Roses are the undisputed divas of the horticultural world. With over a dozen varieties launched each year, Martyn Cox looks at this national floral obsession.

In this article

The early days 21st century blooms

The ultimate quest The rose hall of fame

When bright red rose 'Super Star' was unveiled at the Chelsea Flower Show in the early 1960s it was an overnight sensation. Nobody had seen such a unique colour before and it quickly became a must-have plant.

Flamboyant rosarian Harry Wheatcroft was the breeder behind the plant. Instrumental in giving roses mass appeal in the post-war period he launched a raft of best-sellers. Another of his famous blooms, 'Fragrant Cloud' was so strongly perfumed that he'd tantalise show-goers by putting a single flower in a glass and hiding it under a black cloth. Visitors to Wheatcroft's stand weren't allowed to see the flowers, but were invited to breathe in their intoxicating scent.

Today the launch of a new rose is a big part of the show season and UK growers release about 70 varieties every year. Among recent success stories are dark purple 'Rhapsody in Blue' and rich brown 'Hot Chocolate'. But the most popular is 'Sweet Dreams', launched by Fryer's Roses in 1988. Over 4.5 million plants have been sold, making it the best-selling British rose ever.

Although many varieties are launched each year, even more are consigned to history because of poor sales. The 2006 issue of Find that Rose, an annual guide to who grows what, lists 106 taken off the market since last year. According to growers, some roses only have a shelf-life of five years and fail to sell because of poor resistance to pests and diseases, or because they've been superseded by another variety.

Even the name of a rose can sometimes lead to disappointing sales and canny growers aim to find titles that have a wide appeal. David Austin Roses launches about six new plants every year and its technical manager Michael Marriott says, "The name is crucial and we spend a lot of time thinking about it." He explains that the company is often asked to dedicate a rose to a person or institution. Sometimes the names can be inappropriate. "This year we were approached by the Horniman Museum in London to mark the centenary of the death of its founder, Frederick Horniman, who was a Victorian tea trader. "We liked the idea, but not the name. So in the end we decided to call it 'Tea Clipper'."

The selection process is rigourous, with only one in 250,000 new varieties ever making it to market. Even then each new variety may be up to eight years in development before it is eventually launched. It's a lot of effort, so what is the holy grail for rose breeders? Michael Marriott wants no less than perfection: Our roses should have everything, fragrance, wonderful flowers, reliability and good resistance to pests and diseases. For breeder Robert Harkness it's, to make maintenance-free roses that grow without a fuss. We're trying to make the gardener's job easier.

Many breeders want to replace long-established varieties. Gareth Fryer says a fantastic red rose is needed to oust best-selling 'Ingrid Bergman' and a new yellow climber would be welcome to supersede 'Golden Showers'. "It's been popular for about 70 years, but it's average really," he says. But what breeders don't want to see is a black rose. "It would be a novelty for a while, but most people aren't keen on seeing it. If it arrives it will be from genetic fiddling," says Amanda Beales at Peter Beales Roses.

With the show season upon us, rose breeders will be hoping to grab our attention with their new varieties. Amanda is confident that its star launch for Chelsea, which can't be named until the show, will fly off the shelves and still be around in five years time. "It's got perfume, blowsy carmine flowers and pear-shaped hips. It does everything we're looking for," she says proudly. "I think it will become a classic."

• 'Peace' - creamy yellow, arguably the best known rose ever.
• 'Rhapsody in Blue' - dark purple, fading to slate. A real colour break.
• 'Sweet Dreams' - double, peach coloured flowers. The best-selling British rose.
• 'Golden Showers' - the best yellow climber.
• 'Allgold' - well loved rose with clusters of golden yellow flowers.
• 'Ingrid Bergman' - best-selling red.
• 'Constance Spry' - named for a famous florist it has blowsy pink flowers.
• 'Flower Carpet' - groundcover rose with deep pink flowers.
• 'Iceberg' - loads of pure white flowers.
• 'New Dawn' - scented pink flowers. It was bred in the 1930s, but is probably still the best rambler.
• The County Series of roses - a series of roses named after individual counties. All are floriferous and easy to look after.