This outstanding mini-flora was named to honor the world-famous rosarian of the same name, who authors the monthly “Question & Answer” column in the American Rose magazine. Dr. Dickman (the man) is also the recipient of numerous awards, one of the most prestigious being the 2003 Klima Medal from the American Rose Society for his oustanding contributions to rose education.
Dr. John Dickman was introduced in 2002 by Dennis Bridges, of Bridges Roses, and resulted from a cross between Purple Dawn and selected pollen. This rather large mauve bloom touched with red on its petals has high centers and excellent exhibition form. The color combination is very striking. This variety has been quickly moving up the ranking of best exhibition mini-floras since making its way into the rose exhibiting scene only a few years ago.
This rose is moderately fragrant and the blooms hold well, having on an average 26 to 40 petals with most blooms being about 2 inches in diameter. The stems are long with dark green foliage that is touted to be fairly disease resistant. The bush has a tall, upright growth habit, with an average mature height of 36 inches.
Unfortunately, in my Florida garden Dr. John Dickman is fairly stingy with blooms, but the blooms it does produce are of excellent quality and are typically one bloom per stem. This variety possesses outstanding substance, slight fragrance, and a beautiful look reminiscent of the hybrid tea, Paradise.
This variety is available by mail order from Bridges Roses, (704) 538-9412 or on line at bridgesroses.com.
* The Mini-Flora classification is a new American term developed for cultivars in which bloom and bush size grow too large to be classed as miniatures, yet are too small to be classed as floribundas or hybrid teas. The Mini-Flora class shows many characteristics of the hybrid teas in both form and a tendency to bloom as a one-bloom-per-stem specimen.
Rose photo by Shiann Piekarski
