This past year was a good and rewarding growing season in our garden.  Generally speaking, the roses performed well and we had nice blooms most of the year.  Now that winter is here and it’s way too cold to be outside, we start dreaming about how nice the rose garden will be this coming year.  Before we decide what new varieties we want to grow, we like to take a look back and review how the various varieties performed this past season.  This article is our attempt to review just how well some of our newer varieties performed in the 2008 growing season.  Depending upon the variety, it can sometimes take two to three seasons for a particular plant to reach its peak performance.  Therefore, we try to evaluate our newer rose varieties over a three year time span before we make a final judgment.

All the Rage – is a new shrub from Ping Lim.  While classified as an apricot blend, our plant produced lots of deep pink blooms with 7-9 petals  The blooms are larger than those of Knock Out and the plant appears to be just as disease resistant for us.  May be a good choice for those that don’t like to spray fungicides. 

Artic Circle – is a new white hybrid tea from hybridizer Eddie Edwards.  We received our plant in late spring, so it was fall before it was capable of producing much.  However, the wait was certainly worth it!  The creamy white with pink edge blooms are large and have a nice high spiraled center.  Of all the roses added to our garden last season, this is our favorite new one.  We will be adding more this coming rose season.

Be-Bop – is a shrub rose hybridized by Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses.  Our 2^nd year plant produced pretty cerise red blooms having 5-7 petals and blooming mostly in clusters.  The growth habit is very compact, making this a nice choice for a container.  However, when planted in the garden, this variety is too small to make much of an impact.

Big Red – is a beautiful medium red hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  Our 2^nd year plant continued to impress with blooms having nice exhibition form and good size.  We now have three plants in our garden.  I like red roses, and this is a nice red variety that is easy to recommend.

Black Cherry – is a very dark red floribunda from J&P Roses.  This was the 3^rd and probably last year for this variety in our garden.  While it does produce some nice spring blooms, it just doesn’t do much the rest of the season.  Floribundas should produce lots of blooms and this variety just doesn’t measure up.  The bush does have a nice compact growth habit.

Blackout – is a new dark red hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  This is another variety that we received rather late, so it was confined to a container for the season.  So far, the blooms have shown nice exhibition form and good substance, but they have been a little on the small side.  We will put this plant in the garden this spring and see what happens.  This may be a rose to watch!

Bolivar – is a new pink blend floribunda hybridized by Bob Martin.  We have heard lots of good things about this rose, but our 1^st year plant just did not live up to expectations.  We will try it on different rootstocks hoping for improvement.

Color Me Pink – is a medium pink hybrid tea hybridized by Keith Zary of J&P Roses.  Our 3^rd year plant produced blooms with color similar to Louise Estes only with more pink.  However, the blooms lack consistent exhibition form.  We will be discarding this variety from our garden.

Deford Bailey – is a medium red floribunda from Whit Wells.  This rose has been a nice surprise for us, as our 1^st year own root plant gave us some nice red blooms.  We’ll keep watching for now.

Deidre Hall – is a yellow with pink blend hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  Finally, after three years this variety began to grow well and produced some nice blooms that are eye-catching in the garden.  The blooms do tend to spot easily.  We’ll keep this variety for now, especially since there just aren’t many good yellow roses on the market.

Denali – has huge pure white blooms with just a hint of pink on the edge. Hybridized by Eddie Edwards, this hybrid tea does rather well in our summer heat.  After three seasons in our garden, the main concern with this variety is that most stems continue to have a neck that is too weak to support the large blooms.  This is still a variety worth growing and it will continue to have a home in our garden.

Desperado – is a hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  The eye-catching red blend blooms resemble Double Delight in color, but tend to have better size and form.  Wish it had the fragrance of Double Delight!  We added more plants last year and will keep this variety.  In addition to being a nice garden rose, this variety has potential as a nice exhibition variety.

Double Knock Out – is a medium red shrub with all the disease resistance of its namesake Knock Out.  The blooms are a bit smaller than those of Knock Out but they have more petals.  Our experience is that this variety is more compact and doesn’t flower as profusely as the original Knock Out.  It does make a nice container plant.

Dream Come True – is an AARS award winning yellow blend grandiflora hybridized by Dr. John Pottschmidt.  Our 2^nd year plant just does not like our summer heat.  The blooms have a nice yellow and red color combination, but are too small.  We’ll probably give it one more year to improve.

Falling In Love – was hybridized by Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses.  The light pink blooms of this hybrid tea generally have nice size and good exhibition form.  We added more plants on different rootstocks and they are all doing well.  We continue to like this variety.  

Here’s Charlie – is a pink blend hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  Our 2^nd year plant is still not growing well.  The blooms are vibrant pink and sometimes tease us with good form and size.  We’re continuing to grow this variety and hopefully it will get a little more vigorous and prolific with time. 

Here’s Sam – is a medium pink hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards that he named for his father.  The large luminous pink blooms have form somewhat similar to Hot Princess.  This variety has the potential to be an outstanding exhibition variety.  However, our Fortuniana plant has been slow to grow and produce stems in proportion to the large blooms.  We will continue to grow this variety and will also be trying it on Multiflora rootstock to see if it grows better. 

Hey Paula – is registered by hybridizer Eddie Edwards as a yellow blend hybrid tea, but the blooms on our 1^st year plant are a creamy white with a pink edge.  We got our Fortuniana plant in late spring, so it was slow to get started.  We have heard good things about this variety, so we are looking forward to seeing how it does in our garden next year.

In The Mood – is a nice medium red hybrid tea from Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses.  After three years in our garden, this variety is a nice garden variety with lots of blooms.  However, the blooms are too small and open too fast for exhibition. 

King Kong – is an apricot blend hybrid tea from the cut flower industry.  Our 2^nd year plant is weak and the small blooms are a muddy color.  This rose may not be long for our garden.

Let Freedom Ring – has beautiful medium red blooms with good size and exhibition form.  We have this variety on Dr Huey, Multiflora, and Fortuniana rootstock and all are growing well and producing lots of nice blooms on long stems.  This is a great red rose!

Mardi Gras – is a 2008 AARS award winning yellow blend floribunda from Keith Zary.  Our 1^st year plant grew and bloomed well, but the blooms had no form and were not that attractive.  Probably give it one more year.

Marilyn Wellan – hybridized by Eddie Edwards and named for past ARS president Marilyn Wellan, this medium red hybrid tea grows and blooms well.  The general knock on this variety is that the blooms don’t have enough petals and generally lack good form.  However, last fall we did see some very nice blooms with good form.  We’ll keep growing this variety for now.

Marlon’s Day – is a white sport of Moonstone found by Fred Wright of North Carolina .  This hybrid tea is quickly becoming a hit throughout the country.  We have this variety growing on both Fortuniana and Multiflora rootstock in our garden and it is really doing well.  The blooms are outstanding with good size and form.  This is a ‘must have” rose!

Miss B. Wright – is a new medium pink hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  Our plant on Fortuniana rootstock arrived in early summer, so it was slow to get started.  We have heard a lot of good things about this rose, so we are looking forward to seeing how it performs in 2009.

Naga Belle – is a nice clean deep pink hybrid tea from India .  Our 2^nd year own root plant continued to grow better, but the blooms are still too small for exhibition.  Maybe the 3^rd year will be the charm.

Night Out – is an outstanding pink blend floribunda hybridized by Dennis Bridges.  We budded more of this variety on Fortuniana and Multiflora rootstock and they really took off.  The plants produce nice sprays and also one to stem blooms with rich color and great hybrid tea form.  This is shaping up to be an outstanding floribunda.    

Parole (Buxom Beauty) – is a deep pink hybrid tea from Kordes.  Our Fortuniana rootstock plant produced some very large and eye-catching blooms.  We’re still hoping that the bush will get stronger and more vigorous.  Time will tell.

Pinnacle – is an eye-catching red blend floribunda hybridized by Frank Benardella.  We finally got a good plant on Multiflora rootstock and it promptly rewarded us with great blooms and lots or color.  Our plant is vigorous and quick to repeat bloom.  Most of the blooms are one to a stem. The beautiful blooms alone make this a worthwhile variety to grow. 

Polo Queen – is classified as a pink blend hybrid tea.  It is a sport of Cajun Moon found by Cal Hayes of California .  Our blooms are almost pure white and generally have good form.  However the 2^nd year plant continues to produce blooms that are just too small. 

Rainbow Knock Out – is a shrub classified as a pink blend from hybridizer William Radler of Knock Out fame.  The blooms are actually shades of coral, pink and yellow.  Our 2^nd year plant did not impress us.  The plant is disease resistant, but the blooms are not attractive, so what’s the point?  We may be discarding this variety.

Rock & Roll – is a striking red blend grandiflora from Tom Carruth.  The blooms are a stunning dark red with white strips.  This will probably not be a good choice for exhibiting, but it will make a very nice addition to the garden.  Our 1^st year plant grew and bloomed, therefore we are adding more plants on different rootstocks. 

Sheer Magic – was the 2007 J&P Rose of the Year.  Hybridized by Keith Zary, the blooms of this hybrid tea have creamy petals that are heavily edged with deep pink.  The color combination is beautiful, but the plant lacks vigor.  We’ll probably give it one more year to improve.

Strike It Rich – was a 2007 AARS winning grandiflora from Tom Carruth.  The deep yellow blooms have a hint of red on the edge, but are way too loose to be a good cut flower.  The plant is a prolific bloomer and therefore makes a nice addition to the garden for its color alone.   

Sun King – is an eye-catching bright yellow with a reddish-orange edge from Meilland.  After three years, our bush continues to lack vigor and has short stems.  While the blooms have great color, they lack size to be a good cut flower.   

Susan Barry – is a nice deep pink hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  We added more of this variety last year, but were a little disappointed in their performance.  This rose is slow to repeat bloom.  Hopefully another year in the garden will get them growing better.  We have had some really nice blooms that are great for cutting and exhibition.

Tabatha – is a pink blend hybrid tea from Eddie Edwards.  Our 2^nd year own root plant produced enough nice blooms, that I have budded more for 2009.  The color and form of the blooms are good.  Only real question is if the blooms will have enough size.  Again, only time will tell.

Tan Cho – is a red blend hybrid tea from Japan .  The large blooms have a beautiful color combination of yellow with red edges.  This rose is best in the fall, as it appears to not like our summer heat.

The Wright Brothers – was hybridized by Eddie Edwards and named for Fred and Jack Wright, two brothers from North Carolina who are outstanding rose exhibitors.  This hybrid tea produces exhibition form blooms that are a creamy white with deep pink edges.  The bush grows and blooms well, but is prone to blackspot and mildew.  Keep it sprayed and you will be rewarded.

Tibet – is a white hybrid tea from the florist industry.  Our 2^nd year plant on Fortuniana rootstock continued to grow and bloom well, but the blooms are too small.  We may discard this variety soon.

Topsy Turvey – is a beautiful floribunda hybridized by Tom Carruth.  The blooms are cherry red with white reverse.  The rather compact growing plant blooms well and produces beautiful eye-catching blooms and nicely formed sprays.  Another good floribunda!

Vavoom – is classified as an orange blend floribunda from hybridizer Tom Carruth.  We put this variety on Multiflora rootstock and the results were very rewarding.  The brilliant light to medium orange blooms have lots of petals and nice size.  The growth habit is rather compact, making it a nice choice for a container.

Winner’s Circle – is a dark red climber from William Radler.  Advertised as a climbing Knock Out, we couldn’t resist adding this variety.  The blooms are very similar to Knock Out but perhaps a little more red in color.  Our 1^st year bush had some nice long canes, but didn’t bloom nearly as well as Knock Out.  We will hope for better things in y