In the words of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, O my luve is like a red, red roseThat’s newly sprung in JuneO my luve is like the melodieThat’s sweetly played in tune. Red roses have long been associated with love. It is hard to look at a deep red rose and not have it …
Do you ever notice when walking through a rose garden or nursery that there are more pink, red and white roses than any other colors? The majority of old roses fall into these color classes and have been used most often by hybridizers. There are very few naturally occurring yellow roses, and it is believed …
If it seems like there are more pink colored roses than any other single color, you are not imagining it. Rayford Reddell says in his book The Rose Bible, “I probably imagined that … pink wasn’t a masculine color – foolish reasoning. As for the pink aversion, well, it helps to know that more great …
Does the color apricot bring to mind warm summer days, soft colors, and fuzzy textures? Abundant fresh fruit from the tree? Descriptive terms like light orange, soft pastel peach or pale sunset doesn’t really capture the warmth of the color. The American Rose Society (ARS) color classification uses apricot & apricot blend to cover a …
When you see a rose, what’s likely the first thing you do? Take a sniff? That’s a pretty common response to roses. Yet, when you put your nose up close, you may find a trace of a fragrance, but often not a very strong one. There are a few reasons for that – first, it …
It would be hard to find a more colorful rose than ‘Sheila’s Perfume’! Classed as a floribunda, this rose is more similar to a hybrid tea in bloom form and shrub structure. The classic shape of the buds on long stems with often single blooms make ‘Sheila’s Perfume’ perfect for cutting. In the vase you’ll …
Dr. Griffith Buck was a professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University and was an excellent hybridizer of modern roses. His main goal in hybridizing was to breed roses that were able to survive the harsh winter temperatures of -26F without protection. Of course, along with that were disease resistance, repeat bloom, good flower form …
The colors of ‘Westerland’ are those of a sunset – lovely apricot-orange with a touch of pink. The perfumed blooms are generally more than three inches wide, double, ruffled, with 20 petals that are slightly serrated. Officially classified as a shrub rose ‘Westerland’ is often sold as a climber. In our mild climate it grows …
‘Baby Love’ was bred in the United Kingdom by Len Scrivens in 1992 from a cross of an orange blend miniature called ‘Sweet Magic’ and a seedling that was a cross of an unnamed seedling and the light red species, ‘R. davidii elongate’. Modern Roses 12 lists nine registered roses for Len Shrivens – the …
Peter Beales introduced this gallica in 1982, just before James Mason’s death in 1984. James Mason, a well-known British actor, was an avid rosarian and a lover of cats. He and his wife, Pamela, wrote a book about their cats and James illustrated it. Due to his keen interest in roses, the James Mason Medal …