Tried & True Roses - Part I

                                                  (Hybrid Teas) 

                                                 By Jim & Doris Wagner

For those of you that were SRS members in latter part of 2002, some of the information in this series of articles may look familiar.  At that time, a two part article entitled Roses for Beginners and Expanding Rose Gardens was prepared for publication in the SRS Bulletins.  In looking back, we felt this would be a good time to update those articles from seven (+) years ago.  This update may be helpful to both newer and older members.  There are a few deletions, several additions (especially in the OGR and miniature & mini-flora areas), ratings from the American Rose Society Handbook for Selecting Roses have been updated, and those winning the AARS (All American Rose Selection) Award for a given year are being identified (more about AARS on the next page).

This article will be three parts – this and the next two issues of the Bulletin.  This should give you time to order roses by mail order for spring planting and/or for selecting roses at your local garden stores in the spring.  For those ordering roses from Palatine, you may want to keep this information handy for next fall.  Although lower rated roses might work out, selecting varieties having ratings in the American Rose Society Handbook for Selecting Roses of 7.5 and higher may result in greater success for you.  Unless otherwise indicated, all of those below appear to be winter hardy provided the winter is not too severely open and cold and winter protection is applied.  However, as we have not had a really harsh winter since about 2003, varieties introduced and planted in our gardens since then have not had a really good test of their hardiness level for our area.

Within the parenthesis (    ) is the year of introduction, rating, height, and official color from the above ARS Handbook.  For those with a “P” after the name, comments are based upon our observations at the E. M. Mills Memorial Rose Gardens that we have been volunteering at since 2001 when we returned to NYS.

Hybrid Teas (HTs).   Better known for more single than multiple blooms per stem and more closely like those that you may find at a florist or supermarket. 

Bride’s Dream (1985, 8.1, 5-6’ or more tall, light pink).  Slight fragrance. Tall canes with “cream” colored, mostly single blooms per stem.  Long lasting.  Good garden and exhibition rose. 

Chicago Peace (1962, 7.7, 4-5’, pink blend). Good garden rose. Frequent repeat bloom cycles.  Fairly long lasting blooms.  For us it has been more winter hearty than the original Peace rose (1945, 8.2).

Elina (1984, 8.6, 3-4’, light yellow). Very nice yellow garden & exhibition type rose. Moderate repeat blooms throughout the season.  Can end up on the show table.

Folklore (1976, 8.2, 5-7’, orange blend).  Moderate fragrance.  Good garden and exhibition rose. Limited number of long lasting blooms on tall canes.  Challenges the grower as to when their blooms will open.

Fragrant Cloud (1967, 8.1, 4-5’, orange red).  Very fragrant old timer.  Good garden rose. Large blooms.  Frequent repeat cycles .  Not an exhibition rose (opens too quickly) but very nice on the bush or when floated in a rose bowl.

Gemini (1999, 8.2, 4-5’, pink blend).  Moderate fragrance.  Frequent repeat, long lasting, near perfect blooms.  Nearly disease free.  Excellent for garden and exhibiting.  Has not yet been tested by a severely cold winter.  2002 AARS Award winner.

Headliner (P) (1985, 7.5, 4-5’, pink blend).  Officially pink blend but more like a beautiful red & white bi-color.  Good for garden & exhibition rose. Constant repeat blooms all season from June through fall.  One of my favorite color combinations at the Mills Garden.

Keepsake (1981, 8.0, 4-5’, pink blend).  Moderate fragrance.  Nice garden and exhibition qualities. Frequent repeat, long lasting blooms.

Love & Peace (2001, 7.8, 4-5’, yellow blend).  Nice garden rose.  Large, very attractive deep yellow with slight tinge of pink on edge of petals. Frequent repeat blooms.  AARS 2002 Winner. 

Mister Lincoln (1965, 8.3, 4-5’, dark red).  Heavy fragrance.  A rose that has really stood the test of time.  Great for the garden but may turn dark if refrigerated.  Not normally in the run for Court of Honor but great showing in the garden.  1965 AARS Award winner.

Moonstone (1998, 8.2, 3 - 4’, white).  Official color is white but has pink tinges. Lots of mostly single blooms per cane.  Excellent exhibition type rose.  Limited repeat bloom cycles but very nice when it does repeat.                                   

Olympiad (1983, 8.6, 4-6’, medium red). Very nice deep red blooms.  Good garden & exhibition rose.  Good chance of making the Court as a single bloom and/or multi-bloom entries.  Takes a little while longer than some roses to bloom but lasts for a long time. Reasonable repeat bloom cycles.  1984 AARS Award winner. 

Opening Night (P) (1998, 7.8, 4-5’, dark red). Very nice dark red blooms.  Good garden & exhibition rose. Constant repeat all season from June through fall.  1998 AARS Award winner.

Paradise (1979, 7.6, 4-5’, mauve). Borderline rating but has survived several years for us. Large number of very attractive mauve blooms.  Frequent repeat bloom cycles. Good garden & some exhibition potential. 1999 AARS Award winner.

Polarstern  - sometimes called Polarstar (1983, 7.7, 5-6’, white).  Light fragrance. Good garden rose with nice blooms that can be of exhibition quality. Tall, sturdy canes.

Precious Platinum (1976, 7.6, 4-5’, medium red).  Heavy fragrance.  Long lasting blooms.  Nice garden rose.

Occasional exhibition bloom.

Touch of Class (1985, 8.9, 5-6’, orange pink). Slight fragrance. The 9.0 rating seems a little high for our area.  First bloom cycle later than most HTs.  Nice exhibition blooms but can have powdery mildew problems by late summer.  1986 AARS Award.

Tropicana (1960, 7.6, 4-5’, orange pink). Good, old timer, garden rose.  Long lasting, strongly fragrant blooms.  1963 AARS Award winner.

Voodoo (1984, 7.4, 4 to 5’, orange blend). Very nice, large orange blooms that seem to just glisten from the overnight dew when the sun strikes it in the morning.  This and Folklore side by side in one of our rose beds in New Hampshire was a beautiful sight looking out our kitchen window.  Holds blooms well. 1986 AARS Award winner.

All-American Rose Selections (AARS) and their test and display gardens.   AARS is a non-profit association of rose growers and introducers dedicated to the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses, running the world’s most challenging horticultural testing program.  Since 1938, the AARS testing program has encouraged the rose industry to improve the disease resistance, ease of care, and beauty of roses.

The E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden is one of a limited number of AARS accredited “public display” rose gardens in New York State.  Roses meeting the AARS requirements are made available to Mills Rose Garden and other “public display” gardens a year prior to their introduction to the general public.           

Prior to these AARS Award winning roses being made available to the Mills Rose Garden and other “public display” gardens, they are put through an extensive two year trial program at about 25 AARS “test” rose gardens throughout the United States where they are judged on everything from disease resistance to flower production to color to fragrance.

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