I belong to a rose group on Facebook. Many members post photos of their old garden roses and Austin roses. Granted, most of them are from overseas.
Is there a commercial database that indicates how many rose sales in the USA are for the quarter-centered old rose types, versus the modern high centered rose types?
If I judge by the Jackson and Perkins catalog, the more modern shapes would seem to be the trend. Or am I wrong?
Cathy
Central NJ, zone 7a
I feel the ‘trend’ is for healthy, floriferous and fragrant roses - more landscape types than hybrid teas. jmho
Austins are selling well, so I think the other flower forms are desired. Strong fragrance and no spray health are expected now though. My impression is many people do still love the HT flower, but roses aren’t really on a pedestal anymore so, for home gardens, roses have to compete with other plants on equal footing. Great plants with a variety of fragrant flower forms (quartered, cupped, high center, large single, etc…) is what I see for the next 20 years, if we can convince the big box stores to finally stop selling those 1970 BS magnets.
The trends seem to me to be a little more individual according to the gardeners’ personal preferences, but I see a definite preference towards lower care and more disease free. Just yesterday a client handed me a photo of some Icebergs and indicated that she only wanted those because everyone said these were lower care. But in another yard that I care for, the owners’ preference is for ‘lots of flowers and fragrance’ and health remains lower on her list. Mr. Lincoln is her favorite even though she prefers yellow. Julia Child is pretty high on her list but fragrance is most important. Another client (for whom I have completed several yard designs) loves the free flowering low growing, whack them back with a hedge clipper types, just because she never touches them and they have to be cared for by a gardener. For myself, I see a lot in both the high centered teas and the quartered style flowers, but I would probably pick the quartered ones if I had to chose. But it would be difficult.
I’ve noticed more heavily petaled quartered roses being sold as cut roses in the grocery store and florist shop lately. I suspect people like the romantic feel of them and if we could get some healthy, floriferous ones on a manageable landscape plant there could be good demand.
I’m a sucker for the OGR quartered blooms.
I think there is a market for the ‘old’ looking flower(quartered), if you look at all the major producing nurseries they have at least one or two of them in their ‘newish’ releases. as it is mentioned here alot, health is the major thing everyone is chasing. The other aspect I see/notice is the amount of space in the garden it is getting smaller in general so the plant will need to be reduced to accommodate this, so I think the rose referred to as a ‘mini flora’ will become or has become very popular. This is slightly off topic but also comes into play with the production of the new release rose. It appears we as a whole are becoming ‘time’ poor, which again comes to free time we have to garden so the produces of roses are addressing this. So my point is whether the rose is Ht or quartered, health, flowering length are important factors. Hope this makes sense.
I think people are after those old fashioned looking roses and not those things that look like plastic cemetery roses.
Thank you all, I appreciate reading your opinions. In the past I would cull out quartered seedlings, even if they were fragrant. Now I will keep them for further evaluation.
I hear you all loud and clear that lower maintenance is a must.
Cathy
Central NJ, zone 7a
As Charles wrote, Austin’s offerings continue to sell, even at significantly higher prices than the more “traditional” shapes. I admit I can enjoy the look, primarily, I think, because they are “antiques” in appearance and I lust for peonies, which I simply can’t grow and they remind me of them, too.