Rose of the Year Award
The Rose of the Year scheme was established in 1982 to discover, by trial, the best new roses. To win the Rose of the Year award a rose has to be trialled in up to 10 locations throughout the UK, from Aberdeen to Hampshire and Northern Ireland to East Anglia. It is observed as often as once a week to see how it performs and points are awarded. At the end of two years the points are totalled and the winner of the Rose of the Year scheme is announced.
Up to 20 roses are trialled each year and plants are entered from around the world. It takes six years for a rose to become Rose of the Year because once selected it has to be propagated so that there is sufficient stock for gardeners to buy, as there is always a high demand for the Rose of the Year.
There is only one winner of the Rose of the Year each year, except in unusual circumstances. In 1987 the hybrid tea Royal William ('Korzaun') and patio rose Sweet Magic ('Dcmagic') won the Rose of the Year award jointly, and in 2006 the delicate Champagne Moments ('Korvanaber') pipped Hot Chocolate ('Wekpaltez') at the post, but the latter was so close, it was awarded the title Novelty Rose of the Year.
The first winner of the Rose of the Year award was Mountbatten ('Harmantelle), a bright yellow floribunda introduced by Harkness Roses. It is still popular and it is the new award winning roses of the Rose of the Year award together with those that go back a long way that are highly sought after, but those in the middle years can be overlooked, even though they are very good roses. The 1998 winner of the Rose of the Year award, Sweet Dream ('Fryminicot') is still the most popular winner and freely available.
Philip Harkness rates Royal William highly and thinks it is one of the best to win the award. He also believes that the climber Penny Lane ('Hardwell') introduced by Harkness and only one of two climbers to win the Rose of the Year award will stand the test of time.
Dickson Nurseries in Northern Ireland has won the Rose of the Year award a record eight times with their roses but have not always been as successful as Colin Dickson would have liked. In his opinion Harvest Fayre never became popular because it starts flowering late and garden centers like to have plants in bloom early. He believes that Melody Maker did not catch on because it suffers from too much disease. He is very proud of
Irish Eyes ('Dicwitness') which has excellent blooms but can be tall in the pot if bought in flower. He thinks Champagne Moments an excellent rose but it does not have the 'wow' factor and it only beat Hot Chocolate by one vote to the Rose of the Year award.
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