Festival of Roses ~ Day Nine ~ Shrub Roses

'Quietness' a Modern Shrub rose developed by Dr. Griffith J. Buck

Festival of Roses ~ Day Nine ~ Shrub Roses

2007 Digital Flower Pictures.com Festival of Roses Continues

I have shied away from posting a lot of shrub roses because I really don’t deal with them that often. I like them but I guess the one-time bloom thing has probably turned me off a bit. Maybe I should think of them as Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Lilacs; they only bloom once a year, too. All that said I think that shrub roses are growing on me (pun intended). As I have posted before I am really starting to like the David Austin roses and the big shrub roses in my garden have actually been producing some flowers and look like they have a flush of blooms before the frost (it is going to be a race against the clock, however). So this isn’t the place to come for expert advice on caring for your shrub roses, yet. I have a lot to learn about tending them and a short time to do it.

Shrub roses is kind of an all encompassing term when you think about it. Pretty much all roses are shrubs, but the classification is for basically any rose that doesn’t go into any of the other classes. There is such a variety of forms and flowers that it would be difficult to come up with an exact definition. One nice thing about the shrub roses is they are generally hardier.

Here is so more information on Shrub Roses:
Illinois U.

and there is a definition on this page:
Amity Heritage Roses

The first couple of today’s roses were shot at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. They have an unbelievable collection of shrub roses though a lot weren’t blooming when I was there.


‘Quietness’ facts:
Class: Modern Shrub/Buck Rose
Origin: Dr. Griffith J. Buck, US
U.S. Introduction: Roses Unlimited, 2003
Petal Count: 41
Fragrance: Moderate
Good disease resistance.

This next rose is really a soft pink. The buds on this rose were kind of small but nice and the flowers opened to an average size.. This is another Buck rose which were bred in Iowa. They can stand up to harsh winters and humid summers. There wasn’t much information on this rose but here is the Buck Rose Homepage

'Country Music'

'Country Music'
Class: Modern Shrub/Buck Rose
Origin: Dr. Griffith J. Buck, US
Fragrance: Mild

I couldn’t really talk about shrub roses without having at least a couple of David Austin roses although a lot of people put them in their own class. Here are two that I had photos of. I have featured several other Austin roses over the last couple of months.
David Austin's English Shrub Rose 'Winchester Cathedral'

'Winchester Cathedral' facts:
Class: Modern English Shrub/ David Austin
Origin: David Austin, UK, 1988
Petal Count: Fully Double Blooms
Fragrance: Mild
Parentage: Sport of Mary Rose
Synonyms: AUScat, White Mary Rose, Winchester

'The Shepherdess' another David Austin English rose.
This rose was a nice apricot color and the plant seemed to be a little smaller than most Austins. It is a new rose and there is also a Floribunda rose with this name. I don’t know how they work that out. According to Austin’s website, “The Shepherdess is named after a character in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, published in 1593”.

Class: Modern English Shrub/ David Austin
Origin: David Austin, UK, 2007
U.S. Introduction: David Austin Roses Limited (USA), 2207
Petal Count: 41
Synonyms: Austwist

Here are the two roses I bought on Saturday and I plan on planting them today.

‘Red Fairy’ a disease resistant Polyantha rose.

‘Bonica’
Class: Modern Shrub
Origin: Meilland International, France, 1982
Petal Count: 17-25
Fragrance: Mild
Parentage: Seed: Rosa sempervirens L. × Mademoiselle Marthe Carron Pollen: Picasso
Synonyms: Bonica '82, Bonica Meidiland, Demon


That is all I have time for today. Tune in tomorrow as the Festival of Roses continues!