This article by Sandy Lundberg, a Past President of the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society won an Award of Merit from the American Rose Society in the 2013 ARS Newsletter/Bulletin competition, announced in the American Rose Magazine, May/June 2014 issue. It was originally published in The Charleston Rose, Sept. 2013 issue
Minifloras make great landscaping choices. Whirlaway, one of the most outstanding minifloras, will make just as huge plant on its own roots as it does on fortuniana and will be extremely productive. The same attributes are true in the beautiful miniflora, Show Stopper. These bushes become quite huge. With 3 bushes, we were able to take more than 39 perfect blooms to the national show in Shreveport on May 1st, 2010 for the basket class.
Bob put the
basket together Friday night with 39 Show Stoppers and it won Best Basket
Class. Imagine a whole bed planted with
Show Stoppers! For the exhibitor,
minifloras are a great choice as most shows now offer a Miniflora Queen and her
Court. Minifloras come in a wide range
of colors. For my garden and exhibition
choices some of the following new roses are already considered bankers by us.
Abby’s Angel –Long straight stems carry an eye catching
bloom of bright yellow with bright red edges.
The form is almost always high centered exhibition.
All American Girl – The light pink blooms have
perfect exhibition form with a needlepoint center. Stems are long but not always straight. An added bonus for those who like fragrant
roses, is the sweet scent of this rose.
Power Point – The non-fading red comes on a stem
that is filled with prickles but that is the only downside to this rose. The form is high centered exhibition.
Shameless -- This is an exhibitor’s dream with the
creamy white blooms that have red on the outer petals that sometimes have a
thin black edge much like the hybrid tea, Dublin. The stems are long and straight and the
petals have so much starch that they can be maneuvered into place.
Robin Alonso – This sport of the mini, Caliente, is
a very dark velvety red with good exhibition form and produced on long straight
stems. There are some great new minifloras just beginning to become available
on the market.
Crystal Palace – Beautiful high centered blooms of
white with a touch of light pink in the centers.
Gift of Love – Medium yellow blooms with good form
on a new plant that is growing well.
Glowing Sunset – Eye-catching new miniflora has
bright yellow petals with red tips on the quilled petals.
Wright Touch - Peaches are my favorite fruit and so
I love the peach and yellow coloration on this slightly larger bloom. The form of the bloom is exceptional!
Of course, there are some of my older minifloras
that have been time tested and will remain on my banker list.
They include
Foolish Pleasure, Charismatic, Dr John Dickman, Butter Cream, Louisville Lady,
Show Stopper, Unbridled and Whirlaway.
