The New Zealand Rose Society

Join the New Zealand Rose Society to attend local rose meetings, rose shows, pruning demonstrations, rose trials, publications, rose of the month and 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...]

November – Waikato

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 … [Read more...]

August – Big Purple

In roses, the colour purple is one of those colours that people either like or loathe having in their gardens. While there have been many heritage type and floribunda roses in the purple shades, there are very few large flowering Hybrid Teas. This month we feature ‘Big Purple’, one of the few real purple Hybrid Tea roses and also one of the best to grow. The large blooms are a beautiful purple – magenta in colour complimented of course by a … [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...]