Whether you lean towards rich reds, sunshine yellows or intriguing oranges, there are vibrant roses of almost every colour from which to choose. And with winter upon us, there’s no better time to be ordering and planting bare-rooted cultivars ready for the year ahead. Visit a website or open a catalogue, however, and it’s easy to be bamboozled by the huge choice of plants available, each offering specific combinations of colour, perfume, flower shape and growing habit. Then there are other considerations to bear in mind such as resistance to disease which many modern breeders have sought to build into the new cultivars they release.
With so much to think about, it’s handy to be able to seek an independent view on a rose’s performance based on years of trials. One such indication is the Award of Garden Merit given by the Royal Horticultural Society (AGM), through which panels of experts assess various plants over a long period. Another is the Rose of the Year accolade from Roses UK, the body that promotes rose breeders and British rose growers, which subjects new introductions to rigorous trials.
“Gorgeous scented blooms are often what first draws us to a particular rose variety,
