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Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep

1) Double Delight – Hybrid tea with a strong fragrance (top left) 2) Stainless Steel – Hybrid tea with a medium rose fragrance (top right) 3) Mary Rose – An Austin shrub rose with a strong old rose fragrance (middle left) 4) Arcanum – Miniature rose (a natural bouquet) (center) 5) Mister Lincoln – Hybrid tea with a strong fragrance (middle right) 6) Golden Celebration – An Austin shrub rose (a medium old rose) (bottom left) 7) Veterans’ Honor – Hybrid tea with a soft raspberry fragrance (bottom right)

No matter what the occasion, there are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a rosebush as a gift:

Your first item of concern may be the color of the rosebush’s blooms. Flower color may be selected simply because that’s your mother’s, grandma’s or wife’s favorite one. Or maybe you’d like the color to be tied to a deeper meaning: A red rose, for example, is the traditional symbol of love and/or romance; the pink rose is a symbol of grace and elegance; the yellow rose, a symbol of joy and friendship or warm feelings; the white rose, the symbol of innocence and purity; the orange rose symbolizes passion and excitement; and a lavender one means enchantment. Of course, a blending of these colors can take on multiple symbolic meanings!

But you need to consider more than the plant’s beauty. The space available for the rosebush should be kept in mind, too. The plant will need a spot where it gets plenty of sun, can be tended to easily and can grow as is its natural habit. (You wouldn’t want to buy a rosebush that gets extremely bushy and fills out for a spot that has tight boundaries!) Be sure to read the label and all information available about the rosebush in question so you know what the plant’s growing habits are before you bring her to her new home.

Fragrance is also usually very important when giving a rosebush as a gift. Some folks like a strong robust fragrance – the kind you can find in roses like Double Delight (HT) or Mister Lincoln (HT). Others prefer a soft, more subtle fragrance like that of Veterans’ Honor (HT) or Stainless Steel (HT). Think about form, too. All these roses, for example, are Hybrid Teas, which usually have tight centers with spiraling-out, cupped petals.

Perhaps your special lady loves the look of the old garden or English shrub roses, like the David Austin Roses® named Mary Rose or Golden Celebration. These rose blooms not only have wonderful fragrance, they also have a fluffy, fancy-pillow look to them. (The blooms remind me a lot of some elaborate satin pillows my grandmothers had up on the backs of their couches or on their beds.)

A miniature rosebush can make an excellent gift, as well. They’re often loaded with blooms similar to the fanciest bouquet, and they’re usually potted up and blooming for gift-giving occasions such as Mother’s Day. They can be enjoyed for a few days on the table in the house, then set outside in a nice sunny location. Another nice thing about miniature roses is that they’re own-root roses. This is good because even if something happens to the top part of the plant (like it gets munched down by a hungry rabbit or deer), whatever comes back up from the root will still be the rose that was selected. (Whereas destroyed grafted roses are usually a total loss, as the new shoots that come up from the root will be whatever rose the rootstock was and not the originally selected rose.)

I hope these little notes will help you in your selection of a very special gift for the very special ladies in your life – no matter what the occasion!