Striped roses are real stars
Striped roses are certainly eye-catching and there are some beautiful varieties around
The warm weather in May came at just the right time and now the roses in my garden are forming plenty of flowers, so it looks like I’ll have a great display this year. Rosa
spinosissima has been in full bloom since the end of May and the scent is fabulous.
Remember over the summer to keep an eye out for aphids and to deadhead your roses regularly to ensure a continuous supply of blooms for the garden and the house.
Striped roses have always fascinated me, but they’re not to everyone’s taste. The modern striped roses owe their origin to Ralph Moore, the great American breeder of miniature roses. He believed it was possible to breed stripes into roses as opposed to stripes being due to sports or mutations. Almost all of the striped roses bred in the last 50 years can be traced back to Ralph’s ‘Stars
‘n’ Stripes’. Of the striped roses, I love the brash red and yellow colours of ‘Oranges
and Lemons’. It lights up the garden throughout the summer. It does grow a bit too tall for many of our smaller gardens. Completely different is ‘Mind Games’, with its subtle blend of pink and cream. It’s a low grower and does very well in most gardens. A new striped hybrid tea is ‘Rock & Roll’, which has beautiful blends of reds and cream. It grows well and has a nice fragrance. Give it a try – I think you’ll like it.