New rose varieties that produce lots of flowers and get less disease topped the New Zealand Rose Society International Trial Awards in Palmerston North in early December with an orange rose ‘Fireball’ coming out on top. Bred by Rob Somerfield of Glenavon Roses in Tauranga, ‘Fireball’ received the top award of the trials, the Gold Star of the South Pacific. “It’s a great variety with lots of flowers and a very healthy plant” said Mr Somerfield … [Read more...]
New Zealander a leader in the rose world
New Zealand has maintained its position as a leader in the rose world with several awards and appointments at the World Rose Convention held in Lyon, France. Three New Zealanders were recognised with awards for their service to the rose. Mr Peter Elliott of Palmerston North was presented with the World Federation of Rose Societies Silver Medal for service to the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS). Mr Elliott has served as one of the … [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...]
National Autumn Rose Show 2015
The Waikato Rose Society hosted the 2015 National Autumn Rose Show 'Shades of Autumn' from March 13th -15th at the Hamilton Gardens Pavillion in Hamilton. Rosarians from around the country, particularly those from the upper North Island brought their best blooms to compete in various classes. The convention dinner was held among the roses on Saturday night while a bus trip on Sunday visited Tauranga and included a visit to noted rose breeder Rob … [Read more...]
May – Sexy Rexy
30 years ago, a rose was released that caused a bit of a stir in the world of roses because of its name. This month we feature it as one of the best floribunda roses of all time and one that even those with a passing knowledge of roses even know about! “How could they name a rose like that” was commonly heard at the time. We can only be talking about ‘Sexy Rexy’, one of the most popular floribunda roses and still widely grown around the world … [Read more...]
November – Pacific Glory
November is upon us which means only one thing – plenty of roses starting to bloom all around New Zealand. … [Read more...]
June – Millennium
There have been a number of scarlet red roses released in recent years and for this month, we feature one of the best to come onto the market in the last 10 years. … [Read more...]
April – Golden Celebration
The David Austin or English roses have become very popular around the world including here in New Zealand where they were first introduced over 30 years ago. … [Read more...]
February – Irresistible
In the heat of February, we feature a creamy white rose that has become very popular among rose enthusiasts in New Zealand in the last 15 years and deserves to be more widely grown. … [Read more...]
March – Dublin Bay
Of all the colours, red is the most popular when it comes to roses – who can resist a red rose? … [Read more...]