Lore of the Roses for Venturesome Gardeners : Flowers: Playboy and Regensberg, on commercial market this winter, will thrive in coastal and inland climates.
The AARS (the All-American Rose Selection) winner for 1990 is a floribunda and will be sold under the name Pleasure. Pleasure, like many other AARS winners of recent years is a nice salmon pink, ruffle petaled, cluster rose with excellent disease resistance. This may be its most distinguishing characteristic.
The young (or young-at-heart) gardeners of today have been searching out new and unusual plants to create more exciting and interesting landscapes. They are expressing concern in having most of their plants, in particular their roses, looking just like everyone else’s. In other words, the new gardener has begun to seek out opportunities to march to a different drummer but Pleasure is the same old song.
Well, if you are one of these adventuresome maybe you would be more interested in two other beautiful, but unusual floribundas that will be on the commercial market this winter; they are Playboy, a rose hybridized by the Scot, Alec Cocker, and Regensberg, a “hand-painted” rose by the New Zealand hybridizer, Sam McGredy.
These roses will grow extremely well in California, both inland and on the coast. They are truly unique, a delight to behold and a pleasure to grow. I have been growing both of these roses for the last three to four years in my own garden in the south part of Torrance, and I do recommend highly both Playboy and Regensberg for their charmingly atypical qualities.
Playboy, is a ruffled, bright-orange semi-double (7 to 10 petals) rose with a brilliant yellow “eye” surrounding the stamens. The flowers bleed into scarlet red before dropping cleanly off the bush. This rose blooms in clusters, with flowers of every stage vying for attention. The clusters are framed in luscious dark-green foliage that is extremely disease-resistant, especially against mildew. The bush itself grows with an open airiness to about 4 1/2 to 5 feet. Its rounded appearance is achieved because it blooms on all sides of the bush.
I have been growing two bushes of Playboy for about four years now. They sit on each side of an arbor that is the entrance to the largest of my raised flower beds in the back of my garden where the act as “anchor” roses to the other plants and flowers in this bed.
Playboy is a wonderful rose in flower arrangements where it acts as a color bridge for the golds, oranges and reds of autumn. Since Playboy can be counted on for fall blooms it makes a perfect addition to Thanksgiving table decorations. Playboy’s lovely foliage and constant bloom make it the last rose to be pruned in January. (Playboy does not go willingly into dormancy, so it makes me feel miserable when I have to cut off spanking new buds and blooms.)
Despite the fact that Regensberg has been sold in other parts of the English-speaking world under several inappropriate names (Regensberg being one of them and Buffalo Bill, the other), Young Mistress is probably the best-suited name for this rose, considering her constantly blushing color and that her parentage includes the imposing Old Master rose father of all the “hand-painted” roses.
Regensberg is one of the latest additions to the “painted” series (the petals look as if someone had used a paint brush to lightly stroke another color on top of the white petals).
Sam McGredy has the fine distinction of being known for his ability to turn a rose with an unstable color base into a much desired asset. Regensberg is a low-growing shrub, only growing about 2 1/2 feet tall but its flower size and cluster formation are typical of all floribundas. The flowers open white, but are quickly “painted” hot pink by the sun, the catalyst for the color changes. The bud and the partially opened bloom are the most beautiful stages of this rose with every flower a charmingly unique presentation of its bicolor petals.
I grow two plants of Regensberg in the front of the flower bed with other low growing perennials (such as Candytuft and Crystal Blue Lobelia) surrounding them. The bushes get some afternoon shade so that I can enjoy a more “painted” look. The dark, glossy foliage is extremely disease resistant and is often hidden by a mass of flowers.
For those who would like to enjoy Regensberg with all its lovely and unique characteristics but have limited space or problems bending I suggest planting three or four bushes in a half whiskey barrel with Candytuft or White Alyssum all around the edge.
The very center of the barrel could be filled with three of the spiked Blue Salvia. This barrel of complimentary colors and sizes would dress up the corner of a wide driveway or stand near the front door to greet visitors.
A little patience is needed while Regensberg gets established (it is slow to start the first year) and to find just the right combination of sun and shade to highlight the “hand-painted” look.
For roses that are very different from what the “Jones’ next door” have and for real unrestrained pleasure both, Playboy and Regensberg can’t be beaten. In the South Bay, Playboy and Regensberg (distributed by Weeks Wholesale Rose Growers) can be found at the Palos Verdes Begonia Farm in Torrance, Park’s Nursery in Long Beach and Ed & Ruth’s Nursery in Hawthorne. Other nurseries that carry Weeks grown roses will have Playboy and Regensberg as well.
