It’s that time again when the roses start blooming in November for another season and various events are held up and down the country featuring roses. Two of the main events are the National Spring Rose Show and Convention which is this year being hosted in Hamilton and the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival which is held annually at the award winning Hamilton Gardens.
So what better rose to feature this month than ‘Waikato’ the rose! Large blooms of a brilliant red colour are produced usually one to a stem and stand up well to all weather conditions. A medium growing plant, the dark green glossy foliage compliments the blooms well which have a whiff of fragrance to enjoy as well.
Bred by Sam McGredy and named to celebrate 50 years of the Waikato Rose Society in 1995, ‘Waikato’ is still grown around the country but may take some hunting to find it in garden centres and specialist rose nurseries. Well worth growing as a good red rose.
