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Dr. Leda's Rose Journal |
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Dr. Leda's Wish List for 2003
By Dr. Leda Horticulture, O. R.
For the 2002 - 2003 Season
This is my favorite part of the gardening year: curling up on the sofa with a delicious new rose catalog, dreaming and fantasizing and planning how my garden will look next spring. I love envisioning various color combinations as I mentally design unique little vignettes in different parts of the yard. I hope you all enjoy the catalog too, and have fun being creative and artistic as you assemble your own 2003 rose wish lists. Here's mine so far:
'Hot Cocoa': Tom Carruth's new floribunda is this year's most talked about rose, the one causing the most drooling and mass hysteria. The color is outrageously, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, though it seems to vary with temperature, time, and the eye of the beholder. I've seen it described as cinnamon, brick, russet, smoky, and "rich chocolate-orange with a purple-burgundy cast." Stand back and let me through!
Those of us who lust after coffee colored roses have run ourselves ragged in the past, fussing over pathetically wimpy hard-to-find twigs that looked like death warmed over by mid-summer. But not 'Hot Cocoa'! Rosarians who've grown it in test gardens are raving wildly about its health, vigor, and ability to hold color in heat. Exhibitors, arrangers, and organic gardeners alike are applauding the lush healthy foliage, fruity fragrance, and fast repeat bloom. I'll be putting six in my daylily beds.
'Rouge Royale': This magnificent burgundy-red Romantica has everybody's socks going up and down; I've heard nothing but rave reviews from people who've grown it. Enormous old-rose shaped blooms, intense fragrance, fast repeat, splendid disease resistance, long vase life, plus a deep rich color that doesn't fade, even in heat. Could it be more perfect? And I have just the spot, in front of the 'Abraham Darby' climbing the porch. Imagine that combination!
'Cherry Parfait' is next on my list, a delightful new grandiflora hybridized by the French House of Meilland. Word on the streets is it's a workhorse and a dazzler, constantly in bloom, with excellent disease resistance. The cupped blossoms are creamy vanilla-white with sweet lipstick-red edges, produced 3 to 5 per stem on a well-rounded 4' bush. Witnesses report that 'Cherry Parfait' is truly spectacular in bloom, one of the most impressive landscape roses to come along in years. I'm going to try two, in blue glazed pots by the front steps.
'Whisper' is being touted as the first AARS-winning white hybrid tea in 22 years, but its well-formed high-centered blooms are actually a lovely cream color, with just the softest hint of peach and lemon in the center. An offspring of 'Elina' and 'Solitaire,' this rose was bred by sixth-generation Irish nurseryman Colin Dickson, and has won several impressive awards overseas under the name 'Racy Lady.' Rosarians who grow it say it's almost never out of bloom, it produces huge quantities of long-lasting flowers, and needs no spraying. 'Whisper' is definitely going into my cutting garden this year; I can see it in arrangements with light blue Hydrangeas and lime green zinnias.
'Eureka': New roses from Kordes always grab my attention since disease-resistance is a Kordes hallmark, and this dark golden-yellow floribunda is no exception. Like its parent 'Sunflare,' 'Eureka' is a tough, vigorous, 3' bush that blooms abundantly with exceptionally good repeat. The 4" flowers have deep, rich, apricot undertones, backed by glossy foliage. I've been looking for something low-maintenance and bright to plant along the driveway, and I think a cheerful 'Eureka' hedge with dark purple irises will be stunning.
'Marilyn Monroe': Tom Carruth has produced another brilliant tour de force with this new hybrid tea. Serious rose exhibitors all over the internet are raving about this creamy apricot beauty, which has already started to win shows. They say the huge blooms have nearly perfect substance and form, and last far longer than the average rose when cut. Test growers report that 'Marilyn Monroe' is a remarkably healthy rose, and like her pollen parent 'St. Patrick,' she doesn't balk or fade in summer heat. Looks like I'm going to have to make room for a couple of these. Can't you picture it in a vase with lavender Delphinium and Green Bells of Ireland?
'Our Lady of Guadalupe': Ok, I know I said I was cutting back on pink roses. And really, I was. But with all the hue and cry over this silvery pink floribunda, I've been forced to reconsider. Introduced last year by Keith Zary, this prolific rose has been rated by gardeners from Seattle to Phoenix to Miami as their best continuous non-stop bloomer. It never quits, and it's disease-resistant and sweetly fragrant as well: exactly what I need at the end of the walkway, edged with airy blue Nepeta and silver lambs ears.
'Distant Drums': This tough, easy little rose is a striking and unusual mixture of mauve, orchid, slate, and peachy tan. The variable colors swirl and change with weather and with age, and the bushy, well-branched shrub bears abundant clusters of multi-hued, ruffled, fragrant flowers from spring until frost. Hybridized in 1985 by the late Dr. Griffith Buck, 'Distant Drums' has earned itself a solid reputation for being healthy, hardy, and unique. I'm delighted to hear it's being re-released in 2003 by Weeks Roses. I plan to grow it in a dark green Chinese dragon pot the first year, moving it around to experiment with various color combinations.
