It's time to get roses planted, says Gillian Vine.
It was interesting to read in an English newspaper that a peach-coloured rose thought by British rosarians to be extinct had been found growing in a Gloucestershire garden.
The rose was City of Gloucester, a hybrid tea variety bred in 1969 which vanished from English catalogues 20 years ago.
Maybe the English should have looked at the internet,
for in 2004, a woman in South Australia published online photos of some of her 500 roses, one of which was City of Gloucester.
Like other named plant varieties, roses can disappear from cultivation in a relatively short time, victims of fashion or replaced by better-looking examples of their colour or those easier to propagate commercially.
To stay in business, growers need something like a 90% success rate when grafting on to rootstock, so the temperamental fall by the wayside.
Heritage roses are at least pre-World War 2, with some saying before 1867 when the first hybrid tea, La France, appeared.
Strong interest in recent years has brought some back from near extinction and because many grow well on their own roots, they strike easily from cuttings.
Some less common modern varieties, especially hybrid tea roses, remain popular with gardeners.
Now is the time to plant new bushes and in warmer areas, get on with pruning.
Deciding which varieties to plant, how to go about it and the follow-up care can be challenging but there is help in the form of three publications, the annual New Zealand Rose Review, the Otago Rose Society's monthly newsletter and a Kiwi Gardener special edition, The Rosarian's Notebook.
Promoting new and recent releases is the aim of the New Zealand Rose Review (NZRR).
The 2015-16 issue costs $8.50 including postage; order online at www.nzroses.org.nz or write to Mrs Heather Macdonell, PO Box 66, Bunnythorpe 4867.
The full-colour publication features the top roses for 2014-15 based on votes by members of the society.
This year, Paddy Stephens topped the list of hybrid teas for the 12th year in a row.
Because NZRR reports show the areas from which they come, it is helpful to see how southern rosarians rate their plants.
One that got rave reviews was Pamela Bartrum, bred by Dawn and George Agnew, of Mosgiel.
Their Julia's Baby also did well.
Enthusiastic approval for Julia's Baby also came from Otago Rose Society (ORS) members, who conducted their own version of the rose review.
Other ORS favourites were two 1950s releases First Love and Golden Wings, as well as Serendipity, Sally Holmes, climber Compassion, Lasting Love, My Mum and deep pink patio rose Forshaw.
NZRR editor Hayden Foulds provided most of the material for The Rosarian's Notebook, which is full of information on topics such as choosing and planting roses, growing your own from seed, pruning and care.
This publication would be definitely one for the novice grower, while the more experienced gardener will find the new releases section worth perusing.
