Everything's Coming up Roses

Welcoming the New Year with America's Favorite Flower


By Iris Watson
Photography by Al Wright

    Here we are in yet another new year, full of new hopes and dreams, and perhaps, a new wish list for the garden. If you are a fan of America’s favorite flower, the rose, you are in for a real treat this year. January and February offer the best selection of the very newest flowers on the market, and this year, there are some spectacular new roses. The following is a selection of my favorites:
    Pope John Paul II—This limited-edition flower is quite possibly the finest white rose ever. A hybrid tea with a fragrance as intense as the Double Delight, the rose boasts 5-inch pure white blooms with 50 petals and 16-inch to 20-inch stems.
    Aromatherapy—This showy, rich pink beauty starts from a perfect pink bud that sweetens the air with a powerful fruity aroma as it opens. It’s extremely long lasting in bouquets.
    Radiant Perfume—This incredibly fragrant yellow rose can freshen a room with just one flower. A deep golden yellow, it looks gorgeous paired with the softer yellow of a Julia Child.
    Sheer Magic—The coral-to-cream bud spirals gracefully into a rich cream flower with a coral red blush on its edges. The light, spicy fragrance suits it perfectly.
    Spellbound—A stunning color not seen before: deep, true-coral red with undertones of coral pink. We at Thomsen’s Nursery had this as a test rose last year—it was beautiful and disease resistant.
    Sixteen Candles—There is a lot going on here: A shell-pink bud resembles candelabra-like clusters of flames before bursting into bloom to become a peachy pink flower that finishes a soft, creamy pink.
    Mind you, we have more than 50 different varieties of roses this year so this list is really only a drop in the bucket. There are many other proven winners like, for instance, the new David Austin introduction, Janet. This rose is truly a masterpiece of color: The peachy pink bloom is overshot with hints of copper and yellow for a wonderful antique look, and the potent tea rose fragrance is just perfect. If you have never experienced the David Austin English roses, then a must-see is the Pat Austin—it has the most glorious deep pumpkin orange color on a big, billowy bloom with a strong old-rose fragrance. (If you detect a fragrance theme here, you are on the right track. From the thousands available, we try to choose the roses with the most pronounced fragrances, and of course, the most disease resistant.)
    Remember, I offer free rose care and culture clinics each year—one in January, two in February and one in March, always on Saturday mornings. Call the nursery, (510) 522-3265, to sign up, as seating is rather limited.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

  • I will remember to prune, feed and dormant spray my roses before Valentine’s Day.
  • I won’t plant impatiens or tomatoes until I can sit comfortably on the bare ground for five minutes without incurring hypothermia of the gluteus maximus.
  • I will spray all of my deciduous plants in the fall and winter to get control of bugs and fungal diseases before they spoil my spring.
  • I will apply snail and slug bait every seven to 10 days in spring so that I don’t have a huge pest population when I put out my basil.
  • I will keep my clippers and other tools sharp and clean, and maybe even get a holster like Iris’ so I can easily find them.
  • I will learn how the timer works on my irrigation system so that I water only as the plants need it.
  • I will never, ever fertilize my lawn and then trust Mother Nature to water it for me—she is notoriously unpredictable and inconsiderate.
  • I will remember that Thomsen’s is closed every Thursday—before I drive down there.