Everything’s coming up roses

It’s that exciting time of year when plant breeders reveal their latest roses. In the May issue of ABC Gardening Australia magazine, Steve nominates 10 of his favourite newcomers, including exquisite roses from Australian and international breeders, and they will all be available from this month as bare-rooted plants. So, seek out rose catalogues and start making your selections! Here’s a sneak peek:

Montmartre
Named after the bohemian artists’ neighbourhood in Paris, this French beauty (above) produces lightly fragrant flowers in an ever-changing palette of pastel pink, apricot and yellow. With each new bloom different to the last, it will keep surprising you throughout the warmer months. From the Delbard Collection, this plant reaches up to 1.2m high and .75m wide.

The lady of the lake
This rambling rose from the UK’s David Austin Roses (below, left) produces semi-double pink blooms that are about 5cm wide. The flowers are fairly open, exposing their golden stamens, which are highly attractive to bees and other pollinators. The fragrance is light and citrusy. The flowers appear from spring until the end of autumn and the plant produces arching canes up to 4.2m long – so it’s perfect for covering walls and pergolas, or shooting wildly off a large obelisk. This rose was named after a character from the medieval legend of King Arthur.

Brindabella rapture
This is an amazing Australian-bred rose (below, right), with impressive ‘blue’ flowers. Actually more mauve than blue, the colour is still highly desirable. The highly fragrant flowers have the classic hybrid tea shape, and are produced in flushes every seven weeks through the season. A bushy plant that grows to 1.2m.

Header image credit: Benedetta Rusconi