Are threre REALLY black roses?

...ummmm...no. The truly black rose is like the holy grail of rose breeding. So far, it only exists in mythology. In actuality, the so-called "black" roses are dark red, deep maroon, or dark purple. I like some of the black roses even if they do fall short of being truly black. They can be quite stunning in the garden, particularly when companion planted with white flowers for a stark contrast.

One of this year's additions to my garden is Black Baccara. It's difficult to capture the true color of this rose on film, but the coloring in these photos is reasonably close. When this rose is in tight bud, it's dark...really dark...and does give the illusion of a black rose. As it begins to open, however, it's obvious that it's true color is a deep maroon red.

Black Baccara was bred by Alan Meilland (France) in 2000 and introduced to the U.S. in 2002. It's classic high-centered tea rose blooms, unusual color, long thornless stems, and glossy green foliage made it an instant success with florists. Dark red roses have long been popular for use in sympathy bouquets and in floral arrangements for funeral or memorial services. What could be better for such occasions than a rose so dark red as to be almost black?

Interestingly, the Black Baccara has also become quite a popular flower for bridal bouquets. The darkest red rose symbolizes the deepest passion (or so they say). Both these bouquets would be wedding showstoppers. Don't you think? But, I digress...

As a garden flower, Black Baccara has been a great performer. I put it in a partly shaded location where it gets morning sun only. The hot afternoon sun will either scald the blooms or cause the dark color to fade badly. The color of the blooms is not only effected by too much direct sun, but varies with temperature. Cooler weather will produce much darker blooms. As it warms up, the flowers lose a good deal of the dark pigmentation and look, instead, like a the deep red of Mr. Lincoln.

If you like dark red roses, Black Baccara should be in your garden. If for no other reason, this rose is a terrific long-stem cut flower that (with care) lasts a full two weeks in the vase. I use a tablespoon of bleach in the water and then replace the water and re-cut the stems after 1 week. If you'd like to intensify the dark color, add 5 or 6 drops of India ink to the water. Just don't leave that vase where it can be knocked over by children, pets, or clumsy husbands. LOL This rose's only shortcoming for me is its lack of fragrance. I think roses should smell as beautiful as they look and seldom choose varieties that have no fragrance. This rose is so exceptional in other ways, I chose to overlook this one point.

Black Baccara may not REALLY be a black rose, but it'll do for me until something better comes along.

Delinquent Roses - Nurture or Nature?

The roses are absolutely stunning this year, with the notable exception of a few varieties that have always failed to thrive in my garden. These are my delinquents - the ones that bring shame on the rest of the garden and on me, their long-suffering plant mother. It brings up the age-old question, is nurture or nature to blame?

For years, I blamed myself and wondered, "Where did I go wrong?" That's what plant mothers do. It's not really fair, but we've been conditioned to believe that there is no such thing as a bad plant, thus, it must be our fault when it ends up looking like hell...or dies. It was a retired rosarian who debunked that myth for me. Some roses are just bummers. The flaws are in their genes and are just more or less a problem depending upon the climate, the gardener, or both.

In my Pacific Northwest (zone 7b) garden, for example, I have the Warriner rose, Neon Lights, that was advertised to do well in zone 6b and warmer gardens, is very disease resistant, and blooms in flushes throughout the season. I bought it for it's bright neon pink blooms. In my garden this rose languishes. Ditto for Brilliant Pink Iceberg (photo left). On both, new leaves show blackspot and drop quickly. Repeat bloom is iffy, with a decent flush of flowers in June and late August, but only one or two blooms on the bush the rest of the time. The canes are weak and spindly and show sun scald. (heavy sigh) Moving them from full sun to part shade only added mildew to the litany of problems, so I moved them back to full sun. I've composted, fertilized, sprayed, dusted and watered diligently and these are still the ugliest plants in my garden. I couldn't bring myself to shovel prune the wretches because I thought...this year I'll figure out how to make these roses happy.

Well, no more. This year Neon gets the axe - and so does that Brilliant Pink Iceberg. Now that I know that nurture cannot always overcome nature, I can rid my garden of these delinquents without feeling like a black thumb gardener. I have my eye on a bright pink hybrid tea, Manou Meilland, to replace the Neon. The hybrid tea, Tournament of Roses, will look nice in the Iceberg spot.

Today, I think I'll get out the shovel and do a little pruning.