February is a month for thinking about the rose garden.  We all love rose catalogs and pore over them for hours!  There are plenty of gorgeous roses to choose from, but today I’d like to share with you some beautiful floribunda roses that I grow in my Suffield, CT gardens.

What Does Floribunda Mean?

The word is from Latin, meaning ‘many flowering.’  The first floribunda rose was introduced by Dines Poulsen in 1912.  He hybridized this rose by crossing a hybrid tea with a polyantha rose.  Floribunda roses typically bear many roses in large clusters on one stem.  Older floribundas tend to be shorter and so do very well in the front of the border.  They come in many different colors and are heavy bloomers.  When I deadhead mine, I make sure to remove the spent flowers high on the bush, rather than take them down the stem to an outward-facing bud.  Caring for them in this manner, my plants rebloom much faster.

Beautiful Floribundas From My Garden:

By Rose Company and Hybridizer:

Jackson and Perkins; Keith Zary, William Warriner:

The oldest floribundas in my garden were first planted in my rose gardens in the late ‘90’s.  First is ‘French Lace’(Warriner).  She is a little fussy and needs to be planted in a sheltered, sunny spot.  Introduced in 1980, she has lovely form, a beautiful fragrance, and nice foliage.  Next is ‘Bill Warriner’ (Zary) which was introduced in 1997.  This rose sports large sprays with loads of 3.5” perfectly formed blossoms.  It is a bright pink-apricotty color and is almost always in bloom.  I have won Best Floribunda Spray with this rose several times.

‘Grand Prize’ (Zary) was introduced in 2003.  It belongs in the front of the border as it is a tidy plant more spreading than tall.  The large clusters of lovely blooms start out a lovely peach color and fade to ivory.  This rose is almost always in bloom.  Next, ‘Tuscan Sun,’ (Zary) hit the market in 2004.  It is pictured above and might be my favorite of my collection of beautiful floribundas!  It is a bright orange and gold blend and depending on the humidity and temperature, the colors will deepen and become richer, especially in the Fall.  It has a lovely, fruity fragrance, and it grows taller than some.  It shines in the middle of the garden.

2007 was the year of introduction for a sweet white floribunda called ‘Moondance’(Zary).  Big clusters of white roses with excellent form cover the plant.  It is a beauty!  In 2008, ‘Enchanted Evening’(Zary) was introduced.  I have to say, every time she is in bloom people catch me singing in the garden!  Her blooms are on the small side, but have perfect form and she is a lovely lavender!  The fragrance is powerful.  She is suited for the front of the border.

Weeks Roses:  Tom Carruth

2004 brought ‘Shockwave’(Carruth) to the rose world.  This lovely yellow rose makes a big, rounded bush about 4’ tall and wide.  It is almost always in bloom and has perfectly formed dark yellow blooms.  Great disease resistance and lovely foliage grace this plant.  2005 brought ‘Lime Sublime’(Carruth) to my garden.  It makes a tidy plant that is well-branched and about 3.5’ tall.  The blooms are on the smallish size, but there are many of them with lovely form.  She starts out greenish-yellow and fades to ivory.

‘Love Song’(Carruth) was introduced in 2011.  It is a big, buxom floribunda with large deep lavender blossoms that complement the plant’s beautiful foliage.  It is stunning!  Usually, lavender roses are very fragrant, but this one lost its fragrant gene somewhere.  Still, it’s so worth growing in your garden.  A relatively new member of the floribunda clan is ‘Easy Spirit’(Carruth).  This rose grows 5’ tall in a great vase shape.  The blooms are large and fragrant, and are ivory-white in color.  She has perfect form and is sure to be a winner on the show table.  Last year at CT Rose Society’s Rose Show, she won the prize for the most fragrant rose!

Meilland/Star Roses

1993 brought the introduction of ‘Johann Strauss’ to my garden.  This rose is part of Star Roses’ ‘Romantica Collection.’  It is a broad and beautiful bush that delivers hundreds of peachy-pink roses all season that sport a sweet rose fragrance.  This rose is off-patent and out of production, but that means you can start one from a cutting.

So, here are introductions for you to some of the beautiful floribundas that thrive in my Zone 6 garden.  While you are browsing your rose catalogs, you can look for these and others.  I love my floribunda roses, and I am sure you will, too!