The most noteworthy feature of rose Paul Neyron is the size of the roses, which are considered to be (perhaps) the largest found on any garden rose; immense blossoms of cerise pink may be as much as seven inches wide. Paul Neyron is sometimes referred to as a cabbage rose by our grandmothers, which is somewhat of a misnomer as cabbage rose is the common name for roses in the Centifolia class. Paul Neyron is a Hybrid Perpetual rose, a historic, yet lanky disease-ridden bunch.

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Welcome guest author Charles Waco Bankston, who writes about Hybrid Tea Rose Chicago Peace: Although my time on this Earth began in 1976, much occurred before and much will occur after—I’m certain of it. The 1960’s were anything but uneventful. As a matter of fact, several important events occurred in 1962. Marilyn Monroe died. Iron City Beer invented the pop top (called zip tops) can; the now infamous and ever-excited Tom Cruise was born, and of course, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis. But even more personally exciting to me was the birth of a rose, not just any rose, but one that has won the world over time and time again—Hybrid Tea rose Chicago Peace. Of the Hybrid Tea rose classification, Chicago Peace has become a favorite rose of many, including yours’ truly.

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Bred from Knockout roses, Home Run rose is extremely disease resistant and in my mind one of the best new red roses for the garden, should you be comfortable with single roses (which hopefully you will be). Knockout roses, both the original and offspring such as Pink Knockout roses, are extremely disease resistant and a laugh (in more ways than one) to grow. It says something about the toughness of Knockout roses when highway departments begin planting them…see this photograph of some ridiculously healthy knockout roses as proof. Home Run roses share the basic good qualities of Knockout Roses, but also offers up lovely lovely red roses of single-form. Five scarlet petals surround bright yellow stamens. True red in the landscape is always welcome.

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Rose Eureka is a butter yellow-apricot, and fairly typical of old school Floribunda roses; i.e. Eureka is a shortish bushy fellow that shoots out sprays of three to five roses in sprightly manner. Frankly, it’s hard for me to get too excited about most Floribundas, as they often look like azaleas with roses for flowers - sort of tight and compactish. Give me some graceful arching, please; the British know how to grow roses, sprays lounging decadently around the place in a wayward manner. Floribunda roses, and Eureka is no exception, are just a little too tidy for my taste.

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Blue roses are nearly always in fashion, although there is no true blue rose. Blue roses tend to be lavender or magenta (magenta is also the color of many red roses as they age). Which leads us to the modern antique rose Outta the Blue (aka Out of the Blue). If modern antique seems an oxymoron, we have David Austin to thank and this is a sincere comment on my part.

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Roses have been named for people for a long time. Consider Zéphirine Drouhin, introduced in 1868, also known as Belle Dijonnaise, Charles Bonnet, Ingegnoli Predelitta, Mme Gustave Bonnet. In recent years, a number of largely forgettable roses have been named after celebrities. Thankfully, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy has been honored with the stunning long-stemmed red rose Let Freedom Ring. Introduced in 2006, Let Freedom Ring is a rose that fits the ideal of high-centered elegance…the form and color are exemplary, and Let Freedom Ring is an ideal cutting rose.

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Hybrid Tea rose Gentle Giant was introduced in 2005 and bears ginormous pink roses on long stems. Gentle Giant’s blooms are high-centered rose perfection…in short an ideal cut rose. Good form and substance make Gentle Giant a favorite with the rose exhibition crowd, and really this would be my primary recommendation for Gentle Giant: Grow it in a greenhouse for exhibition or in a cutting or dedicated rose garden out behind the house somewhere. Fragrance is slight and the foliage is light green (I personally much prefer dark green foliage, but the blooms are the thing with Gentle Giant so no huge loss). Growth is upright and strong (stiff and awkward), but this is the price one pays for long-stemmed cutting roses. Watch the cold weather however…

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Recently I’ve covered the original Knockout rose as well as Pink Knockout rose as garden plants, and thought I’d pass on some insight into effective garden placement. This advice applies to garden roses (and indeed garden planting design) as well. The way most people plant Knockout roses is as a single specimen plant or in mass. However, a friend of mine pointedly pointed out that the newish versions of Knockout roses allow for mixing in the garden. The fortunate thing (I wonder if the breeders envisioned this) is that the color tones of different varieties of Knockout roses are sympathetic to each other. An example in the photograph to the right demonstrates a stepping down from the original Knockout rose to a Pink Knockout rose to a light pink in the background, which if memory serves me is Bonica. A really effective planting and perhaps a way to use these tough and desirable roses with some artistry in the garden.

Recently, I wrote a briefish introduction to Knockout roses, and with the introduction of Pink Knockout roses and 2007’s Rainbow Knockout roses, there is ample evidence of hybridizing efforts aimed at toning down the brash color of the original Knockout rose while maintaining the vigor and good health charactistics of this line of shrub roses. Excellent roses for beginners, although I heard an interesting point of view from a nursery woman I greatly respect that suggests Knockout roses may end up being a victim of their own success.

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Floribunda rose Day Breaker is another rose honored by the All-American Rose Selections committee. I’ve been on this streak with that bunch (the AARS) so I might as well keep it going with another dazzling rose, should you be inclined towards Floribunda roses and their ilk. The blooms themselves are stunners, a light orange-apricot (I remember the heartbreak of Tropicana so well…). To Day Breaker’s credit, the roses last a long time cut or on the shrub, fragrance is a nice Tea rose scent, and flowers come in wave after wave throughout the growing season.

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