The New Zealand Rose Society

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Rose of the Month

September – Winchester Cathedral

Every once in a while, a rose will ‘sport’ or mutate into a different colour from the parent. Some go onto become good roses in their own right such as this months rose. ‘Winchester Cathedral’ is a sport of the very popular ‘Mary Rose’, a pink David Austin variety that has been grown widely around the world and shares all of its attributes except flower colour. Rather than pink, it is white and still has the strong old rose fragrance which … [Read more...]

August – Anniversary

While pale pink is a fairly common colour in floribunda's, this month’s featured rose is one of the better ones in the colour range to be released in the last 20 years. ‘Anniversary’ is a seedling of the popular ‘Sexy Rexy’ and carries many of its attributes, most of all its ability to produce masses of blooms. The porcelain pink blooms come in small and large clusters throughout the season. At times, it is hard to see the dark green glossy … [Read more...]

July – Solitaire

This month we feature one of the better yellow roses to be released in the last 30 years. For many years yellow roses were often weak growers but this rose was certainly not and by further work, has led to the development of more vigorous growing yellow flowering roses. ‘Solitaire’ is a Hybrid Tea bred by Sam McGredy with large blooms of yellow flushed peach around the edges of the petals, very similar in colouring to the famous ‘Peace’ rose. … [Read more...]

June – Rhapsody in Blue

Every so often a rose comes along that is completely different to anything that is already on the market. One such rose that we are featuring this month is ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ While mauve roses are fairly common, what sets ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ apart is the colour. Opening plum purple, the semi double blooms age to slate blue. Prominent yellow stamens add to the appeal of this rose as does the strong fragrance. The plant is shrub like in habit and … [Read more...]

May – Parkdirektor Riggers

Don’t be put off by the long name for this months featured rose.  While it is a mouthful, it is a tough survivor that can grow almost anywhere. Parkdirektor Riggers comes from the Kordes family of rose breeders in Germany and was first introduced in 1957. Since then, it has stood the test of time and is still one of the best red climbing roses on the market.  The rich velvety red blooms are semi double in form and cover the plant all summer … [Read more...]

April – White Romance

It’s been a while since we featured a white rose so for this month, we feature one of the best new white roses of the last 10 years to come onto the market in New Zealand. Some say it’s destined to be the best white floribunda grown in New Zealand, already ranking 4th among the top favourite floribundas as voted by rose society members for 2014. ‘White Romance’ is a wonderful rose both in the garden and on the show bench, producing a great … [Read more...]

March – Eyepaint

Every so often, a rose comes along that is completely different to anything else around and this month, we feature one such rose that has stood the test of time. ‘Eyepaint’ is a very free flowering shrub rose that can also be grown in some situations as pillar or climbing rose up 1.5 metres high and wide. It’s main attribute are the masses of single scarlet blooms with a distinctive eye that changes from yellow to silver as it ages. In full … [Read more...]

February – Minnie Pearl

This month we feature one of the all-time great ‘small roses’ that has become as well known on the show bench as it has in the garden. ‘Minnie Pearl’ has long elegant buds, opening to well-formed blooms of pale pink with a hint of yellow. The colour deepens in sun but the form still holds. It is one of the top exhibition roses in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Its form lasts for ages and the blooms come singly or in small … [Read more...]

January – Peace

This month we feature one of the world’s most popular rose variety which in 2015, celebrates 70 years since its first introduction to the world. ‘Peace’ is one of the great roses, not only for the story behind it but also for its contribution to the world of roses. In 1935, the late Francis Meilland made the cross between an un-named seedling and the Hybrid Tea ‘Margaret McGredy’ at Antibes, France. Known as 3-35-40, propagation material was … [Read more...]

December – Ferdinand Pitchard

The striped roses are either liked or loathed. On the one hand, they are a novelty in the rose world but on the other, the combination of colours may not appeal. This month we feature one of the best ‘stripes’ and one that has led to the development of many of the modern striped roses. ‘Ferdinand Pitchard’ is a repeat flowering Hybrid Perpetual with cupped blooms of pink striped with crimson. Yellow stamens are a feature of this rose as well … [Read more...]