When I opened up my latest issue of the American Rose Magazine I went crazy.  Here we are facing another long and dreary winter and what does the magazine have dead center in its publication?  There are 47 new roses with full color pictures and incredible descriptions that are coming out for 2008.  Talk about a tease!  I am overwhelmed with the beauty and descriptions of all the new roses. I don’t believe I have witnessed so many impressive roses at one time coming to market.  It made me depressed to think that I still have until February to plant any of them and then I have to wait until June to see them in all their glory! The work that rose hybridizers like Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses and Keith Zary of Jackson and Perkins are performing is astounding.  Ping Lim of Bailey Nurseries, Inc. focuses on disease resistance and cold hardiness in roses.   These are just a couple of names.   They are creating roses with incredible disease resistance, fragrance, vigor, repeat bloom and all the other qualities we as consumers scream about getting from our roses.  They are doing it. If you think about it we are pretty demanding.  In my opinion the highly rated roses give back much more than they ever take. I still contend that THE RIGHT rose is the best investment one makes in their garden.

 I obviously don’t have room here to discuss all 47 varieties, but I thought, at the very least, I could tell you about some of the most dazzling (and readily available) ones.

‘April in Paris’ – A gorgeous creamy pink strongly fragrant hybrid tea created by Keith Zary.  The parentage of this rose is ‘Pristine’ and ‘New Zealand’ both of which are fantastic roses.  While 2 great parents don’t always guarantee a winner the odds are usually high.

‘Candy Land’ – A stripped rose pink and ivory yellow climber created by Tom Carruth.  The fragrance is fresh cut apple and one of the parents is ‘Pretty Lady,’ one of the most disease resistant floribundas I know of.

‘Caramel Kisses’ – A tan/lavender mini rose created by Keith Zary.  It grows anywhere from 2-3 feet.  One of its parents; the shrub rose ‘Kaleidoscope’ is a very unusual blend of colors and ‘Caramel Kisses’ promises the same uniqueness.  Great container rose.

‘Carefree Celebration’ William Radler, who created the ‘Knock-Out’ series of roses, has introduced another winner.  This brick orange 5 x 5 foot shrub has unbelievable disease resistance, especially to blackspot.  A hedge of this new beauty would beat out English laurel any day.

‘Coffee Bean’ – The mini roses I recommend are not the “grocery store” ones.  These minis will survive winters beautifully and live for years.  Keith Zary created this sweet 18 inch rust and smoke colored rose by using the terrific floribunda ‘Hot Cocoa’ and the equally terrific mini ‘Santa Claus’ to create this new “must have”.