'Knock Out' courtesy White Flower Farm
By Leigh Barnes
Roses mean romance. I love the way they look and smell, but like many others, I feared the maintenance involved. Although shrub roses have worked well in my garden, I have been hesitant to grow any others. But their beauty keeps calling to me from the seductive descriptions accompanying lush photos in the latest batch of garden catalogues.
Everything I have recently learned about roses tells me that it is time to forget the past and take a closer look at what is new and truly exciting about them—and to look again at some of the beauties that have stood the test of time in our area.Roses are grouped in classes. Within these groupings are choices for almost any mid-Atlantic garden situation. Al Ford, Maryland Rose Society Advisory Board member, reports that, Having grown all types of roses over the past 25 years in my Timonium, Maryland garden; he has noticed that, with few exceptions, all classifications of modern and Old Garden Roses grow well here. Highlighted here are a few of those that perform well in this area, organized by class.
'Julia Child' courtesy Weeks Roses, photo by Gene Sasse
Floribunda have medium-length flowers, generally borne in clusters, and are more compact with medium length stems.
‘Julia Child’: Butter gold; rounded habit; very glossy leaves; great disease resistance; licorice candy scent; selected by the award-winning chef herself; 2006 All-America Rose Selections (AARS) winner.
‘Rainbow Sorbet’: Deep yellow with orange and red highlights; highly disease resistant; rugged, winter hardy; 2006 AARS Winner.
Hybrid Teas
Hybrid Teas have large flowers, generally one per stem, and are medium to tall with long cutting stems.
Old Favorites:
‘Mr. Lincoln’ (1965): Very fragrant; long-stemmed; fully double deep red; grown everywhere.
‘Pristine’ (1978): Large, double, clear white blossoms blushed with soft pink; lightly scented.
‘Elizabeth Taylor’ (1986): Medium, slightly spreading; shocking deep pink with smoky edges.
New Selections:
‘Tahitian Sunset’: Intensely anise-scented; large blooms of orange, sun yellow, and pink; 2006 AARS winner.
‘Spellbound’: Deep coral to coral pink; mildly fragrant.
'Queen Elizabeth' courtesy The Conard-Pyle Co.
Grandiflora
Grandiflora have large flowers borne in clusters, have individual stems within each cluster, are suitable for cutting, and are often compact in habit.
Old Favorite:
‘Queen Elizabeth’ (1955): Clear pink; medium-large double blooms with slight tea fragrance; long-stemmed clusters.
New Selections:
‘Wild Blue Yonder’: Camellia-like with clusters of ruffled red/purple petals and a lavender ‘eye’; citrus blossom; rose-scented; 2006 AARS winner (the first lavender-tone rose to take the All-America Rose Selections award in over 20 years).
‘About Face’: Novel bicolor with light, golden-yellow color on edge of petals and darker bronze backside; lush, clean green foliage; vigorous; mild apple fragrance; low-maintenance; 2005 AARS winner.
Climbers
Climbers are roses with long canes that can be trained along fences, posts, and walls. These vary in flower size, form, and mature habit, generally growing from 8 feet to 20 feet.
Old Favorites:
‘Compassion’ (1973): Grows 8 feet to 10 feet; very fragrant; continuous large, fully double blooms in shades of apricot, copper, and gold; very disease resistant.
‘New Dawn’ (1930): Grows 18 feet to 20 feet; boasts a multitude of sweet, rose-scented, pink flowers in spring with repeat blooms all summer.
‘Zephirine Drouhin’ (1868): Cerise-pink; fragrant; nearly thornless; somewhat shade tolerant; huge bloom period in June and another flush in the fall.
New Selections:
‘Lemon Meringue’: Grows 10 to 12 feet; strong fragrance of spice and fruit; hardy yellow with large, double-flowered clusters that bloom on old and new wood.
‘Climbing Carefree Sunshine’: Grows 8 to 10 feet; intense yellow; highly disease resistant; winter hardy; in fall, flowers are followed by bright green hips, which provide food for hungry birds.
'Carefree' Sunshine courtesy The Conard-Pyle Co.
Diminuitive Climbers (6 feet to 8 feet)
‘Brite Eyes’: Salmon-colored, single blooms with yellow centers and deep green foliage.
‘Valentine’s Day’: Grows 6 to 10 feet; a sure winner for low fences or for a trellis in a container; clear red, velvet, double flowers that hold their color throughout the bloom cycle and will bloom the first year on old and new wood.
Shrub Roses
Landscape shrub roses are available in several forms and habits (from 2 to 5 feet high and 3 to 7 feet wide, depending on the variety) and can be used as hedges, groundcovers, or mounding shrubs. They are highly disease resistant and offer continuous bloom.
‘Knock Out’: Cherry red with new shades available in pink, blushing pink, and double cherry pink; grows 3 by 3 feet and works in many garden situations as large ground cover, hedge, or specimen planting; highly disease resistant; free blooming all season; grows well in wide range of climates and conditions virtually care free; 2000 AARS winner. David Thompson, owner of Foxborough Nursery in Street, Maryland, reports that his landscape crews are so impressed with this newcomer that they have replaced all their garden roses with it.
‘Daydream’: Compact with massive clusters of fuchsia-pink blooms all summer; glossy, dark green foliage; disease resistant; round habit; 2005 AARS winner.
Polyanthas
Polyanthas have small flowers in large clusters and are generally compact in habit with medium-short stems.
‘The Fairy’: Profuse bloomer with small, flat, double, pink blossoms over a compact bush of dark green foliage; disease resistant; best known of all polyanthasÑgrown all over Europe and United States.
‘Lullaby’: Double blooms are white with a pink centers; slight or no scent; dark, leathery foliage; taller and more upright than typical low-growing polyanthas.
Rugosa Roses
Rugosa roses, which can stand up to salt air and cold temperatures, are ideal for seaside gardens. They have dark green, leathery, crinkled leaves.
‘Wild Spice’: Hybrid rugosa with ruffled, snowy-white blossoms well into fall followed by large, orange rose hips; semi-glossy leaves; strong clove fragrance.
‘Frau Dagmar Hartopp’: Deep pink, single blooms slowly fade to pale silvery pink with yellow stamens; disease resistant; smaller than most rugosas.
Leigh Barnes is a frequent contributor to ChesapeakeHome. Her company, Companion Plantings, Inc., specializes in container and small space gardens. For more information, call 410-825-4505 or email lrbarnes628@yahoo.com.
All-America Rose Selections: rose.org
The Conard Pyle Co.: starroses.com
Jackson & Perkins: Jackson-perkins.com or 877-322-2300
Maryland Rose Society: mgs.md.gov/mdrose
Weeks Roses: weeksroses.com
White Flower Farm:WhiteFlowerFarm.com or 800-503-9624
