Case Study: A Stronger Rose

The story of Grace N’ Grit™ Roses and Nitty Gritty™ Roses is a great example of the way we work.

OUR DEEP RELATIONSHIPS WITH BREEDERS allow us to see opportunities in the market before others might. “We were noticing a lot of categories of roses needed a refresh, more disease resistance, and a way to make them lower maintenance. The busier consumer was not as interested in fussy roses,” says New Plants Manager Georgia Clay.

We collaborated extensively with breeders, trialing hundreds of roses in our search for a rose that possessed low-maintenance beauty, would be easy to propagate, and stayed true to type. “a lot of roses are going to look good only in a few areas or specific climates,” says Georgia. “We were looking for roses that wouldn’t need a lot of intervention to perform beautifully.”

Two clear favorites emerged from our extensive testing: Grace N’ Grit™ rose, a shrub type with floribunda blooms that did exceedingly well in both landscape and container situations, and Nitty Gritty™ , a groundcover rose that stays lower, has a light fragrance, and beautiful spray type blooms. The roses launched into market in 2018, and are now available in sizes from 2-gallon to patio tree forms. “Demand is growing,” says Georgia. “We clearly found a winner.”

The NATURE of BEAUTY