BEST ROSES FOR
OUR REGION
(SOME OF THEM ANYHOW!) BY TINA MAST
It wasn’t until I moved to North Carolina that I realized how easy it was to grow roses in my native California. Sure, we had diseases and bugs, but where I lived, there were no deer, Japanese beetles, and the dreaded black spot was not as serious a disease. Christina Haney, my fellow nursery professional and soil sister, on the other hand, is familiar with the challenges of growing roses in our climate and region. Neither of us is big into using heavy-hitting chemicals in the garden, and being the stewards of many plants, we don’t want too many prima donnas needing something
C
every five minutes.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE ROSES
– DREAM COME TRUE (GRANDIFLORA): Plentiful long-stemmed flowers featuring Chablis-gold centers rimmed in ruby pink and showing great form from start to finish. Tall, upright, and bushy habit. Mild tea fragrance. AARS Winner. – ELLE (HYBRID TEA): Like two roses in one – cherry-pink to apricot with gold at the petal base in the cool of spring and lovely baby pink in summer. A bushy, compact rose with strong, spicy fragrance. AARS Winner. – ORCHID ROMANCE (FLORIBUNDA): Ruffled flowers in bubblegum pink with lavender tones at the edges and a hint of coral at the center. Strong citrus fragrance. – STRIKE IT RICH (GRANDIFLORA): Apricot buds tipped in pink swirl open to abundant deep golden, peachy yellow blooms. Tall and extra vigorous. Strong fragrance of fruit and spice. AARS Winner.
hristina knows which varieties make the grade in the performance department. With all of this in mind, here is our definitely-not-exhaustive list of high-performance roses. These were selected because they are very disease resistant and floriferous, and because they grow vigorously. Also, and this is often overlooked, most of these roses age very well, keeping their good looks until their petals fall off. That’s an important feature in our southern heat in which flowers can quickly mature and fade from loveliness. “AARS Winner” in the description means All America Rose Selection and tells you that the rose has been trialed for two years in gardens around the country and has been proven to have exceptional performance and vigor. And for those wondering, here’s a breakdown of the following rose classifications: – HYBRID TEA: Strong stems good for cutting with classicallyshaped blooms borne singly on the stems. – FLORIBUNDA: Stiff shrubs, smaller, and bushier than most hybrid teas. Flowers are often smaller than hybrid teas but are produced in large sprays, giving a better floral effect in the garden. – GRANDIFLORA: Often seem like a cross between hybrid teas and floribundas. Strong stems, good for cutting, with flowers presented in clusters. 14
CIRCA Magazine
| April
May
June 2020
|
www.circamagazine.com
