For The Union-Tribune
For those rosarians who like to be the first in the neighborhood to grow the newest roses, here is a peek at the brand-new 2025 roses. They will be in nurseries very, very soon, and these beauties are definitely hard to resist.
Hybrid teas
‘Angelic Veil,’ introduced by Weeks Roses and hybridized by Christian Bédard, has white-edged, pink picotee blooms that have a 25- to 35-petal count. The rose has a moderate fruity-citrus fragrance, dark glossy foliage and exhibits good disease resistance. The plant is medium-tall. ‘Angelic Veil’ has two wonderful rose parents, ‘Secret’ and ‘Lynn Anderson.’
‘In Love Again,’ introduced by Weeks Roses and hybridized by Christian Bédard, has a moderate fruity scent. The elegant 30- to 45-petal-count blooms are a medium red. The foliage is dark and very glossy, and the medium-tall plant has good disease resistance.
‘Grateful Dead’ is hybridized and introduced by J. Benjamin Williams. The 3- to 4-foot-tall plant has an upright habit and semi-glossy foliage. The strongly fragrant, large 4- to 5- inch red blooms have classic exhibition form.
‘Loves Me, Loves Me Not’ is a Meilland rose introduced by Star Roses. The 150- to 250-petal enormous deep pink blooms are intensely fragrant with a scent reminiscent of lilac, gardenia and pineapple. The plant grows to 5 feet tall.
Grandiflora
‘Tiamo’ is a Kordes grandiflora rose introduced by Star Roses. The double, nonfading red blooms do not burn even in high temperatures. The 3-inch, 95-petal count blooms have a lovely, mild fragrance. The plant is 5 feet tall, is wonderfully repeat-blooming and has high disease resistance.
Floribundas
‘Brick House Orange’ is a Meilland rose introduced by Star Roses. The punchy orange-red, 18-to 20-petal count blooms do not fade and look great in the landscape or on a patio. The 2.5-foot compact bush has superb disease resistance.
‘Firefly,’ hybridized by Ping Lim and introduced by Altman Plants USA, is a 2025 American Garden Rose Selection (AGRS) winner and the recipient of the AGRS Regional and Fragrance Award. The 25-petal count, sweetly fragrant and abundant, orange, double blooms glow from spring to fall against a backdrop of glossy, green foliage. The 3-foot compact, rounded plant demonstrates outstanding disease resistance.
‘Sunbelt Garden Flame’ is a Kordes rose introduced by Star Roses. The 3-inch 20-petal count blooms add a striking multicolor effect to the garden as the blooms transition from yellow through flaming shades of orange and deep velvet red. The bush, a 4 1/2-foot-tall rose, is an abundant bloomer with nonfading blooms.
‘Time After Time,’ hybridized by Christian Bédard and introduced by Weeks Roses, has elegant, spiraled form, coral-pink blooms. The 45- to 65-petaled blooms are produced singly and also in small clusters. They have a slight fruity fragrance. The medium-tall, upright floribunda has glossy foliage and very good disease resistance.
‘Winning Streak’ is a Meilland rose introduced by Star Roses. The blooms, cherry red to fuchsia, are striped with yellow. The 12- to 15-petal count blooms have a very slight fragrance. The compact 2-foot-tall bush is vigorous.
Shrub roses
‘Celestial Blue Sky’ is hybridized by Ping Lim and introduced by Altman Plants. Ping Lim roses are known for their excellent disease resistance. The maroon, 15-petalled blooms light up the landscape on this 3-foot compact, low-growing, profusely blooming rose that could be grown very successfully as a hedge. The blooms have a full, spicy fragrance.
‘Flavorette Pear’D,’ hybridized by Pheno Geno and introduced by Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners, has light pink 26- to 40-petal count blooms that have a mild, fruit and spice fragrance. The semi-double flowers have a distinctive light pear flavor and a lush, soft texture that is lovely to eat. The 3-foot shrub rose is compact, healthy and sturdy and easy to grow.
‘Oso Easy En Fuego,’ hybridized by Chris Warner and introduced by Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners, has intensely colorful large blooms that start off yellow and red and fully open to an electric orange. The 17- to 25-petal blooms have a light fragrance. The glossy, green foliage has outstanding disease resistance and this 3- to 4- foot-tall plant is very adaptable to both cold and hot climates.
Climbers
‘Phoebe Adelle Gates,’ named for an entrepreneur, activist and philanthropist, is a prolific repeat-blooming hybrid tea climber, introduced by Burlington Rose Nursery and hybridized by Burling Leong. The 20-to 25-petal, dark red with pink striped blooms have a mild fragrance and bloom singly or in groups of three. The foliage is dark green and disease resistant and the climber grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet tall. The rose’s parentage is ‘Fourth of July’ and ‘Angel Face.’
‘True Adoration,’ hybridized by Ping Lim and introduced by Altman Plants, is a vigorous climber. The sweetly fragrant, soft apricot blooms have a 35-petal count. This rose flowers all season long and embodies a classic English rose elegance. The healthy glossy green foliage shows outstanding disease resistance and grows to 6 to 7 feet tall.
‘Fly So High,’ hybridized by Christian Bédard and introduced by Weeks Roses, have magenta-pink-white striped blooms that have a 20- to 35-petal count and are held on medium-long stems. The blooms have a moderate fruity fragrance and a spiraled, cuppy and double flower form. The plant is large for a climber, growing long canes of 10 to 12 feet. The dark, glossy foliage has very good disease resistance.
David Austin English shrub rose
‘Dannahue,’ named for British TV gardening personality Danny Clark, is a 3 1/2-foot compact and shapely shrub that flowers with great verve. This rose is happy to thrive in containers, against walls or fences and in shadier areas, making it the perfect rose for city dwellers and modern living. The medium luscious scent is zesty with notes of lemon, lychees and fresh apricots.
Miniatures
‘Easy Charmer’ is hybridized by Christian Bédard and introduced by Weeks Roses. The ovoid and globular buds open to cuppy, old-fashioned, full fuchsia-lavender blooms that have a 55- to 85-petal count. The bush is upright and tall for a miniature. The strongly fragrant citrus and fruity blooms grow on medium-short stems. The dark glossy foliage has excellent disease resistance.
Look out, also, for these Roses of Excellence
American Rose Society (ARS) ’ Choice Awards for 2024:’Julie Andrews,’ bred by G. Delbard for Weeks Roses and introduced in 2020, is a compact hybrid tea. Very full, double, 4- to 5-inch blooms of a deep pink and a golden-yellow reverse cascade across a dark green disease-resistant foliage and exude a strong but delicate fragrance. This 25-petal count rose has a garden rating of 8.1 in the ARS Handbook.
American Rose Society (ARS) ’ Choice for Fragrance for 2024:’Perfume Factory’ is a dark lavender-purple hybrid tea bred by Tom Carruth prior to 2016. The rose was only introduced into commerce in 2020. The 4-inch blooms of this 40- to 50-petal count rose have an intense, spicy-fruity fragrance. The rose has a garden rating of 7.6 in the ARS Handbook.
The American Garden Rose Selections (AGRS) winners:
AGRS was established to recognize and recommend the best garden-worthy rose varieties. Roses are tested for two years in six different geographical regions. Characteristics considered are disease resistance, easy care, bloom abundance and form, fragrance, rebloom habit, aging quality of blooms, hardiness in cold and heat, vigor and foliage, and plant habit. AGRS winners represent the pinnacle of achievement in the world of garden roses and serve as shining examples of horticultural excellence.
The 2025 winners are as follows:
• ‘Brindabella Crimson Knight’ was hybridized by Sylvia and John Gray and introduced in 2021. This double, dark red floribunda rose has a very strong old rose fragrance and also won an AGRS Fragrance Award.
• ‘Firefly’ is a Ping Lim orange floribunda rose that also won an AGRS Fragrance Award.
• ‘1000 Wishes’ is a single-petal coral-pink shrub rose introduced by Mike Shoup in 2022.
‘Fiesta Verandah,’ a yellow-blend floribunda introduced in 2022 by Kordes Roses, is a 2025 American Garden Rose Selection (AGRS) winner. (Star Roses)• ‘Fiesta Verandah’ is a yellow-blend floribunda introduced in 2022 by Kordes Roses.
• ‘Like No Other’ is a strongly fragrant, dark purple Christian Bédard floribunda introduced in 2020.
• ‘Grandbaby’ is a compact, fragrant, pale-yellow shrub rose which was introduced by Mike Shoup in 2022.
• ‘Ruby Red’ is a dark red grandiflora hybridized by Meilland Roses in 2021.
• ‘Soaring to Glory’ is a Keith Zary double, deep yellow 2018 floribunda.
• ‘Blushing Drift’ is a pink blend ground cover introduced in 2022 by Meilland. It won a regional choice award for all six AGRS regions.
Perwich is a member of the San Diego Rose Society, a Consulting Rosarian and a Master Gardener with UC Cooperative Extension.
Workshops on rose pruning and rose care
January is the month we prune our roses in San Diego. Learn how best to do so — or get a refresher — at the San Diego Rose Society’s annual Rose Pruning Workshop, which will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Jan. 11 in the Inez Grant Parker Balboa Park Rose Garden, in Balboa Park.
The SDRS is also hosting a seminar on Rose Care from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 19 Find out more information on both events at sandiegorosesociety.com.
