink hybrid teas I have seen. This Kordes rose launched in 1992, but has been in short supply until last year. Tall, straight stems and amazine form make this rose a standout in the garden. If you are looking for a magnificent speciman hybrid tea, this is one to consider. Barbara Streisand is a lavender hybrid tea that bears an exceptional perfume. I have found this rose to be more disease resistant than most lavender hybrid teas. Of note...one of her parents is the exceptional New Zealand. The 2001 AARS winner Glowing Peace is quite reminiscent of the classic hybrid tea Peace. There are warm yellows and light orange tones highlighting the cream base. Glowing Peace exhibits good disease resistance and should prove to be a good garden rose. Both of the AARS winners come from the rose house Meilland of France which funds one of the most prolific hybridizing programs in the world.

Marmalade Skies (pictured left) is the other 2001 AARS winner, and this floribunda presents screaming coral/orange blooms in profusion.This rose grows into a dense and low growing shrub, making it ideal for containers or edging borders. I think that the floribunda group is underused in that they are among the hardest working roses in the garden.

We have added many other new rose varieties to our rose list this year, so come on out and ponder the diversity!