A note from Christianson’s Rose Buyer, Nancy Stewart
Hello Rose enthusiasts and welcome to the 2023 rose season! Another wonderful year is ahead of us, full of new varieties to evaluate for our gardens. Much thanks to the tireless hybridizers out there in the world who do the splendid work of putting new roses into the trade every year with the traits we all want: Beautiful color, scent, pleasing shapes and easy care. There are several new roses this year with notable fragrances. From Weeks Roses comes the long-stemmed salmon-pink hybrid tea, Heavenly Scented, with a strong fruit and spicy fragrance. Top Cream and Raspberry Cupcake are both hybrid teas from Star Roses growing on their own roots. These are two ‘English style garden roses’ and promise very strong scents along with excellent disease resistance. Another new fragrant hybrid tea is Lemontini, whose lemon yellow blooms are noted for their ‘intense lemon blossom and licorice’ perfume. Returning to our list with a terrific scent described as ‘anise, tarragon and rose’ is hot fuchsia-pink Julie Andrews. Both are from Certified Roses. Please note very fragrant roses on our Rose List are indicated by ‘vf’.
Christianson’s typically offers a revolving array of recommended varieties for Pacific Northwest gardens in categories of modern, English, climbers, old fashioned, rugosa, ground covers, miniature and tree standards. Our list contains over 500 varieties, with nearly 100 new or returning after an absence. We favor roses grown on their own roots, these comprise nearly half the roses we offer and are inidacted by ‘+’. With the climate in flux, an own root rose is much likelier to brave extremes in weather.
Our valued customers also have a lot to contribute to our list. Many roses on our list first appeared as customer requests. We do our best to order sufficient quantities of our popular titles so everyone can get the roses they want. Some titles are only available in small amounts, so now is the time to come and see what new favorites are waiting to join your rose family.