Dishing out all of the dirt about roses

THE GARDEN FANATIC

“The rose is a rose,

And was always a rose.”

-- ROBERT FROST

“By persistently remaining single, a [wo]man converts

herself/himself into a permanent public temptation.”

-- WITH APOLOGIES

TO OSCAR WILDE

The earliest of roses bloomed with single flowers -- brightly

colored, with five to eight petals and hips that provided medicinal

qualities. These precursors to our modern roses needed to develop

prickles (thorns) to survive in the wild. It is generally agreed that

the early species were so beautiful and scented, that the Chinese

began to introduce them into their gardens more than 5,000 years ago.

Conventional wisdom generally acknowledges that a single man or

woman may consider a mate after a due course of time. Such thinking

doesn’t always apply, nevertheless many of us opt for a relationship;

either because we have become smitten or been persuaded that it is no

longer fashionable to be a permanent public temptation.

Today’s single roses are at their peak and can be selected for

their singularly attractive bloom and delightful fragrance (something

you can’t do during bare root season). Your favorite nursery is able

to introduce you to climbers, antique roses of yesterday, and today’s

disease resistant shrub roses -- all with single flowers.

Given the opportunity to share my favorite singles, I am hard

pressed to choose (although LeCarre’s “Single & Single” is my

favorite book on singles). There are simply so many wonderful roses.

I admit, however, that as always, beauty, fragrance and resistance to

disease influences my selections.

One of the most rewarding of any rose is the single, blood-red

bloom of the climber, Altissimo. Very fragrant and excellent as a cut

flower, this rose blooms freely throughout the summer. Its dark green

foliage is particularly resistant to disease. This is the strongest

red climbing rose for Laguna.

If pink is your color the shrub rose, Carefree Delight, displays

three-inch single blooms with disease resistant foliage. A great rose

for the garden, it produces a bountiful crop of hips in December.

The China rose, Mutabilis, was once Jana’s favorite, until others

discovered its virtues (to her credit, Jana has always been willing

to share). A true old rose, its multi-colored pink and red blossoms

brighten gardens almost the entire year.

Flutterbye is one of the finest shrub roses. The flowers are

formed in large clusters and mature from golden yellow and apricot to

soft yellow and beige. The plant is vigorous enough to train as a

climber.

I believe that Sally Holmes, another climber, has produced more

flowers than any of my other roses. Its apricot buds mature into

white blossoms and I have found the flower sprays may be cut

long-stemmed and last for days.

The non-stop bloomer, Candy Mountain, is a mounding shrub rose

that is a strong, deep candy pink. The plant is especially vigorous

and disease resistant. An excellent choice for those of us who can’t

give a lot of time to our roses.

All That Jazz is a beautiful, bright coral shrub rose.

Particularly well adapted for the landscape, the flowers bloom freely

and are easily pruned into mounded shrubs.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna. Reach him

at (949) 497-2438.