Rose Trials in New Zealand

November is the month of roses in New Zealand with roses coming into full bloom over much of the country extending into December in the lower South Island. There are rose shows up and down the country so check out one near you, click here for details.

New Zealand is also fortunate to have not one, but two international rose trials in which the latest new roses from around the world are put through their paces with awards made to those roses that come through top of the class. November and early December is when we see awards made and also the first new blooms produced on the new entries planted this winter.

Held in Hamilton at the wonderful Hamilton Gardens each year, the New Zealand Rose of the Year trials are for those roses already on the market and forms part of the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival held each year. This year’s festival is being held from November 12th – 15th an includes entertainment in the Rogers Rose Garden, the Daltons Waikato Rose Show and of course, lots of beautiful roses.

The great thing about the New Zealand Rose of the Year trials is that it is judged entirely by public voting so you can held decide which roses are the best on trial simply by selecting the top five roses on the day. Each entry is grown in the garden for five years so there is a reasonable chance that on one of those years, the rose will be looking great. Once a rose has won a category such as best Hybrid Tea, it is withdrawn from that category but can still win in another such as Most Fragrant Rose.

Between 80 – 90 roses are judged each year with awards presented for Best Hybrid Ta, Best Floribunda, Best Climber, Most Fragrant, Best New Zealand raised rose and the overall winner is crowned New Zealand Rose of the Year. Recent winners of New Zealand Rose of the Year trials have included ‘Love Heart’, ‘Wild Cherry’ and ‘My Girl’.

In early December, the results from the latest New Zealand Rose Society International Trials will be announced in Palmerston North. The trials are held at the magnificent Dugald Mackenzie Rose Gardens in the Victoria Esplanade Gardens.

Judged over a two year period by a panel of expert rosarians, the trials are for roses that yet to be released onto the New Zealand market. For many of them, they won’t be released but the trials provide a good snapshot at trends in the world of roses.

Between 30 – 50 entries are made for each trial and are judged over the growing season from November to May in a range of categories including health, freedom of flowering and fragrance.
To gain an award, a rose must reach an average of 70 points and must be commercially released in New Zealand. Certificates of Merit are awarded to those roses reaching 70 points with special awards made if a rose has scored high for novelty or fragrance. The Silver Star of the City of Palmerston North is presented to the best New Zealand amateur bred rose while the Gold Star of the South Pacific is presented to the highest scoring rose on trial. Recent winners of the Gold Star include ‘Christchurch Remembers’ (2014), an as yet un-named shrub rose (2013), ‘Red Flame’ (2012) and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ 2011.

If you are visiting Hamilton or Palmerston North, check out the new roses in each of the trials. It’s a great way of seeing how new roses perform in New Zealand conditions.

I’ll include the winners of both trials in future GrownUps columns. For now, here are a few quick tips for your November rose garden:
– Protect new basal shoots from strong winds by staking them or pinching the tip out.
– Remove spent blooms by cutting back to a leaf with five leaflets. This helps to encourage new blooms
– Keep any pests and diseases under control. Spray if required but read the back of the spray packet or bottle for application and safety information.
– If cutting blooms to take inside to a vase, put them in water right away and re-cut stems so air bubbles do not form.
– Keep weeds under control. Roses are very sensitive to some herbicides so be very careful if spraying weeds close to roses.

By Hayden Foulds. Read more here.