HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY
And what better way to celebrate than with a Memorial Day Rose? This orchid pink hybrid tea was an All-America Rose Selections winner in 2004. One bloom is said to be enough to fill an entire room with its strong damask scent. It's a medium-tall, upright shrub, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Long stems, low thorns, and clear green leaves make it a good candidate for the cutting garden. The blooms are about five inches in diameter, with a petal count of 50-plus.
In addition, it's said to have very good disease resistance and it's also quite heat-tolerant.
This rose was developed by Tom Carruth, then of Weeks Roses of Upland, CA. Memorial Day is a cross between Blueberry Hill and New Zealand, and it was Carruth's fifth AARS winner.
You should be able to buy the rose at most garden centers or from mail-order sources. If not, you can check Weeks website by clicking on the link above to find a nursery that carries it.
(photo: Gene Sasse (c) 2007 courtesy Weeks Roses)
It's very beautiful and the fragrance sounds yummy. I wish I liked Hybrid Tea's better as garden plant but frankly they're quite unfriendly to the rest of a bed design. I always cringe when I have a client who wants them. I'd love to hear how other designers work them in.
Posted by: carolyn mullet | May 30, 2011 at 07:24 AM
My local greenhouse just started carrying these roses. Problem is, my wife prefers to grow only red roses so I will have to appreciate them from afar.
Posted by: Lake Weed Killer | June 03, 2010 at 05:23 PM
Jane,
We have several of these roses at Arlington. They just finished a big flush.
Great smelling rose, love it!
Kelly D. Wilson
Posted by: Kelly D. Wilson | June 01, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Absouloutely beautiful :0)
My mum always gets a mass of interest in the front of the house every summer as we have plenty of different coloured roses in the front garden, yellow, orange, red, pink...
Tried to subscribe too throug google reader but no luck :0(
Posted by: Garden furniture Sets | May 26, 2009 at 12:00 PM
What a pretty rose. I always try to plant the ones with a scent too. Glad I found you on blotanical!
L
Posted by: Laura Z | May 23, 2009 at 03:09 AM
Hi, Jane! First, i tried to subscribe via my Google Reader and it didn't work. Thoughts?
Also, somebody told me YOU know the name of the creeping sedum that grows like a weed around here and is now blooming. True?
Posted by: susan harris | May 26, 2008 at 08:38 PM