Roses: Old is New Again

Many “Old Garden” “Heritage” or “Antique” roses are being rediscovered. They are prized for their beauty, ease of growth, heat and drought tolerance, and adaptability to a wide variety of soils...

The article is interesting although I don’t think Knockout Roses are ancient, lol.

I was annoyed - in a nonpolitical sense - to see my local garden center loaded up with “Barbra Streisands.” It’s a pretty rose, with a great smell, but cannot be grown in our zone.

My Charles Aznavour is already producing gorgeous buds.

I like the David Austen roses. They look like antique roses, they smell like heaven, and they’re bug- and disease-resistant, but they’re actually hybrid teas so they bloom almost continuously, and very generously. Roses give me such joy and I’m sad that my back yard has become too shady for them.

Many of the old roses are also fragrant. A note about New Dawn. In Zones 7 or better it will be on the high end of the size listing.

I love Souvenir de St. Anne's, I'd rather grow Gruss an Aachen and its sport, Pink Gruss an Aachen. Glorious, glorious roses. I don't know the lady in this blog but she has very representative pictures. http://www.rosenotes.com/2010/08/pink-gruss-an-achen-in-the-garden-1.html

The Buck roses were bred for Iowa's brutal weather conditions, but most of them are excellent roses for the South. The more sophisticated will just have to ignore the names of these roses, you will be happy you brought them home with you. http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/cad/rose1.html. The website has pitiful pictures, but this is the web home for Dr. Buck's marvelous creations.

Its hard for me to pick a favorite Buck rose. I love Freckles - you have to see the delicate pink, satin textured petals speckled with the darker pink to understand. Another favorite is Distant Drums - an unbelievable and enchanting color combination. Earth Song is my favorite pink. The best of the best is Quietness. Delicate, fragrant, robust and prolific blooming.

Also loves: the china, Comtesse du Cayla; the tea, Clementina Carbonieri; another great tea, Souv. d’un Ami. I'll stop at that.

I also love the Buck Roses. I grew “Golden Unicorn” until the guys who dug up my front yard to replace the main drain pipe destroyed the bush.

I also like Ralph Moore’s miniatures and shrub roses. I bought one plant of “Vineyard Song” years ago, and have taken suckers and started new shrubs with them elsewhere in my yard. Beautiful little purple flowers, vigorous 3-4’ plant.

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