What makes a garden rose a good cutting rose? To answer these questions, I went to Carpinteria, California, in winter—not an ideal time for roses, even in southern California, but there I discovered that there is a particular charm to the last roses of the season, with their air of faded glamour.
Photography and styling by Christin Geall.
Over the past 20 years Danielle has learned what makes a rose great for cutting.
‘Madame Paule Massad’
One of Danielle’s top picks is ‘Madame Paule Massad’. A disease-resistant cultivar, ‘Madame Paule Massad’ is a modern shrub rose with a sweet scent.
‘Sally Holmes’ is pictured here with two other David Austin roses—the apricot chalice-shaped ‘Jude the Obscure’ and pale pink ‘Wild Eve’.
‘Sally Holmes’
The English shrub rose ‘Fair Bianca’.
‘Fair Bianca’
‘Climbing Shot Silk’
‘Climbing Shot Silk’ at right with ‘Julia Child’ (yellow) ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’.
‘Sally Holmes’ has earned an RHS award of merit and is, according to English breeder David Austin, ‘almost always in bloom’.
‘Paul Bocuse’
Another of Danielle’s favorites is the apricot-pink rose ‘Paul Bocuse’, named after the French chef.
“The blooms are in little groups at the end of each stem,” she says.
‘Paul Bocuse’ with ‘Bronze Star’.
Hardy to USDA Zone 4, ‘Julia Child’ blooms for months, can be pot-grown, and holds well in the vase. Another pick, the heat-tolerant floribunda ‘Julia Child’ rose, naturally blooms in a buttery yellow.
‘Julia Child’
‘Julia Child’ at center. In the color range of pink-lavender-brown, the popular ‘Koko Loco’, ‘Neptune’, and ‘Distant Drums’ made Danielle’s list.
‘Distant Drums’ from bud to blown.
‘Distant Drums’
‘Neptune’
‘Koko Loco’, ‘Florence Delattre’, ‘Neptune’, and ‘Distant Drums’ at Rose Story Farm.
The fading glory of the lavender rose ‘Neptune’. When it comes to planning a rose garden, nothing beats seeing a rose growing yourself.
My selection of deep and light pinks including (clockwise from upper left): ‘Climbing Shot Silk’ with a yellow center, ‘Tiffany’ at top, and ‘Christopher Marlowe’ with a touch of ruffled yellow.