by Sally Long, San Diego, CA

I stumbled on 'Flower Girl' while browsing through the canned rose section in a favorite local nursery. As a rosarian that loves low-petaled roses, I was immediately attracted to this variety. The soft-pink blooms were small but the clusters were quite large.  The bush was covered from top to bottom with sweet little roses.  I had to have it. I found a special spot for the tiny bush in the front of my garden.  Most of the literature on 'Flower Girl' describes it as a modest-sized rose.  Within months, the sweet little rose turned into a five-foot bush with long weeping canes reaching out 6 feet and more.  It was incredible. If you are considering this rose, plant it in the back of the garden as the growth pattern is very, very vigorous.

The large clusters of 10-15 petaled roses are eye-catching with their beautiful blooms that range in color from cream to light pink. The blooms open quickly and display stamens that enhance the coloration of the flowers.  They start out a very bright yellow, and as the bloom ages, the stamens take on a red tint in the center. The amount of blooms this rose produces is phenomenal and it repeats quickly.

The foliage is a medium, matte green and the bush is completely disease resistant in my organic garden. There is a slight, fresh, fruity scent to the flowers.  'Flower Girl' does well in the extreme heat although the color does lighten when temperatures soar.

Hybridized by Fryer and introduced by Weeks Roses in 2000, 'Flower Girl' is a Modern Shrub with a complex family background. The seed parent is 'Amada' (AMRuda) - a small, healthy dark red miniature from deRuiter. The pollen parent is 'Fairy Snow' (HOLfairy) - a white polyantha from Harkness. From these two roses we get a Modern Shrub that is very disease resistant, and very floriferous, but where did those long 'arms' come from?

For those that enjoy exhibiting, this rose won’t disappoint.  The beautiful clusters are easy to show and frequently win in the Modern Shrub category.  If you are looking for an eye-catching rose that is always in bloom, consider 'Flower Girl'—just don’t plant it in the front of your garden. 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy Weeks Roses