New and Improved! Spray Roses
Abundant flowers is another feature of the new spray roses. Hydroponic spray roses produce 5-10 flowers per stem. One benefit of longer stems and more flowers is that you can remove the side branches and use them individually in arrangements. Hydroponics plants produce buds similar in size to a sweetheart rose. 'Purple Prince,' a mauve-hot pink variety, opens from a dime-sized bud to an open flower the size of a silver dollar. Flower size varies some among the different varieties. These new features--longer stems, more and smaller flowers--are catapulting spray roses to the top of the floral charts. Spray roses are popular for their natural, just-picked from the garden look. They are ideal for bouquets where you only need one stem as a filler. They are easy to work with: just drop a few stems in a loose vase arrangement. Since most come with their own beautiful foliage, you don't need to add a lot more. Quick, easy and relatively inexpensive! Another welcome feature: most have fewer thorns.
| Now, let's talk about color. Spray roses are available in just about every beautiful color of the spectrum. There are soft colors--buttery yellow, cream, pink, peach, greenish white—and plenty of spicy colors—reds, purple and orange. There are delicate blendings of color, too, such as 'Tarasco,' which is white with a yellow blush, and 'Isabella,' white with a pink blush. 'Agnes,' is a unique lemon-butter yellow, which progresses from light yellow on the petal tips to bright yellow on the flower bottom. Spray roses have a very soft look, mixing easily in a spring bouquet with tulips and freesia, or with summer flowers, such as cosmos and scabiosa. For a "new baby" arrangement, combine spray roses with other delicate flowers, such as lily of the valley and sweet pea, forget-me-not, and muscari. Different varieties open differently. Some open gradually like a hybrid tea rose; others open fully, more like a garden rose. An unusual arrangement is to combine different varieties along with other sorts of flowers in shades of one particular color. Hydroponic spray roses are very durable and work well in corsages, boutonnieres, headpieces and in pave work. "You can cut the head and just glue it on anything. They are so lightweight and they hold up well," says Greg Switzer, AIFD, Costa Mesa, California. Switzer also likes to take advantage of the long stems in architectural landscape designs and to create topiaries. |
© 2010
"New and improved" is a term we see on supermarket products; now California spray roses are sporting new and improved characteristics that can really make a big difference to rose lovers. In California, many growers are growing spray roses hydroponically. This technique, which essentially spoonfeeds the plants the nutrients and water they need, is producing spray roses with much longer stems and side branches. While conventionally-grown roses have 10-12 inch stems, hydroponic roses have stems 18-22 inches long.