New Rose Varieties 2021
For years, Sky Nursery has offered our customers hundreds of varieties of pre-potted roses, available by early February. Sky has one of the largest rose fields in the Seattle-area, and our knowledgeable staff is here to help you select the perfect varieties for your garden. Every year, we bring in a few new varieties to supplement the ever-popular classics. Here’s a preview of this year’s new arrivals.
Hybrid Tea Roses
These are the classic roses for cutting and bouquets. Each stem holds a single rose, with sparse foliage at the base. Their large, pointed buds and dramatic colors make equally beautiful statements in the garden and in cut-flower arrangements.
‘Caribia’ makes a bold statement with fiery orange and red striped blooms that last all summer. The multicolored flowers of this compact rose will remind you of a tropical sunset
The brilliant, sunshine-yellow buds of ‘Novelty’ open slowly to reveal vibrant orange petals. Bicolor flowers develop pink-red edges offset by yellow interiors that grow in clusters on the stems. Hybridized by the famous grower, O.L. Weeks.
‘Sunbright’ offers beautifully-shaped, clear yellow blooms that do not fade throughout the season. Long, pointed buds open to show off four-inch flowers with a light, gentle scent. This new introduction from trusted rose breeders Jackson&Perkins provides an explosion of color in cut-flower arrangements.
‘Ring of Fire’ has a bushier growth habit than most hybrid teas. It features huge, round-edged petals that slowly open to reveal a swirl of deep orange, coral and ginger, beautifully displayed on long, sturdy stems.
Floribundas
Famous for their prolific clusters of flowers and their long blooming season, floribundas are some of the most popular rose varieties. They are also typically vigorous, hardy, and disease-resistant.
‘Sunset Horizon’ displays a dramatic range of floral colors throughout the season. Bright yellow buds, open to reveal beautiful reddish-pink petals. As the flower matures, the red color spreads and deepens. A prolific bloomer throughout the summer, it is well suited to northwest growing conditions and resistant to black spot fungus.
An equally impressive flower that changes throughout the summer, ‘Koko Loko’ starts with long, pointed buds that spiral open to reveal chocolate-colored petals. As the summer gets warmer, the color develops into a light lavender.
The Painters Collection
In years past, Sky has brought in a few roses, developed by George Delbard Roses, that were named for famous painters. We decided to expand the selection this year to include the ‘Marc Chagall’ floribunda and ‘Alfred Sisley’ shrub rose. All of the Painters Roses share the characteristic of bright reds and pink petals with slashes of yellow and cream streaks. These remarkable selections have very vibrant color contrasts on each single rose petal!
Happy Trails Collection
While we might often think of roses as high-climbing vines or stately shrubs, these ones were developed to spread a low, colorful blanket of flowers near garden pathways or the front of garden borders. Throughout the entire summer and into autumn, these long-blooming beauties will continue to provide seasonal color.
‘Sunshine Happy Trails’ creates golden trails of three inch blossoms, with a subtle fruity fragrance. ‘Playful Happy Trails’ sports a showy flower with bright yellow centers, and red edged petals, and is sure to attract hummingbirds. ‘Sunset Happy Trails’ offers small clusters of double, salmon-colored flowers, fading to pink.
Shrub Roses
These slower-growing, low-maintenance varieties are perfect for gardeners who are making the most of small spaces. They won’t take over your small beds or your patio, and they will keep blooming beautifully with only minimal pruning. This year, we’re bringing in more of these compact choices than ever before.
The double-flowered, flame-red variety ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ has proven resistant to two of the most common enemies of the rose garden: the black spot and powdery mildew fungi. By the way, this resilient cultivar is named for the heroic 2009 safe landing of a passenger jet in the Hudson river.
‘Miracle on the Hudson’ is such a cherished and successful cultivar that it has inspired a hardy and disease-resistant spinoff which will be available at Sky this year: ‘Pink Miracle’ offers vibrant, hot pink double-blooms to cheer up your rose bed.
Two frilly-edged shrub roses will also be rounding out our selection this year. ‘Raspberry Kiss’ has a dark red center-eye and pink petals. ‘Soul Sister’, a new introduction from Certified Roses, blooms in elegant peach and apricot tones. Both of these varieties are also quite disease resistant.
Miniature Roses
Even smaller than shrub roses, miniatures are prolific bloomers that don’t require pruning. Two new selections for Sky this year come from Weeks Roses.
‘Whimsy’ gives the impression that someone splashed bright pink paint onto creamy white flowers. Each flower looks slightly different! ‘Be My Baby’ is a little more restrained, with rich pink petals and just a touch of yellow at the very base.
Climbing Roses
Climbing roses make a dramatic statement on a trellis, and we’re offering two new varieties this year in addition to our usual suspects.
‘Purple Splash’, from Weeks Roses, is one of the most dramatic varieties we’ll carry, with daring dashes of vibrant purple streaking its white petals. ‘Florentina’ is a well behaved climber, growing about three feet wide, that offers huge, crimson blooms all summer long.
Winter Weather, Summer Dreams
With so many amazing varieties to choose from, we want to make your selection process as easy and enjoyable as possible. Check out our new roses page for the full 2021 list as well as clear explanations of the different rose types. We expect to have the field well-stocked in late February, so whether you've found a few favorites or not, come visit! We keep our rose field clearly organized with large picture signs for each variety, so you’ll know exactly what to expect when they begin to bloom in the summertime.