The Iceberg rose is hugely popular. Photo / Supplied
The very wet and cold spring we have had this year has turned out to be a boon for the roses. While perhaps a week or so later to bloom, the intensity of the first flush of roses for the season is truly magnificent this year.
Many gardeners are saying the same as show-stopping display after show-stopping display appears in gardens wherever roses are growing.
This brings us the ideal conditions for roses, being good fertile soil and good amounts of water. If you do not have great soil, fertility and structure can easily be improved with additions of high-nutrient organic matter such as Tui Sheep Pellets, Yates Organic Dynamic Lifter or Ican Premium Compost. Regular deep weekly watering through the dry summer months will keep plants strong and healthy. When the plants are well-fed and watered, the incidence of pest infestation and diseases is reduced.
Roses have many uses and are such good plants for picking flowers and bringing them indoors for display. The colour of picked rose blooms offers vibrancy and life, while the scent can bring feelings of tranquillity and long-forgotten happy memories from childhood.
Roses can be used to gain formality from a row of the ever-popular iceberg standards, providing a grand entrance to a home or business and offering direction along a pathway. Bush roses included in a mixed garden planting can be used to bring colour in a more informal way where different plant combinations offer a springboard effect throughout the year to create continuous beauty and interest.
Some top-performing bush roses to look out for:
Rose Iceberg
This must be the world’s biggest-selling rose. Its pearly white blooms have captivated landscape gardeners and non-gardeners alike. The white goes with anything and everything, complementing lawns, buildings and any garden colour. In a row, they will tie together a garden where there is no theme, bringing some formality and uniformity.
Intrigued by the popularity I have Googled to find where this “super rose” came from.
Wikipedia reports: “The cultivar was developed by prolific German rose breeder Reimer Kordes in Germany in 1958. He and his father Wilhelm had initially specialised in developing bush roses that were suitable for small gardens. The parent varieties of ‘KORbin’ are ‘Robin Hood’, a red hybrid musk rose, developed by Joseph Pemberton in 1927 in England, and ‘Virgo’, a white hybrid-tea rose bred in France by Charles Mallerin in 1927. The plant was registered under the cultivar name ‘KORbin’ by Kordes in 1958 and given the trade name Schneewittchen. The cultivar is known as Fée des Neiges in French and Iceberg in English.”
Having been around for a while, Iceberg is certainly tried and proven.
A more unusual recent New Zealand-bred release that has been catching the attention of rose lovers is Green with Envy. Green with Envy is the culmination of 29 years of breeding to market a green rose. The unusual trait with this variety is the length of time the flower lasts, both on the bush and as a cut flower. You will also find the colour intensifies with age as opposed to fading as most roses do. It looks stunning. This is a rose for every garden. Its compact to medium form makes it ideal for pots. It looks spectacular in entranceways or on the patio, and with its excellent display will be an eye-catching conversation piece.
One of the most deliciously fragrant roses I have come across is Mum in a Million. It has an old-fashioned style, full peony-type blooms in a strong soft pink. The colour is incredibly on trend in the popularity stakes and, as a garden plant, is a good doer.
A favourite red of mine is Lasting Love. This has deep dusky red blooms on tall single, hybrid tea stems that make it ideal for picking. It is strongly scented and repeats flowering month after month. It is a strong grower and larger than some varieties and is super healthy with low susceptibility to pests and disease. As a standard or a bush, it makes a great display.
Climbing roses
Rose Dublin Bay was selected by well-known international rose breeder Sam McGredy and named after the bays of Ireland. It is such a good performer it is rated as the number one climbing rose by the NZ Rose Society frequently with nearly double the votes of the next best rose since 1987 (https://nzroses.org.nz/march-dublin-bay).
Its blooms are a very brilliant semi-double with bright red blooms. It can grow up to 2-3 metres across but, while it is a good grower, it is not so vigorous that it can’t be contained and kept smaller when needed. It performs well grown up a trellis, pillar, wall or pergola.
Dublin Bay looks particularly good when underplanted with lavender or catmint, where the blue flowers of these plants provide a complementary colour to both the rose blooms and the deep green leaves.
Dublin Bay is adaptable to many garden situations. It can be grown successfully in a decent-sized patio planter or half wine barrel. It is a strong and healthy grower with dark green healthy foliage and generally good disease resistance.
A top-performing pink flowering climbing rose is Compassion. Part of the world-renowned Austin rose series, it aptly meets its description: A very healthy and reliable variety. Its well-shaped hybrid tea flowers are light pink, tinted with coral pink, and have a lovely strong, sweet fragrance. The growth is strong, stiff and bushy with plentiful dark green foliage. (https://eu.davidaustinroses.com/products/compassion)
It will grow about 3m by 3m.
The final climbing rose for today’s column is Uetersen (pronounced ooh-ter-sen).
It is a climbing rose from the Kordes family of rose breeders in Germany and is named for the Rosarium Uetersen, one of the oldest rose gardens in Northern Germany.
Throughout summer, masses of bright pink frilly blooms cover the plant. A free flowering variety, the blooms also have a good scent. It is a very healthy variety with the glossy light green foliage looking good most of the time.
A moderate grower compared to some other climbing roses, Uetersen is ideal for a smaller area or grown up a pillar. For a larger area, plant several to get a mass effect.
A winner of the Gold Star of the South Pacific at the NZRS trial grounds in Palmerston North in 1980, it has been a consistent performer throughout New Zealand for many years and is a worthy rose to grow in any garden. (https://nzroses.org.nz/december-uetersen)
Keep an eye on your roses for both pests and diseases. Look out for aphids, caterpillars, scale, red spider mites and thrips. Common diseases include blackspot, mildew and rose rust. The use of Yates Supershield helps to control these problems. If you notice rose buds going brown and rotting it is quite likely to be botrytis (brown rot) - a weather-related fungi. Prevent by spraying with Grosafe Freeflow Copper or any spray that controls botrytis and downy mildew. A systemic fungus spray that is effective is Yates Fungus Fighter. Call in and ask at the garden centre if you want more advice.
For more gardening information visit www.springvalegardencentre.co.nz
* Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.
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