Time to choose your roses

The best time to plant roses is during winter so now is the time to start planning! The NZ Rose Society’s Rose Review is a handy reference tool with its candid reviews of newer roses by growers from around the country. The most recent (2022) edition also includes New Zealand’s favourite roses as voted by members. Purchase details here.

‘Paddy Stephens’ has been the Favourite Hybrid Tea rose for a whopping 18 consecutive years – and also again tops the Favourite Healthy Rose category. Breeder Sam McGredy named this plant for Waikato rosarian Paddy Stephens, who died in 2012 aged 95. Interestingly, second on the Favourite HT list is ‘Hamilton Gardens’, a sport of ‘Paddy Stephens’.

‘My Mum’. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Favourite Floribunda is ‘My Mum’ (bred by Bob Matthews, Whanganui) for the second consecutive year; Favourite Modern Shrub Rose is ‘Sally Holmes; Favourite Miniature/Patio Rose is ‘Irresistible’ “by a considerable margin”; Favourite Large-Flowering Climber is ‘Red Flame’, regaining first place from second; Favourite Small-Flowering Climber is ‘Dusky Dancer’; Favourite Fragrant Rose is ‘Margaret Merrill’; and Favourite Heritage Rose is ‘Mutabilis’.

Looking for something different?

‘Green with Envy’ is the culmination of 29 years’ work for breeder Rob Somerfield. Photo: Glenavon Roses

‘Green with Envy’ (bred by Rob Somerfield, Te Puna) gathered plenty of comment from reviewers with the upshot being that the blooms are great for floral work, and last well on the plant or in a vase, and people didn’t mind swapping scent for novelty value. Not all reviewers, however, were sold on the colour. ‘Green with Envy’ won the World Federation of Rose Societies People’s Choice Award at the NZRS Trials in Palmerston North in 2013.

‘Thunderstruck’ was loved by reviewers in Northland, Waikato and Southland. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Released in 2020 by its French breeder, ‘Thunderstruck’ is something different with its blooms being a blend of chocolate orange with cream stripes. It makes for a great display and the dark burgundy-red colour of the new foliage contrasts well with the blooms. It will reach about 1.3m high.

‘Lights up the garden with its colour,’ the Gisborne reviewer said. Photo: Amore Roses

Another unusually coloured rose is Amore Espresso, bred in The Netherlands and available in New Zealand through Amore Roses in Waikato. New Zealand reviewers liked the plant’s good health and that the leaves stay on well into autumn. The flowers are said to have a spicy clove scent.

‘Eye Spy’ is a climbing rose from Rob Somerfield. Photo: Glenavon Roses

Persica, or Hulthemia, roses are being used more widely by breeders, resulting in better freedom of flowering, improved health and a range of flower colours.‘Eye Spy’ is a vigorous climber with blooms, larger than other Persica varieties, of peach aging to honey with a dark red ‘eye’. Read an earlier posting about Persica roses. 

Other unusual roses that got the thumbs up from most reviewers included ‘Midnight Rambler’, a dark-purple flowered climber; ‘Trish’s Rose’, a shrub rose with a flower that resembles a peony; and the lavender-blue flowered floribunda ‘Forget Me Not’. Happy planning!

NZ Rose Trial Winners & Rosarians Honoured

By Hayden Foulds

Irish rose breeder David Kenny has taken out the main awards at the New Zealand Rose Society International Rose Trial Grounds in Palmerston North, announced late last month.

‘FLORANZA Eye Popping’. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Mr Kenny’s ‘FLORANZA Eye Popping’ won the Gold Star of the South Pacific as the highest scoring rose on trial, as well as the Nola Simpson Award for the most novel rose on trial. ‘Eye Popping’, which has masses of blooms of cream with a purple eye is currently sold by Amore Roses of Hamilton. Mr Kenny also picked up a Certificate of Merit for his red shrub rose ‘PIXY Lucky Stars’ (available from Amore Roses). 

Certificates of Merit were also awarded to Colin Dickson from Northern Ireland for the orange/yellow floribunda ‘FLORANZA Bright & Breezy’ (also available from Amore Roses) and the red shrub rose code-named ‘Dicalfa’, while New Zealand rose breeder Rob Somerfield gained a Certificate of Merit for his apricot orange floribunda ‘Attention Seeker’.

‘Attention Seeker’ and ‘Dicalfa’ will be introduced to the New Zealand market in the next year or two. 

The New Zealand Rose Society trials, now into their 51^st year, test new varieties from New Zealand and international rose breeders and are judged over 2 years by a panel of 20 judges who assess the roses for such things as freedom of flowering, health, plant quality, flower quality and fragrance.

At the conclusion of each trial, those roses which have gained an average of 70% are recognised with awards to reflect the consistently high performance they have achieved during trial.

The Regional Rose Show, scaled back from a National show due to Covid-19, held at the same time as the trial awards in Palmerston North was a great success and included a display of past winning roses from 50 years of rose trials. A book on the trials history will be published in 2022. 

Three rosarians from Manawatu have been honoured with awards recognising their service to the rose in New Zealand. 

Honoured for their services to the rose are, from left, John Ford, Heather Macdonell and Peter Elliott. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Peter Elliott was presented with the T.A. Stewart Memorial Award for his significant involvement at local, national and international level. 

Peter has served three terms as president of the Manawatu Rose Society and is currently its secretary/treasurer. He is a past president of the New Zealand Rose Society and has served in the roles of chief judge and chairman of the International Rose Trial Grounds Committee in Palmerston North. 

Peter also served three terms representing Australasia on the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) and was presented with the WFRS Silver Medal in 2015. Peter also convened the organising committee for the WFRS Regional Convention held in Palmerston North in 2013. 

John Ford was presented with the New Zealand Rose Award. A past president and Life Member of the Manawatu Rose Society, John has also served on the New Zealand Rose Society Council and is also currently the chairman of the New Zealand International Rose Trials Committee in Palmerston North.

For many years John ran a small nursery supplying rose plants around the country and is now involved in breeding new varieties. His variety ‘Bright Eyes’ won the Gold and Silver Stars, along with the Nola Simpson Novelty Award, at the 2020 New Zealand International Rose Trial Ground awards. 

In receiving the award, John acknowledged the support of his wife Christine and his four children who have all assisted along the way. 

Heather Macdonell was presented with the New Zealand Rose Society Lifetime Service Award to recognise her 42 years’ service as NZRS secretary/treasurer. This is the first time this award has been presented and recognises Heather’s outstanding contribution to the New Zealand Rose Society which has been very fortunate to have her knowledge, skills and experience to guide it over the years.

Heather has spent many hours working for the betterment of the New Zealand Rose Society and roses in general, often behind the scenes, and has also often been the first point of contact for new members or for enquiries from the public. 

Pride of Palmy

Rose shows are beginning to fall like dominoes in the face of Covid-19 but New Zealand Rose Society president Hayden Foulds has been in touch with news of a rose named by public competition.

Rob Somerfield at Glenavon Roses created the plant which has been named to mark the golden jubilee of the International Rose Trial Grounds in Palmerston North – coincidentally around the same time the city is marking its 150th birthday (the trial grounds’ birthday was actually last year, but the celebration was a Covid casualty, while the city’s sesquicentennial is this year).

The name chosen for the golden-flowered rose was Pride of Palmy, which wouldn’t have been my first choice for this beautiful plant, but it’s good we’re all different, eh? Six people submitted the name with Ann Cryer of Pukekohe drawn as the recipient of six rose plants including Pride of Palmy. Annette Nixon and Catherine Thompson (Palmerston North), Tessa Curd and Joanne Lockwood (Auckland) and Ellen Phillips-Collis (Christchurch) each received a Pride of Palmy rose plant.

Pride of Palmy is early to flower in spring and has a good repeat. It’s compact, growing to 1.1m high, and has deep green, glossy foliage. Image: Glenavon Roses

November is the month when roses are at their best across much of New Zealand and normally the month when many rose shows occur, although this year the early ones are falling victim to Covid, including the Pacific Rosebowl Festival in Hamilton. It’s also the month when results are announced from the prestigious – and exacting – trials in Palmerston North.

So far, the event, which this year is combined with the National Rose Show and Convention, is on track to take place. Fingers crossed and touch wood, as I’m sure the organisers are as they watch, no doubt with dismay, as the Delta variant takes a toe-hold in Christchurch.

Pride of Palmy plants will be available at the national show at the Palmerston North Conference and Function Centre on November 27 and 28 and will be more widely available in winter 2022. 

A Garden of NZ Roses

As we sink gently further into autumn my roses are definitely past their best but I’ve stopped dead-heading to give them a rest before pruning. However, the lower part of the South Island is a bit behind our warmer climate so it was with delight that last month I found Queenstown Botanical Gardens flush with roses, admittedly not the pristine blooms of early summer but holding out against the dying of the light and still attractive.

The other charming thing to discover about the garden is that all the beds feature roses that were either bred in New Zealand or have a New Zealand connection.

Wise Woman, bred by Bob Matthews of Whanganui, was named to mark the 2004 centenary of midwifery registration in New Zealand. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Scent to Remember was released by Rob Somerfield of Tauranga in 2006 as a Hospice NZ fundraiser. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Aotearoa – known as New Zealand everywhere else – was released by Sam McGredy in 1990 to mark this country’s 150th anniversary. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Nelson Girls was bred by Chris Warner of England and named in 2006 by importer Tasman Bay Roses to mark the 125th anniversary of the school. In Australia, it’s known as Serenity. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Kate Sheppard was released in 1993 to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. Photo: Sandra Simpson

The Kate Sheppard rose was bred by George Sherwood of Manawatu when he started his hobby and of Taranaki when this 2012 interview was conducted. George, a J-Force veteran, died on March 2 this year. He named it for the woman who spearheaded the movement to win New Zealand women the vote.

National Rose Trial winners

By Hayden Foulds

The weekend was a good one for Palmerston North rose breeder John Ford, who scooped the main awards at the New Zealand Rose Society International Rose Trial Grounds in Palmerston North.

His rose ‘Bright Eyes’ won the Gold Star of the South Pacific for the highest score across the trial, the Silver Star of the City of Palmerston North for the highest score by a New Zealand amateur rose breeder, and the Nola Simpson Novelty Award.

Bright Eyes rose, bred by John Ford of Palmerston North. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Mr Ford, who is the chairman of the Trial Grounds Committee, was “blown away” with the success of the rose which has clusters of light mauve blooms with a dark pink ‘eye’ in the centre. Winning the Nola Simpson award was the icing on the cake – the late rose breeder was his aunt and encouraged Mr Ford’s interest in roses from an early age.

High Fashion rose, bred by Rob Somerfield of Tauranga. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Certificates of Merit were presented to Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield of Glenavon Roses for the pink ‘Smart Choice’ and the pink/red ‘High Fashion’. Whanganui rose breeder Bob Matthews of Matthews Nurseries also received a Certificate of Merit for his yellow ‘Valerie Webster’ and collected awards for overseas breeders Colin Dickson of Northern Ireland with the light pink climber ‘Checkmate’ and Christian Bedard of the United States with the yellow ‘Sparkle & Shine’. 

‘Valerie Webster’ is already on the market in New Zealand while the other winners will be released in the year or two. 

Valerie Webster rose, bred by Bob Matthews of Whanganui. Photo: Hayden Foulds

The New Zealand Rose Society trials, now into their 50^th year, test new varieties from New Zealand and international rose breeders and are judged over two years by a panel of 20 judges who assess freedom of flowering, health, plant quality, flower quality and fragrance.

At the end of each trial, those roses which have gained an average of 70% are recognised with awards reflecting the consistently high performance they have achieved during trial.

Unfortunately, the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the trials was disrupted by Covid-19 and many events have been postponed to 2021, including the hosting of the National Rose Show and the publication of a book on the trials history.

However, the anniversary was marked at the weekend by the cutting of a 50^th anniversary cake by Mr Ford and Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith.

Celebrating roses

Roses may be one of the world’s favourite flowers – and there’s a good reason for that. The blooms seem ultra-luxurious with their silky petals, come in many colours, even multicolours, and can have the most heavenly perfume. And when a garden is full of budding roses, is there anything more exciting? (I have a bias, as perhaps you can tell!)

Freshly planted roses in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway (the statue is of Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg). This was midsummer, still cool and damp – the municipal gardeners were putting in plants that had been brought into bloom elsewhere. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Once upon a time you could only buy roses in New Zealand in winter with the bare-rooted, heavily pruned plants ready to go in the ground. But things change and with the buying public more likely to buy a plant in bloom, roses are now available in garden centres in spring and summer too.

The NZ Rose Society produces an annual Rose Review, a compilation of how various popular roses do in various places around the country, as well as National Trial Ground reports. The 2020 edition is sold out.

Green with Envy is a striking new release from Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield. Photo: Glenavon Roses

Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield has come up with an unusual plant as one of his 2020 releases. Green with Envy was the NZ Rose Society’s Rose of the Month for October. “It is the culmination of 29 years of breeding by Rob to get a green rose good enough to release to the market,” Rose Review editor Hayden Foulds says.

The blooms, produced in large clusters, are lime-green with the colour intensifying as the flowers age, the opposite to the majority of rose blooms which fade with age. The flower lasts a long time either on the plant or in a vase, Hayden says, and would appeal to those who do floral work. 

The plant won the People’s Choice Award at the 2013 NZ Rose Society International Rose Trials in Palmerston North.

Ruth Dainty (background) at work in the Heritage Rose Garden. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Also long gone in most home gardens is the style of growing roses alone in beds. When Te Puna Quarry Park volunteer Ruth Dainty took over the Heritage Rose Garden, she decided to surround the roses with annuals and perennials in a bid to cover the fact that many of the old roses flower only once.

“They’re not very interesting before or after they flower,” she says of the roses, “so this garden was filled with colour only for a very short space of time. The other plants I’ve put in help extend the season.”

Ruth has grown many of the plants herself from cuttings and seeds.

Full of promise – the Heritage Rose Garden at the Quarry Park. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Heritage Roses NZ is continuing work on its Rose Register, which aims to record all the roses brought into the country from the earliest days of settlement until, for hybrid teas,1945. Read more here.

Katherine Mansfield, one of New Zealand’s greatest writers, has a rose named for her that was released by the famous French nursery Meilland in 1978 – known as Charles de Gaulle everywhere else in the world – so it seems only fitting to close with a KM quote or two.

The tea roses are in flower. Do you know the peculiar exquisite scent of a tea rose? Do you know how the bud opens – so unlike other roses, and how deep red the thorns are and almost purple the leaves?
– From a letter written at the Isola Bella villa in Menton, France, dated November 10, 1920

As for the roses, you could not help feeling they understood that roses are the only flowers that impress people at garden parties; the only flowers that everyone is certain of knowing. Hundreds, yes, literally hundreds, had come out in a single night; the green bushes bowed down as though they had been visited by archangels.
– From The Garden Party, published 1922

NZ Rose Trial Results 2019

By Hayden Foulds

A rose named for the breeder’s mother topped the list of awards presented at the New Zealand Rose Society International Rose Trial Grounds in Palmerston North earlier this month.

Tauranga rose breeder Rob Somerfield, from Rob Somerfield Roses, topped the trials with his ‘Grandma’s Rose’ which won the Gold Star of the South Pacific, the top award at the trial grounds. “The name is a tribute to my mother from her grandchildren, they felt it was her colour,” Rob said.

Grandma’s Rose, bred by Rob Somerfield, is the winner of the 2019 Gold Star of the South Pacific. Photo: Hayden Foulds

Rob, who also did well at the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival in November, also received a Certificate of Merit for the cream variety ‘Old Friends’. Both his roses will be introduced to the market in the next couple of years.

Berry Nice, bred by Bob Matthews of Whanganui, received a Certificate of Merit. Photo: Matthews Nurseries

Certificates of Merit were also awarded to the magenta pink ‘Berry Nice’ bred by Bob Matthews of Matthews Nurseries Ltd in Whanganui and to the yellow ‘Lemon Ruffles’, bred by Canadian breeder Brad Jalbert and entered by Amore Roses of Hamilton. This is the first time a Canada-bred rose has won an award at the trials. Both these varieties are already on the market in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Rose Society trials are now into their 49^th year and test new varieties from New Zealand and international rose breeders and are assessed over 2 years by a panel of 20 judges who mark for such as freedom of flowering, health, plant quality, flower quality and fragrance.

At the conclusion of each trial, those roses which have gained an average of 70% are recognised with awards and reflect the consistently high performance that they have achieved during the trial period.

In 2020, the trials celebrate their 50^th anniversary and a number of activities and events are planned to mark this occasion, including the National Rose Show being held in Palmerston North, the naming of a new rose for the city and the publication of a book on the rose trials.

National Rose Show 2019

The Waikato Rose Society last weekend hosted the New Zealand Rose Show, held in Hamilton Gardens where the Pacific Rosebowl Festival also took place.The blooms were truly magnificent.

Champion exhibition bloom was Sylvia, grown by Janice Walker of Northland and bred in the Kordes nursery (Germany). Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion large stem, mini-type rose was Irresistible, grown by Irene Taylor of Waikato and bred by Dee Bennett of the US. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion small stem, mini-type rose was Luis Desamero, named for a Californian rosarian. This rose was also grown by Irene Taylor. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion decorative bloom was Joan Monica, grown by Janet Pike of Waikato. This rose was created by amateur breeder Brian Attfield of Cambridge, so an all-round local win. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion of champions mini-type rose and Champion fully open bloom, mini-type was the charming Dinky Pinky, grown by Irene Taylor of Waikato and bred by Patrick Dickson of the UK. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion of Champions was Reflections, grown by Sheree Gare of Waikato. This rose was bred by Nola Simpson of Manawatu. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion fully open bloom was Hamilton Gardens (bred by Sam McGredy), grown by Jan Lusty of Waikato, while Champion exhibition bloom, mini-type was Chelsea Belle, grown by Janet Pike of Waikato, and bred by Peter and Kay Taylor of the United States.

Champion large stem of roses was Natalie Ann, grown by Violet Forshaw of Northland. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion display vase, mini-type was the striking Glowing Amber, grown by Sheree Gare of Waikato, and bred by George Mander of Canada. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion decorative bloom, mini-type was Forshaw, grown by (drum-roll) Violet Forshaw of Northland. This patio rose was bred by Rob Somerfield of Tauranga. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Champion display vase was this drop-dead collection of Southern Beauty blooms, grown by Janet Walker of Northland. This is another New Zealand rose, bred by John Ford of Manawatu (Nola Simpson’s nephew). Photo: Sandra Simpson

Apologies to the growers and the show if I’ve missed anything out. The Champions table was full of certificates, sashes and flowers but hopefully, I’ve got it right. Amazing to note that all the winning growers are women and so many of the roses have been bred in New Zealand!

Pacific Rosebowl Festival 2019

Today I was pleased to join the invited judges in the Rogers Rose Garden for the final day of voting in the Pacific Rosebowl Festival, the 18th held since the festival moved from Auckland to Hamilton.

At the awards presentation festival trustee and MC Pippa Mahood paid tribute to Hamilton Gardens’ director Peter Sergel, her fellow festival trustees, head gardener Alice Gwilliam (the rose gardens were a credit to her and her team), the NZ Rose Society (which was holding its national show in the next-door hall), festival director Emma Reynolds and her colleague Maddy Barnsdall.

And, of course, she got us a bit misty-eyed with mention of the late, great rose breeder Sam McGredy, who passed away just a few months ago and helped initiate the Rosebowl Festival in Auckland then assisted the move to Hamilton, always attending the annual awards. “The Auckland Botanic Gardens said having the festival move was the best thing that ever happened to their garden, and the sentiment was the same for us,” Peter Sergel said. “Sam’s mana and presence were an immeasurable part of its success here.”

The McGredy family was represented by Sam’s three daughters – Katherine, Maria and Clodagh – and several ‘grandies’, with news shared of Sam’s newest great-granddaughter, Molly, just a few days old.

Everlasting Hope. Photo: Sandra Simpson

New Zealand Rose of the Year, Best NZ-raised Rose & Best Shrub Rose: Everlasting Hope, bred by Rob Somerfield (Te Puna, near Tauranga) and named for the Canterbury branch of the Post-natal Depression Trust. It was released last year. Click here to visit Rob’s website.

Diamond Design. Photo: Rob Somerfield Roses

Best Hybrid Tea Rose: Diamond Design, bred by Rob Somerfield. Released in 2012.

Skyla Rose. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Best Floribunda Rose & Most Fragrant Rose: Skyla Rose bred by Rob Somerfield. Released this year, the rose was named for 7-year-old Skyla Rose Keating who died of a rare form of brain cancer in 2017.

Woollerton Old Hall. Photo: David Austin Roses.

Best Climbing Rose: Woollerton Old Hall, bred by David Austin and released in Britain in 2011. It’s named for a magnificent garden in the UK, developed by its owners and open to the public.

Midsummer. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Children’s Choice Award: Midsummer, bred by Tantau (Germany) and released in 2008.

The Somerfield family were out in force to celebrate Rob’s successes at the Pacific Rosebowl Festival, from left, Rob’s wife Linda, his mum Valerie, dad Richard, Rob, and his daughters Amanda and Kate. Kneeling in front is Kate’s partner David Wright. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Name a Rose Competition

In 2020, the New Zealand Rose Society International Trial Ground in Palmerston North – the oldest rose trials in the Southern Hemisphere – celebrates 50 years and to celebrate the Mayor of Palmerston North, Grant Smith, has commissioned a new rose to be named for the city. 

Name this rose! Photo: Hayden Foulds

Donated by its breeder, Rob Somerfield, the medium-growing Hybrid Tea has well-formed blooms of golden yellow with an orange flush to the outer petals. The blooms are slightly fragrant and last well when picked. It is very healthy with glossy green foliage.

There will be a limited first release of the rose at the 2020 National Spring Rose Show and Convention (November 28 and 29) in Palmerston North, which will also celebrate 50 years of the rose trials.

The name of the rose should capture the city that was once known as New Zealand’s Rose City.  The person who comes up with the winning name will receive six different rose varieties bred by Rob Somerfield, including one plant of the competition rose. 

Enter online, post your rose name(s) along with your contact details to Hayden Foulds, 40 Gordon St, Woodville 4920 or email them to Hayden.

The competition closes on September 31 with the winning name announced at the 2019 Rose Trial awards presentation on Sunday, December 1 in Palmerston North.

Terms and Conditions: The prize will consist of six rose plants donated by Rob Somerfield, including one of the competition rose. Plants will be supplied bare root in winter 2020. The prize cannot be redeemed for cash. The winner consents to their name being used for publicity purposes. As the prize cannot be sent overseas, entries will be accepted only from New Zealand residents. 

Names: Names must be three words or less, must not be similar to commercially grown rose varieties in New Zealand, and must not be names of persons or businesses, real or fictional. nor any trademarks.

The winning rose name will be selected by a committee consisting of one representative from the Manawatu Rose Society, one representative from Palmerston North City Council and Rob Somerfield. The committee reserves the right to not use any name entered. The committee reserves the right to modify any submitted name to make it more suitable for the rose.