Bouquet beauties

Sunset, Jan, 2001 by Sharon Cohoon

Florists pick the best 38 garden roses for cutting

* Any rose that has a strong stem and lasts at least three days in a vase is a good rose for cutting. That's the opinion of Jacob Maarse, founder of Jacob Maarse Florists in Pasadena and Los Angeles, and Jan Weverka, owner of Roses by Jan in Monrovia, California. Both grow roses in their home gardens to sell at their respective businesses.

Notice they recommend strong--not long--stems. Weak-stemmed roses are difficult to use in arrangements, says Maarse, while short stems aren't a handicap. "Just use a shorter vase," Maarse says. If stems are very short, create the closely packed, dome-shaped, ultraromantic arrangement Europeans call a pave. (Place a presoaked foam block in a shallow bowl and stud the block with roses, placing them as closely as tiles in a mosaic.) Or use shorter-stemmed roses near the bottom of bouquets, the way Weverka does. "choose roses that are at least half open," she suggests. "Their weight will add ballast to the arrangement."

What else makes a rose good for cutting? Shapely blooms. Though most of us think of a cut rose as a single flower on the end of a stem, roses that flower in clusters, like floribundas and some climbing roses, look great in vases. One stem can be a bouquet in itself. A tip: Pinch off the central flower bud (terminal bud) in the cluster, so all the remaining buds will open at the same time.

About that three-day rule: If you insist that any flower worth cutting has to last at least a week, you'll miss out on some of the most fragrant roses in the world, including the big blowsy Victorians--Bourbons, Portlands, and hybrid perpetuals. (As a rule, the more fragrant the rose, the shorter its vase life.) And you can't cut the densely petaled David Austin roses in bud stage and watch them open in the vase the way you can a hybrid tea; David Austins will refuse to unfurl. Let them unfold three-quarters of the way on the shrub, then cut them and watch the rest of the show indoors.

To find the best garden roses for cutting, we talked with dozens of florists. Here are their choices.

HYBRID TEAS

'Mr. Lincoln'. Dark red, velvet texture, large flowers, very fragrant. This 1965 All-America Rose Selections winner is, by general consensus, still the best modern red.

'Olympiad'. A close second to 'Mr. Lincoln'. Bright red, long-lasting blooms. Vigorous.

'Bride's Dream'. Soft pink, large, very long buds. Productive and disease-resistant.

'Touch of Class'. Coral-pink blend with orange and cream shading.

'Double Delight'. Cream with strawberry pink edges, spicy fragrance. Possibly the most recognizable rose in the world.

'Barbra Streisand'. Mauve blend. Very fragrant.

'Sunset Celebration'. Apricot blend, large blooms. Vigorous.

'St. Patrick'. Golden yellow, tinged with green in warmer climates. Prolific bloomer. "Lasts so long you have to dust it," says Tom Carruth, Weeks Roses' hybridizer.

'Honor'. Pure white, large, perfect blooms. Unanimous favorite as best white.

'Pascali'. Close second to 'Honor'.

FLORIBUNDAS

'French Lace'. Creamy white blossoms with soft apricot centers, flower form similar to hybrid tea. Good fragrance, long-stemmed.

'Iceberg'. The most popular landscaping rose in the West is also a favorite for cutting. Ice white, heavy bloomer, very disease-resistant.

'Margaret Merril'. White with pale pink blush, ruffled petals, lemon scent.

'Sexy Rexy'. Shell pink, camellia-like flowers. Compact shrub.

'Bridal Pink'. Delicate pink blended with cream, lightly spicy fragrance.

GRANDIFLORAS

'Gold Medal'. Dark gold, red-orange tips, light tea-rose scent.

'Fame'. Deep pink with scalloped edges, long vase life. Lasts 10 days or longer, according to Lew Whitney of Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach, California.

DAVID AUSTINS

'Abraham Darby'. Pink-apricot-yellow blend, large, deeply cupped. Fruity fragrance.

'Ambridge Rose'. Pink-apricot blend, medium size, cupped form, opening to a rosette. Compact shrub, strong bloomer.

'Graham Thomas'. Rich, pure yellow, cupped, medium size. Very vigorous--almost to a fault in warm climates.

'Golden Celebration'. Dark gold fading to pure yellow. 'A shorter more freely blooming version of 'Graham Thomas'," says Gary Jones of Hortus nursery in Pasadena.

'Charles Rennie MacKintosh'. Lilac-pink old rose, very fragrant. Vigorous plant.

'Prospero'. Like an old-fashioned Gallica in form (rosette-shaped) and color (crimson fading to purple). Reblooms, very fragrant. Small shrub.

THE NEW FRENCH ROMANTICS

'Yves Piaget' (Romantica). Large, ruffled blooms in Old World colors (mauve-grape blend).

'Martine Guillot' (Generosa). Creamy white, deeply cupped blooms blushed with peach. Petals roll back at the edges. Long vase life.

CLIMBERS

'Sally Holmes'. Huge clusters of large, single white flowers. Long vase life. A very vigorous climber in mild climates. Large shrub elsewhere.

'Sombreuil'. Flat, creamy white, quartered form, fragrant. Strong bloomer. One of the most popular old garden roses in the country, according to the American Rose Society.