SHREVEPORT, LA – The American Rose Society announces six roses have been given three separate awards for their hardiness, longevity or tested quality.

The American Rose Society Members’ Choice: These awards honor roses receiving high national garden ratings in “Roses in Review”, both are widely grown and do well in most parts of the country. The Members’ Choice for 2023 goes to ‘Celestial Night’, a mauve, floribunda from Weeks Roses, hybridized by Christian Bedard and introduced in 2019. This rose is widely grown with a garden rating of 8.7 and slightly fragrant. The 2023 Members’ Choice for Fragrance Award goes to ‘Sweet Spirit’, a red blend grandiflora from Meilland, introduced in 2018. This rose is widely grown with a garden rating of 8.5 and is the highest rated for fragrance.

The American Rose Society Miniature and Miniflora Rose Hall of Fame: Since its creation in 1999, the Miniature and Miniflora Rose Hall of Fame has honored those miniatures and minifloras that have stood the test of time in commerce for at least 20 years, recognizing excellence and longevity. Each year a “Call for Nominations” is printed in American Rose, posted on the ARS website and distributed to bulletin editors. This year 150 nominations were received from 36 rosarians, and 47 different varieties were nominated. The ARS Miniature/ Miniflora Rose Committee determines the honoree(s) from the nominations submitted. Since 1998 there have been 57 miniature or mini flora roses inducted into the Hall of Fame.

This year the three Miniature and Miniflora Rose Hall of Fame honorees are ‘Nancy Jean’, hybridized by the late Vernon Rickard, ‘Erin Alonso’, a sport of ‘Bees Knees’ found by Peter G. Alonso, Jr. and ‘Simplex’, hybridized by the late Ralph Moore.

• Nancy Jean (‘RICnancy’) is an apricot blend miniflora borne mostly solitary with outstanding exhibition form, but no noticeable fragrance. The foliage is large, dark green and glossy. Its parentage is (‘Fairhope’ x ‘Michel Cholet’); it was introduced by Almost Heaven Roses; and it is Vernon’s first introduction to enter the Hall of Fame.

• • Erin alonso (‘ALOerin’) is a medium yellow miniature sport of ‘Bees Knees’ which flowers full, high centered, borne mostly solitary, with exhibition form, but with no noticeable fragrance. Foliage is medium size, dark green and semi-glossy. Erin Alonso was introduced in 2002 by Peter G. Alonso, Jr., and it is Peter’s first Hall of Fame honoree.

• • Simplex is a white single miniature, borne singly and in small clusters with slight fragrance. The foliage is leathery, and the plant shows vigorous bushy growth. Its parentage is [(R.wichurana x ‘Floradora’) x seedling]. ‘Simplex’ was introduced by Sequoia Nursery in 1961 and is Ralph Moore’s seventh Hall of Fame honoree.

The American Rose Society Award of Excellence: In 1973 the American Rose Society Board of Directors established the Award of Excellence to recognize new miniature and miniflora rose varieties of superior quality and marked distinction. Since the inception of the Award, there have been 142 AOE winners.

Miniature and miniflora roses which have been in commerce for less than one year, as well as unnamed seedlings or sports, are eligible for evaluation for two to three years in five AOE public test gardens and two private gardens, spaced geographically across the United States. Since 2013 roses may be entered in a “no spray“ division, a “preventive spray” division or both. Each public garden has an AOE supervisor and five evaluators who score the entries on eleven criteria four times during each growing season. At the end of the trial period, Awards of Excellence are given to deserving entries, with a maximum of five per year. The public test gardens are: American Rose Center, Shreveport, Louisiana; Edisto Memorial Gardens, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Mesa Community College Garden, Mesa, Arizona; Toledo Botanical Gardens, Toledo, Ohio; and Virginia Clemens Rose Garden, St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The official public announcement of the Award of Excellence winner(s) is made each year in American Rose and at the awards banquet of the ARS National Rose Show and Conference. After two years of evaluation one Award of Excellence winner has been selected. The 2024 AOE winner is ‘Petite Peach™’, an orangepink miniature sport discovered by Teresa Byington and propagated and entered in the no spray division of the AOE Trials.

‘Petite Peach™’ PPAF (AOE #2021-03)(BYIbloomthyme) Teresa Byington discovered this orange-pink to apricot miniature sport of ‘Petite Pink™’ which was hybridized by David Zlesak. It has decorative form with about 50 petals which fade to white with age and is borne one to a stem and in clusters but with no appreciable fragrance. The low growing rounded plant is very floriferous, “the showplace of a garden”, and quite disease resistant. It will be introduced by High Country Roses and is an excellent garden rose (photo courtesy Teresa Byington).

PHOTO CAPTIONS, TOP TO BOTTOM:

2023 ARS Members’s Choice: ‘Celestial Night’, photo Weeks Roses.

2023 ARS Members’s Choice for Fragrance: ‘Sweet Spirt’, photo Star Roses & Plants. PAGE 1: 2023 ARS Hall of Fame Inductee: ‘Nancy Jean’, photo Jim Hering. PAGE 1: 2023 ARS Hall of Fame Inductee: ‘Erin Alonso’, photo by Jim Hering.

2023 ARS Hall of Fame Inductee: ‘Simplex’, photo by Rich Baer.

2024 Award of Excellence: ‘Petite Peach’, photo by Teresa Byington