STYLE : GARDENS : Retro Roses

Many of the roses popular during the 1950s were as oversized as the automobiles, some with buds as pointed as the tail fins on a Plymouth. Appropriately enough, Chrysler Imperial is one of the best-known hybrids of the time. It is a gaudy crimson and has five-inch-wide flowers with as many as 50 petals--sort of a luxury rose with all the factory extras.

Today, gardeners are rediscovering Chrysler Imperial and other ‘50s roses, intrigued by their huge blooms and flashy colors--bright yellows and oranges, neon pinks and saturated reds. With names such as Sutter’s Gold, Mojave, Montezuma, Tropicana (shown here), Fashion, Tiffany and Christian Dior, most of the flowers were bred in California and therefore grow very well here. The leading breeders were W. E. Lammerts of Livermore and Herbert Swim of Chino, who alone invented more than 100 varieties, including 22 All-America Rose Selections.

Fifties roses are best planted now and bloom most of the year, producing wave after wave of color. They make great cut flowers and are resistant to many diseases that plague older roses. Unfortunately, they are ungainly looking plants that are better off when placed in a bed of their own. But then, if you had a ’58 Buick with tons of chrome or a ’59 Caddy with fins a mile high, you wouldn’t park it on the street next to other, lesser cars.