Was it Shakespeare who said, “A rose by any other name will not sell as well”? Regardless, even beautiful, hardy rose varieties need a catchy moniker. “A bad name can kill a good rose,” says Tom Carruth, the legendary hybridizer who personally created the Julia Child, Betty Boop, and George Burns roses.
Lending new flowers the names of famous people is a clever approach for hybridizers and rose sellers. Recipients of this very special honor range from Nancy Reagan to Santa Claus, from Bob Hope to Liv Tyler. But growers must get the permission of the celebrity, or his or her estate. Some simply agree, while others, like Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey, insist on being involved in selecting the rose. Most namesake roses pay tribute. Take, for example, the beautiful reddish-orange Reba McEntire rose that complements the country singer’s red hair, or the butter-colored, licorice-scented rose that bears chef Julia Child’s name.
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The Betty Boop floribunda rose is known for its red and white coloring and fruity fragrance. Bred by legendary hybridizer Tom Carruth, it won an All-America Rose Selections award in 1999. The cartoon coquette would approve.
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Like the actress Elizabeth Taylor, the Elizabeth Taylor hybrid tea rose is a stunner--bright pink, large-flowered, and fragrant.
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The George Burns floribunda was bred by Tom Carruth in 1996. It's unique for its color cluster. Say "what a flower," Gracie!
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The white John F. Kennedy hybrid tea rose was introduced in 1965, just two years after the president was killed.
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The namesake rose of red-headed country star Reba McEntire is a reddish-orange grandiflora.
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The floribunda rose named after chef Julia Child is, appropriately, the color of butter and has a scent of licorice. She hand-picked it to bear her name. It was bred by Tom Carruth and won the All-America Rose Selections award in 2006.
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This Leonardo da Vinci floribunda rose, named after the painter and inventor, is a climber--reaching heights of up to eight feet.
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The deep yellow Henry Fonda hybrid tea rose was first introduced in the United States in 1996.
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The medium pink Queen Elizabeth rose was bred in 1954, two years after the young Queen began her reign in England. It won the All-America Rose Selections award in 1955.
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The Cary Grant rose is as handsome as the late film star. The hybrid tea rose blooms orange and gives off a spice fragrance.
The variety of roses available today is almost limitless, thanks to hybridizers like Carruth, who has also bred roses called Scentsational and Fourth of July. Carruth is the board president of All-America Rose Selections, an organization that hands out the rose industry’s top awards. He himself is one of the more prolific hybridizers in the world and a 10-time winner of what some call “the Oscars of roses.” Take that Marlon Brando.
Sure, it takes ten years and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars to develop a new breed, but the results are worth it, according to Carruth. “The sweetest moment is to drive through a neighborhood and see one of your kids in somebody’s yard.”
For the last 20 years, Carruth, who has a master’s degree in plant breeding, has been a full-time breeder for Weeks Roses. He talks about bloodlines as if he were a Kentucky Derby horse trainer. Every year, Carruth’s team at Weeks pollinates 50,000 flowers to get 250,000 seeds. Years of development and seasons of planting later, maybe four legitimate new varieties will be produced from that batch. “The hard part is the first ten years,” Carruth jokes.
In the sixth year, roses are put in the national All-America Rose Selections trials, in which the hybrid is planted across the country and judged by landscapers, park directors, rosarians, and horticulturalists. Winners are announced in year eight and can be grown for distribution by year 10. Award-winners are licensed much the same way other patented products are and collect a royalty fee.
The goal, Carruth says, is more than just a prettier flower. Hybridizers also focus on producing roses that are hardier, more fragrant, and more disease-resistant than the varieties on the market. A personal quest for Carruth is to create a rose that requires virtually no care. “In my mind that’s what will change people’s minds, make more people grow roses. Roses should be a part of everybody’s life,” he says. It is, after all, the national flower.
