This is a wild new rose! The first lavender-mauve blend rose to be awarded the AARS award since 1978. This large grandiflora has flowers that are ruffled and wavy— almost like camellia flowers and up to four and a half inches across. The petals are a deep reddish color and get a lighter lavender in the center of the rose. Each bloom gives a scent of sweet citrus and rose. It is a vigorous up-right plant with deep green leaves, and excellent disease resistance. ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ has an extraordinary blend of colors with a center eye of lavender staring at you and says, ‘You must buy me!’ This is my third year of growing this lovely plant . When I got the first bloom, I was pleasantly surprised because it did not look like any rose I have in the garden. It was in its own category.
Breeder: Tom Carruth, USA, 2004
Class: Grandiflora
Color: Mauve
Fragrance: Sweet citrus and rose
Parentage: (‘International Herald Tribune’ x ‘R. soulieana derivative’) x
(‘Sweet Chariot’ x ‘Blue Nile’)) x (‘Blueberry Hill’ x ‘Stephen’s Big Purple’)
By Lydia Treadway
Edited for the website by N Londeree, December 2020