Give Roses as a Gift

Many of us abandon slaving over a hot stove in preference for the far more relaxed and informal barbecue. And what better is there to impress your family and friends than a wonderful; display of roses, which even the most lion-hearted, finds it irresistible to plunge their nose and tickle olfactory.

We are blessed indeed with the range of modern roses available today including the miniatures, patios and standards that are particularly well suited to container planting.

Many of’ these are either non-stop or very quick to repeat their bloom, providing constant colour throughout the summer months. Not, only do these roses make great outdoor container plants imparting both their beauty and fragrance, but they are also an ideal Christmas gift and cut flower with which to adorn your interior.

So, if the rush of the maddening crowd becomes all too much, scrap your Christmas shopping list and head for your local garden centre where you are sure to be able to find suitable gifts for most of the family.

Miniature roses are excellent and inexpensive gifts for children to give or try planting a few together in a terracotta bowl to use as a table decoration.

“Patio Jewel - a wonderful red - and Whiteout - a pure snowy white -  make a great festive combination. However, you will be surprised at the wide range of other colours available in these delicate little plants.

Miniatures are particularly good for small containers and window boxes making them great candidates for apartment dwellers. Don’t forget to fill the container to its maximum for the best display, five plants to a shallow 20cm bowl will provide a full and rounded display. Patio roses are very much in at present, especially many of the recently released varieties for their extreme performance. Available as small and medium sized bushes, standards and small climbers, they are very floriferous, easy care plants.

Winner of the best floribunda at the 2008 New Zealand Rose of the Year in Hamilton was Frilly Jilly1999 Auckland Rose of the Year is Heartache bred by Kordes, Germany.

To bring a reminder of the Northern Hemisphere’s traditional white Christmas, you may prefer to opt for one of the white roses such the new release  “White Romance”, or creamy white “Taffeta”, a patio climber with fragrant blooms all summer long.

Miniature Patio standards are a well-established and very popular choice for containers. Most are in their prime and widely available now. Two definite favourites among rose buffs are Beehive Gold  for its unfading deep golden yellow  blooms and Sparkler with pure white semi-double flowers, which last well, come rain or shine.

For larger containers, 50cm and over, it would be well worth considering taller standards or shrub roses to keep the plant in scale with the pot. Inevitably we come back to Iceberg, which never fails to please with its wealth of pure white blooms and ease of flower. It is a 20th Century classic alongside box hedging and still the ultimate performing floribunda whether in a container or the garden. There is now also three forms of Iceberg on the market, all with the same habit and freedom of flowering as Iceberg but in different colours - Brilliant Pink Iceberg (cerise pink), Burgandy Iceberg (wine purple) and Blushing Pink Iceberg (soft pink).

Following close in “Iceberg’s” footsteps is Seafoam. This hardy and versatile rose has a vigorous semi-prostrate habit making it an ideal 1.5 - 2 metre high standard where it can form a beautiful umbrella of creamy white double flowers all summer long. It is equally as impressive as a shrub trailing over the edges of a large container.

For a classic Christmas red, Crimson Bouquet with deep crimson blooms and Trumpeter with bright red blooms are a good choice of standard.

If you prefer lower growing plants, try the shrub roses which will easily fill a large, container to overflowing with an absolute mass of blooms for several months.

Roses really are the perfect accompaniment to festive entertaining with bonus that you will never be short of flowers for the vase, let alone a centrepiece for your Christmas table.

Article adapted from the Hamilton Press.