Mother’s Day is coming, and the flower and candy ads are everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with either, of course, but both are fleeting.
Instead of gifting your mom a bouquet of roses this year, why not give her a plant that will provide blossoms — and joy — for years to come?
And if you really want to be her favorite, offer to plant it for her, too (a box of that fleeting candy wouldn’t hurt, either.)
Here are eight newly developed rose varieties introduced to the market for the first time this spring, and the brands that grow them for our gardens:
Loves Me, Loves Me Not (Star Roses)
This hybrid tea rose puts forth large, 5-inch blooms with up to 250 deep-pink petals apiece. Highly fragrant with a scent reminiscent of lilacs, pineapples and gardenias, the upright, shrubby plant grows to 5 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide in zones 5-11.
Winning Streak (Star Roses)
Yellow-striped, cherry-red and fuchsia petals are strikingly set against dark green leaves on this rounded, bushy and compact floribunda. Expect it to grow 2 feet tall and wide in zones 6-11.
True Devotion (True Bloom Roses)
Grow this disease-resistant climbing hybrid tea rose against a wall or up an arbor or trellis. Each of its 3 ½-inch, strongly scented flowers is packed with more than 50 light pink petals set against light green foliage. Reaches 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide in zones 5-10.
Candy Cream (Altman Plants)
Pink-and-white striped, self-cleaning, double-blossomed roses will bloom all season long on this compact groundcover rose. Suited for smaller spaces (even containers) and offering excellent disease resistance, the vigorous bloomer grows to 2 feet tall and wide in zones 5-10.
Flavorette Pear’d (Proven Winners Color Choice)
This fragrant, edible rose is as much a culinary herb as it is a garden specimen. Its pear-flavored, pale pink, semi-double petaled blossoms are held upright on sturdy, disease-resistant plants that reach 3-4 feet tall and wide in zones 4-8.
Oso Easy En Fuego (Proven Winners Color Choice)
Large, eye-catching roses emerge yellow and red, then open to reveal a burst of electric orange. Glossy green leaves create a lovely backdrop on the disease-resistant, heat-tolerant plant that blooms from summer to frost. Expect it to grow to 3-4 feet tall and 3 feet wide in zones 4-9.
Campfire Floribunda Rose (Jackson & Perkins)
Part of the Canadian Artist Series, this cold-hardy floribunda provides a multicolor display. Red and yellow buds open into deep, rose-edged, golden yellow flowers that mature to pink and ultimately cream. The low-maintenance, 6-foot-tall by 3-foot-wide plant is suitable for beds, borders and containers in zones 3 to 9.
Lemon Burst Floribunda Rose (Jackson & Perkins)
Cupped, ruffled, yellow roses with up to 100 petals each exude a light, fruity fragrance and provide long-lasting color to beds, borders and containers. Set against glossy green foliage, its old-fashioned, 3-inch flowers rise from bushy, upright plants with a slightly spreading habit. The disease-resistant plants grow to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide in zones 5-9.
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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