Beauty, Fragance, Easy Care: All America Roses

As much as I love roses, I’m very selective about the ones I grow in my garden. I don’t have unlimited space and I don’t like to spray. Although for the most part, the rose’s reputation as a fussy, spray-heavy plant is undeserved. Unless you’re planning on competing, there are many roses that require minimal attention to flourish in your garden.

Each year the All America Rose Selections comes out with their picks for the best new rose introductions. I say 'new', but these roses have actually been undergoing testing for 2 years before they are selected. Three roses were chosen AARS winners for 2009: Carefree Spirit™, a landscape shrub rose, Pink Promise, a hybrid tea, and the vibrant Floribunda, Cinco de Mayo™ .

It's pretty exciting to see a landscape shrub rose in the winners circle. Shrub roses are about as maintenance free as roses get. Also new for AARS this year, Pink Promise was selected to represent The National Breast Cancer Foundation and a percentage of the sales will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Check out all the winners and see if one might make the cut to be grown in your garden.

Photo of 'Pink Promise' Rose Provided by AARS. (http://www.rose.org/)