Pretty In Pink
I love roses! This bloom is from one of the three new rosebushes we added to our yard this summer. The roses pictured today (above, and in the two images below) are Buck roses. Over eighty different varieties of Buck roses are available, and they’re all beautiful.
What makes Buck roses special? Ah, Oh Best Beloved, now that’s a tale!
Buck roses were developed by Griffith Buck, Ph.D., a professor of horticulture at Iowa State University. Dr. Buck developed over 80 cultivars of roses which are capable of withstanding temperatures to -20°F and need no pesticides or fungicides to thrive. I bought varieties that are pink, but Buck roses range in colors from white to pink to deep red, and there are bicolor, yellow and apricot shades too.
They’re all they were claimed to be, and more. I had scads of blooms (and they’ve bloomed and rebloomed and are still blooming). The fragrance is heavenly - something which has been lost in many modern rose cultivars. They haven’t required anything but water and my homemade compost for fertilizer. And the leaves are glossy and healthy — the bushes don’t have a speck of any rose diseases or fungi, and the bugs have left them alone.
I’m convinced - if you want gorgeous, carefree roses, you can’t find anything better than a Buck!
09 Sep 2008 JAS
Not just pretty in pink but just plain gorgeous in pink. I love roses too and have grown some. Mine didn’t all bllom as wonderfully as yours. Thanks so much for sharing.
I used to have tons of roses but they all fell to aphids, fungus and the cold. Never knew about Buck roses - until now!
As I’ve said before, our gardens are going to get upgraded next year - Buck roses will be on the list for certain! Thank you.
Oh yeah - and yours are just G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!
If you can’t find Buck roses locally, there’s a terrific organic rose grower, Huilito, who sells on eBay. She has Buck roses, and scads of old garden roses that are also disease resistant. I’ve bought from her and got very nice rose bushes. Highly recommended!
Thanks, Sarah and Kris - I just love these roses!