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15 roses to plant now

Winter is rose planting time and new season roses should be in the garden centres this month. Jo McCarroll rounds up the new releases for 2023, including several bred here in New Zealand, and asks a few rose lovers to share their favourite rose.

1‘ EFFERVESCENCE’

From Te Puna rose breeder Rob Somerfield, new release climber ‘Effervescence’ has rich creamy blooms and dark glossy foliage. The best thing, Rob says, is there are very few thorns, “great for a climber, as it won’t scratch you and catch you as you go past with the lawn mower.” Available from resellers of Glenavon Roses.

2‘ MUTABILIS’

Designer Kate Sylvester, whose mother Toni Sylvester was a founder of Heritage Roses NZ, picked the China ‘Mutabilis’. “It was my mother’s favourite because it flowers forever and the blooms are such an amazing spectrum of colours. My partner Wayne Conway’s mother Pam admired it so Mum gave her a cutting and it quickly became Pam’s favourite too. Then Pam gave me a cutting which now riots all over our back fence. I love this beautiful connection to my two favourite women.”

3‘ Buff Beauty’

Taihape plantsman Gordon Collier, whose wonderful memoir of the different gardens he has created across New Zealand, Gordon Collier’s 3 Gardens, is out now, says he loves many roses. In fact, his first love was a rose, when aged 4-and-a-bit, he fell for the pink ‘Shot Silk’.

In his Taupō garden Anacapri, he grew ‘Lavender Lady’, ‘Jean Ducher’ and ‘Sally Martin’. “‘Sally Martin’ soon became my preference with its vigour, pure white flowers and repeat flowering habit.”

He has a particular fondness for the yellow-toned-topale-apricot Hybrid musk ‘Buff Beauty’. “Being a bit redgreen colour blind I am partial to yellow.”

Gordon is now growing a seedling that Bev McConnell found in her six-star garden in east Auckland, Ayrlies. “She thinks its mother, or father, was ‘Buff Beauty’,” Gordon says. “Despite its unknown origin, this unnamed rose [pictured in the inset on the left] is my current favourite and a star turn in my new garden at Taihape. Grown from a hardwood cutting, in spring it starts off as a small bush soon displaying dainty miniature blooms the same colour as its presumed parent. Lightly pruned in summer it flowers again in autumn on metre-long pendant branches. It can’t decide whether it is a shrub or a climber! Either way, it is definitely a special rose with a future.”

4‘ Dame Judi Dench’

New to New Zealand is this rich apricot-orange English Musk Hybrid from David Austin Roses. Named, of course, for the beloved star of the stage and screen, who launched it herself at the Chelsea Garden Show in 2017. The flowers start out as red-tipped buds but open to ruffled rosettes with a button eye. This rose is resistant to rain damage and the petals drop neatly. David Austin Junior has described the scent as “a lovely, medium-strong fragrance, which combines the scent of classic tea with a fresh note of cucumber and just a hint of kiwi.”

At the time of its release, Austin Junior also told the British press that the rose was intended to be “beautiful, vibrant and slightly uncontrolled” like Dame Judi herself. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

5‘ Hokey Pokey’

New Zealand-bred and new this year, the rose ‘Hokey Pokey’ was named after breeder Bob Matthews’ favourite ice cream flavour.

New this year from second-generation rose breeder Bob Matthews of Matthews Nurseries in Whanganui is the honeycomb-coloured Bush Floribunda ‘Hokey Pokey’. Clusters of fragrant, multipetal blooms are produced on a bushy plant with dark glossy foliage. It’s part of Bob’s ‘My Rose Collection’, a selection of roses which all descend from another of his great roses, ‘My Mum’. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

6‘ Infinity’‘

Another new and New Zealand-bred rose from Bob Matthews this year. This Modern Climber produces pure white, softly fragrant blooms and mid-green foliage on a healthy, vigorous plant. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

7‘ Snow Bunny’

A new release to New Zealand and bred by Kordes of Germany, one of the most well known and successful rose breeders in the world, the Bush Floribunda ‘Snow Bunny’ smothers itself in clusters of small snow-white blooms. A compact plant, growing to 90cm, it’s a great choice for small gardens or pots, or grown as a small standard. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

8‘ Pure & Simple’

English rose breeder Gareth Fryer has created many good small roses including ‘Sweet Dream’, ‘Top Marks’, ‘Flower Power’ and ‘Lucky Charm’.

Although it was bred by the UK rose breeder Gareth Fryer, ‘Pure & Simple’ is getting its world, exclusive release by Matthews Nurseries this year. The Bush Floribunda freely produces softly cupped, blush pink-white blooms with hints of warm apricot on a robust growing, easy-care bushy plant with glossy foliage. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

9‘ GRANDMA’S ROSE’

New and New Zealand-bred by Rob Somerfield, the Floribunda ‘Grandma’s Rose’ was named by his children for his mother, Valerie Somerfield. “They saw the colour and said that’s Grandma’s colour,” Rob says. The red-purple flowers are highly fragrant. Available from resellers of Glenavon Roses.

10‘ James L Austin’

New to New Zealand, English rose ‘James L Austin’ produces clusters 7 of cerise pink blooms on a healthy, bushy, medium height (1.1m) plant. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

You can’t argue with the name ‘Sunny South’, Invercargill’s Leigh McAulay points out, given the sunny summer and autumn the south has enjoyed!

11‘ Summer Sun’

Another Kordes rose, and new to New Zealand, this Floribunda has hot coral orange blooms with a pale yellow reverse set against glossy foliage. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

12‘ Sunny South’

Invercargill horticulturist Leigh McAulay is part of the team responsible for maintaining the Jessie Calder Garden in Queens Park, an outstanding collection of old roses and one of the biggest in a public place in New Zealand. It is named for Jessie Watson Calder of Winton, who loved old-fashioned roses and whose generous bequest made the garden possible. Leigh says she cannot go past a pink rose and her absolute pick would have to be the Hybrid Tea ‘Sunny South’, which was released in 1918 and is perfect in a vase. “It has bright pink petals fading to pale at the base. The one in our gardens stands tall at 180cm, and heading into May it is still producing buds and flowers!”

13‘ Attention Seeker’

Another new and New Zealand-bred rose from Te Puna’s Rob Somerfield: this Floribunda was named for the stunning clusters of intensely coloured fragrant blooms that catch the eye, he says. “It’s a rose that everybody seems to be attracted to,” Rob adds. “I have trouble explaining the colour, the best I can do is golden apricot. But my wife Linda calls it orange.” The vigorous mediumgrowing bush is healthy with medium green glossy foliage. Available from resellers of Glenavon Roses.

14‘ Renegade’

New to New Zealand and bred in France by Pierre Orard, this Bush Hybrid Tea produces almost star-shaped glowing hot orange tipped blooms with yellow centres and a light fragrance. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

15‘ Sparkle & Shine’

The Floribunda rose ‘Sparkle & Shine’ is described as having a strong anise, apple and licorice fragrance.

New to New Zealand and bred by the great American nursery, Weeks Roses, this Floribunda forms true yellow blooms in clusters above glossy foliage. Weeks Roses suggest it can be used as an easy-care flowering hedge. Available from Matthews Nurseries and resellers of Matthews roses.

OMARAMA

en-nz

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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