I thought I would start a series of topical, informative posts to spark conversation around subjects that many but maybe not all of us are at least vaguely familiar with, can opine upon, and continue to learn about from one another's input. I thought I'd use my copy of "The Companion to Roses" by John Fisher as a sort of "syllabus," if you will, moving through a variety of topics, literally from A to Z. So starting with the A's, let's discuss All-America Rose Selections (AARS), American Garden Rose Selections (AGRS), and Allgemeine Deutsche Rosenneuheitenprüfung (ADR) selections.

AARS was founded in 1938 to provide a trials system leading to a seal of approval for roses of quality that could be grown anywhere in the US (and in comparable climates elsewhere in the world), with a reasonable expectancy of top performance. Thousands of varieties have been tested and fewer than 200 have been chosen as AARS award winners, comprising less than 1% of the known named varieties of roses. Yet these account for a much larger percentage of all rose plants sold annually in the US. The AARS maintained test or demonstration gardens in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

AARS was discontinued after 2013, and was replaced by the "American Garden Rose Selections" program. The AGRS website has a section with roses recommended for certain regions of the US. See https://www.americangardenrose...

.



In Europe, many roses are evaluated by the ADR working group in Germany, considered by some to be the toughest rose selection trial in the world (ADR stands for Allgemeine Deutsche Rosenneuheitenprüfung). Roses are tested over three years and the criteria analyzed include disease resistance, hardiness, attractiveness, and habit. No chemical pesticides have been allowed since 1997. About 50 cultivars are judged annually and more than 2000 cultivars have been tested since the award's creation in the 1950s. Roses that no longer fulfill quality standards have their certificate removed. As of November 2013, 161 cultivars are recognized. (The ADR working group also tests certain roses for seven years, with the winning selections known as Kordes Select.) See http://www.adr-rose.de/englisc...



Do you grow any AARS, AGRS, or ADR award winners (if you have a large selection of roses, you probably do, even if you aren't aware of it)? If so, what's your opinion of them? Which are your favorite? Does the designation play a role in your rose selections? All comments, questions and input are welcome.

Thanks, Mike. Great idea!

Let's see if I can do this off the top of my head.
AARS;
Julia Child
Knock Out
AGRS;
Belinda's Blush
ADR;
I think Grand Amore' is on the list. I'm not sure.
Any, Julia Child is just a great florabunda. Always has blooms on it. Very disease resistant foliage. Knock Out is a great rose with a little care. Repeats quickly and foliage made out of steel. Belinda's Blush is fairly new (2nd year). It is a color sport of Belinda's Dream. It has established itself very quickly and has put out a ton of blooms this year. I like it better then Belinda's Dream. Grand Amore' is a very beautiful red HT. Long canes and very disease resistant foliage. I only have 2 varieties of red HT's in my garden, so yes, I like it a lot.

Those are some fine roses, Ken.

The AARS roses I've grown over the years include:
About Face
Amber Queen (my photo of this took Best in Show in the photography division at the American Rose Society's national convention a few years back)
America
Betty Boop
Brandy
Carefree Wonder
Cherry Parfait
Chrysler Imperial
Cinco de Mayo
Day Breaker
Double Delight
Elle
First Prize
French Lace
Gemini
Glowing Peace
Intrigue
Knock Out
Love and Peace
Marmalade Skies
Memorial Day
Midas Touch
Miss All-American Beauty
Mr. Lincoln
Opening Night
Peace
Queen Elizabeth
Red Gold
Rio Samba
Sentimental
Sheer Bliss
Singin' in the Rain
Wild Blue Yonder

I don't have any AGRS or ADR selections, although I would like to have Inspiration, which was accepted by ADR in 2005. Palatine used to carry it, but is no longer listed on their website.

Looking through the list of AARS winners I see I have had several of them over the years. Most are long gone now though. And I don't recall that any of them were any better than others I've had. Most were HTs and with my cold winters they usually don't last more than a half dozen years before they get killed by a particularly nasty winter. I don't mind. I get to try new ones I've never grown before!

I didn't see any on the AGRS list that I've grown. And I couldn't find the ADR list in English and couldn't figure out the names so I don't know.

Seil, if you follow the link above (http://www.adr-rose.de/englisc...), it will bring you to the ADR English website. Click on the link for ADR Roses, and from the dropdown menu, click on the top link for ADR Roses Search. It will display the full list.

Thanks, Mike! The only one I saw on that list was Crescendo and that was a dud from the day I bought it. Gorgeous healthy potted plant with beautiful blooms, at the nursery. Brought it home and planted it in a prime location. It grew backwards from that moment on until it completely disappeared!

Ones I've had from the AARS list include:
Queen Elizabeth
Tiffany
Garden Party
Mr. Lincoln
Europeana
Gene Boerner
Pascal
Electron
Perfume Delight
Oregold
Double Delight
Cherish
Love
Olympiad
Intrigue
Voodoo
Tournament of Roses
Knockout
Hot Cocoa
Julia Child
Mardi Gras
Easy Does It
The best of the whole bunch is Julia Child!

They're listed in our database. If you search by characteristics for all of the AARS winners, you get this list of results:

https://tinyurl.com/y4pwn9f4

The ADR winners are listed here:

https://tinyurl.com/y683fwmq

There are actually about as many *FORMER* ADR roses as there are on the ADR website's current list. If a rose is found by the board to no longer meet the criteria, it can be removed from the list. Some as recent as a 2009 winner have already been removed. So you may have grown a rose that was an ADR winner *at the time*, but is no longer considered worthy of the award.

Here's a list I've made of past winners that are no longer considered ADR roses, by year of award/name/year of introduction. Please feel free to ignore typos, (and forgive the length. I TOLD you there were a lot), lol.
FORMER ADR WINNERS:
1950 || Elmshorn || Kordes 1951
1950 || Gelbe Holstein || Kordes 1949
1950 || Schweizer Gruß || Tantau 1952
1952 || Atombombe || Kordes 1953
1952 || Flammentanz || Kordes 1955
1952 || Sparrieshoop || Kordes 1952
1954 || Dortmund || Kordes 1955
1954 || Feuermeer || Kordes 1954
1955 || Lampion || Tantau 1957
1956 || Olala || Tantau 1956
1958 || Anneke Doorenbos
1958 || Dirigent || Tantau 1956
1958 || Jydepige || Kordes/O. Bang 1959
1958 || Lagerfeuer || Tantau 1958
1958 || Madame Louis Laperrière || Laperriere/Wohlt 1955
1960 || Fritz Thiedemann || Tantau 1959
1960 || Goldkrone || Kordes 1960
1960 || Gruß an Heidelberg || Kordes 1959
1960 || Hansestadt Bremen || Kordes 1958
1960 || Honigmond || Kordes 1960
1960 || Insel Mainau || Kordes 1959
1960 || Kommodore || Tantau 1959
1960 || Lilli Marleen || Kordes 1959
1960 || Meteor || Kordes 1959
1960 || Parkdirektor Riggers || Kordes 1957
1960 || Praise of Jiro || Kordes 1959
1960 || Rodeo || Kordes 1960
1960 || Schneewittchen/Iceberg (worldwide) || Kordes 1958
1960 || Signalfeuer || Tantau 1959
1960 || Stadt Rosenheim || Kordes 1961
1963 || Goldtopas || Kordes 1963
1963 || Gruß an Koblenz || Kordes 1963
1964 || Attraktion || Tantau 1963
1964 || Duftwolke || Tantau 1963
1964 || Finale || Kordes 1964
1964 || Gruß an Berlin || Kordes 1964
1964 || Horrido || Tantau 1963
1964 || Inge Horstmann || Tantau 1964
1964 || Königin der Rosen || Kordes 1964
1964 || Mainzer Fastnacht || Tantau 1964
1964 || Marlena || Kordes 1964
1964 || Neues Europa || Kordes 1965
1964 || Nordstern || Schmidt/Kordes 1964
1964 || Reinolds Reingold || Nolte/Reinold 1967
1965 || Andenken an Rudolf Schmidt || Kordes/Schmidt 1966
1965 || Fidelio || Meilland/BKN 1964
1965 || Geisha || Tantau 1964
1965 || Maria Callas || Meilland/BKN 1965
1965 || Molde || Tantau 1964
1965 || My Fair Lady || Kordes/Horstmann 1964
1965 || Silva || Meilland/BKN 1964
1965 || Sympathie || Kordes 1964
1965 || Wiener Walzer || Tantau 1964
1966 || Carina || Meilland/BKN 1963
1966 || Konfetti || Tantau 1965
1966 || Mainauperle || Kordes 1969
1966 || Pariser Charme || Tantau 1965
1966 || Sangria || Meilland/BKN 1966
1966 || Travemünde || Kordes 1968
1967 || Caramba || Tantau 1966
1967 || John Dijkstra || Buisman/Tantau 1965
1967 || Nordkap || Schmidt 1966
1967 || Sahara || Tantau 1966
1967 || Shannon || McGredy/Kordes 1965
1967 || Späth 250 || Kordes 1970
1968 || Bischofsstadt Paderborn || Kordes 1964
1968 || Ferry Porsche || Kordes 1971
1968 || Lichtkönigin Lucia || Kordes 1966
1969 || Erotica || Tantau 1968
1969 || Lustige || Kordes 1973
1969 || Neue Revue || Kordes 1969
1969 || Sophia Loren || Tantau 1967
1969 || Susan || Kordes 1970
1969 || Taora || Tantau 1968
1970 || Aenne Burda || Kordes 1973
1970 || Charivari || Kordes 1971
1970 || Edelweiß || Poulsen 1969
1970 || Herzog von Windsor || Tantau 1969
1970 || Walzertraum || Tantau 1969
1971 || Alexandra || Kordes 1973
1971 || Baronne Edmond de Rothschild || Meilland/BKN 1969
1971 || Fontaine || Tantau 1969
1971 || Gütersloh || Noack 1969
1971 || Ponderosa || Kordes 1970
1971 || Princess Margaret of England || Meilland/BKN 1968
1971 || Prominent || Kordes 1971
1971 || Starina || Meilland/BKN 1965
1972 || Benvenuto || Meilland/BKN 1967
1972 || Gertrud Schweitzer || Kordes/Horstmann 1973
1972 || Hartina || Tantau/Ahrens+Sieberz 1971
1972 || Pussta || Tantau 1972
1972 || Rebecca || Tantau 1970
1972 || Schloss Mannheim || Kordes 1975
1972 || Tornado || Kordes 1973
1972 || Uwe Seeler || Kordes 1971
1973 || Alec's Red || Cocker/Rosen-Union 1970
1973 || Escapade || Harkness/Rosen-Union 1969
1973 || Friesia /Sunsprite (USA) || Kordes 1973
1973 || Gruß an Bayern || Kordes 1971
1973 || Lolita || Kordes 1972
1973 || Ludwigshafen am Rhein || Kordes 1975
1973 || Melina || Tantau 1973
1974 || Alexander || Harkness/Rosen-Union 1972
1974 || Florentina || Kordes 1973
1974 || Montana || Tantau 1974
1974 || Westerland || Kordes 1969
1975 || Amsterdam || Verschuren/Wohlt 1973
1975 || Dalli Dalli || Tantau 1977
1975 || Freude || Kordes 1974
1975 || Happy Wanderer || McGredy/Rosen-Union 1974
1975 || Morning Jewel || Cocker/Rosen-Union 1968
1976 || Andalusien || Kordes 1977
1976 || Compassion || Harkness/Rosen-Union 1974
1976 || Matangi || McGredy/Kordes 1975
1977 || Chorus || Meilland/BKN 1975
1977 || Grandhotel || McGredy/Kordes 1975
1977 || Schneeweißchen || Tantau/Horstmann 1992
1977 || Sylvia || Kordes 1978
1978 || Coppélia '76 || Meilland/BKN 1976
1978 || Mildred Scheel || Tantau 1976
1978 || Yesterday || Harkness/Rosen-Union 1974
1979 || La Sevillana || Meilland/BKN 1978
1980 || Red Yesterday/Marjorie Fair (UK, USA) || Harkness/Rosen-Union 1978
1980 || Robusta || Kordes 1979
1982 || Aachener Dom || Meilland/BKN 1982
1982 || Angela || Kordes 1984
1982 || Bonica 82 || Meilland/BKN 1982
1982 || IGA 83 München || Meilland/BKN 1982
1984 || Bonanza || Kordes 1983
1984 || Rosenresli || Kordes 1986
1985 || Banzai 83 || Meilland/BKN 1983
1985 || Goldener Sommer '83 || Noack 1983
1986 || Berolina /Selfridges (UK) || Kordes 1986
1986 || Pink La Sevillana || Meilland/BKN 1984
1986 || Ravensberg || Noack 1986
1986 || Repandia || Kordes 1982
1986 || Romanze || Tantau 1984
1987 || Dolly || Poulsen/Rosen-Union 1975
1987 || Elina/Peaudouce (UK) || Dickson/Rosen-Union 1984
1987 || Lavender Dream || Ilsink/Kordes
1987 || Pink Meidiland || Meilland/BKN
1987 || Sommerwind /Surrey (UK) || Kordes 1985
1988 || Rödinghausen || Noack 1987
1989 || Burghausen || Kordes 1991
1989 || Marondo || Kordes 1991
1989 || Play Rose || Meilland/BKN 1989
1989 || Ricarda || Noack 1989
1989 || Vogelpark Walsrode || Kordes
1991 || Richard Strauss || Noack
1992 || Rosa rugosa 'Pierette' || Uhl/Tantau 1990
1993 || Georgette || Kordes 1995
1993 || Hagenbecks Tierpark || Meilland/BKN
1993 || Mazurka || Meilland/BKN
1993 || Rosa rugosa 'Foxi' || Uhl/Tantau 1989
1993 || Schneesturm || Tantau 1990
1993 || Vicky || Noack 1993
1994 || Blühwunder || Kordes
1994 || Rosa rugosa 'Baums Rokoko' || Baum 1987
1994 || Rosa rugosa 'Rotes Meer' || Baum 1983
1995 || Hannovers Weiße || Noack 1997
1995 || Melissa || Noack 1996
1995 || Northern Lights || Noack 1997
1996 || Crimson Meidiland || Meilland/BKN 1996
1996 || Queen Mother || Kordes 1998
1997 || Arcadia || Noack 1998
1997 || Danica || Noack 1998
1998 || Estima || Noack 1998
1998 || Rosa rugosa 'Rote Apart' || Uhl 1978
2001 || Famosa || Noack 2003
2002 || Leona || Noack 2003
2002 || Triade || Noack 2003
2003 || Rosa rugosa 'Pink Road Runner' || Uhl/Kordes
2003 || Rosa rugosa 'Smart Roadrunner' || Uhl/Kordes
2004 || Pink Meilove || Meilland/BKN 2006
2004 || Tascaria || Noack 2005
2005 || Soft Meidiland || Meilland/BKN 2004
2005 || Sweet Meidiland || Meilland/BKN 2003
2006 || Criollo || Noack 2004
2006 || Rosa rugosa 'Rote Hannover' || Boot/Rosen-Union 1998
2009 || Salmon Meilove || Meilland/BKN 2009
2009 || Smooth Meidiland || Meilland/BKN 2007

AARS -
cherry parfait
chrysler imperial (2)
cinco de mayo
electron (2)
golden showers
julia child
queen elizabeth
scentimental
tropicana
bonica (2)
easy does it
mister lincoln
double delight (2)
tournament of roses (2)
brigadoon
sunset celebration
betty boop
hot cocoa
peace (3)
paradise
gemini
st. patrick
brass band (2)
midas touch
singinin the rain

AGRS -
lady of shallot
munstead wood
tequila supreme (2)

ADR-
gebruder grimm (2)
eliza
rotar korsar (2)
Planten un Blomen
pomponella (2)
laguna - removed last year - I no longer like pruning on a 12 foot ladder or hanging out a 2 story window with loppers. It is a stunning healthy rose.
garden of roses (2)
novalis (2)
grafin diana (2)
sunny sky - removed this year - did not bloom often enough to take up valuable real estate.

****the ADR's listed above did not get blackspot in my garden. Note: most of the ADR's I have listed are Kordes roses. The AARS roses listed above DID get blackspot to some degree.

Looking over the AARS list, I found 3 more that I currently grow.
Charisma
Gemini
Touch of Class
Charisma is a good garden full of color Florabunda. Beautiful yellow, orange, red blend blooms in small sprays. Gemini is a great HT. Beautiful blooms, nice foliage and a nice bush. I have always had at least one in every garden I have had since it was introduced. Touch of Class is another great HT. Everything I said about Gemini go for Touch of Class. For me, a rose that has stood the test of time.
There were a LOT of roses on the list I have grown at one time but for one reason or another I no longer grow.

John, thanks for posting the former ADR rose selections that have since had their designation removed. I grow Westerland, and didn't know that it had been an ADR selection at one time.

You're welcome, Mike. I actually should thank YOU, since you gave me an excuse to share it. I compiled it ages ago, and I can't swear it's complete. But at least now someone might get some use out of it. It wasn't doing anyone any good sitting on my hard drive, but I'd never really seen a reason to share it. It's nothing that anyone couldn't find on their own, but it's amazing what you'll do at 3am when you're bored and chasing rabbits through the google maze, lol.

More on topic, I've grown several of the no-longer-ADR-roses, and still have:
Iceberg
Dortmond (on its last legs, unfortunately. It's only 40 years old, hehe)
Bonica

Had but now gone:
La Sevillana (martyr to BS)
Robusta (ouch! oooch!)
Westerland (too orange for me, so I now have Autumn Sunset, its sport)
Sparriehoop (RIP from RRV).

Of the current ADR roses, I have:
Pomponella Fairy Tale
Jasmina
Karl Ploberger (the ONLY rose I've bought from Heirloom since the price hike...and probably the last).

As for AARS winners, over the last 40 years I've grown too many to list, lol. Just assume I've grown about 90% of them. Most of them were duds, health-wise. Some were real beauties and at the time I thought they were worth the effort to spray for BS. The keepers even today in my mostly no-spray garden would be:

Bonica (also ADR, see above)
Carefree Wonder
Easy Does It
Tiffany (get it if you like pink. There's no better pink HT even today)

Some AARS winners that I've grown that I WISH I could grow no-spray are:
Brass Band
French Lace
Intrigue
Medallion
Peace

If someone could inject BS resistance into those five roses, I think they might (with the addition of Tiffany!) be the only modern roses I'd grow. They're THAT beautiful.

I did another search by characteristics, searching for the AARS winners on my plant lists, and found that I'm currently growing or have grown 117 of the 200.

https://tinyurl.com/y2o2kzxe

No point in trying to draw any definitive conclusions from such a large group, but I can say that they all have grown well for me, with the exception of a few I could only buy own-root. They are California, Fashion, Jiminy Cricket, Portrait, Tally-Ho, and Vogue. Those six are weak and frail, but they may have grown well if they had been grafted. As for their resistance to black spot, only one of the 117 (Rainbow Sorbet) has never exhibited any black spot in my no-spray garden.

Zuzu, I figured you would have grown most of them!

John, I agree with your assessment of French Lace. I loved that rose; in fact, I grew two of them. But they were very susceptible to black spot in my garden. When I moved six years ago, I didn't take them with me, but oh, how I loved their bloom form.

Intrigue was one of the first roses I grew, and it did well for the first year or two but slowly declined.

As for Peace, it's done well in my garden.

I don't use spray insecticides, but I do use spray fungicides. Otherwise, I'd have to plant something other than roses.

Mike,
French Lace and Peace are two of the most beautiful modern roses ever bred in my opinion. It's not just their form, but a combination of form, color and subtle shadings. They definitely have the "It" factor. Of course most everyone would agree that Peace is lovely. It's a classic for a reason, and probably influenced rose breeding and hybrid tea genetics more than any other modern rose. But French Lace was never as well known, and quickly fell out of favor because even with a spray program it tended to dwindle away. I tried it three different times. Each time it just...went away. In California, I suspect it would be a marvel, but anywhere there's humidity and even a hint of blackspot pressure French Lace is going to languish, unfortunately. I've been waiting (impatiently...I'm getting older, faster!) for a *healthy* look-alike of French Lace to appear, but of the few hopefuls I've grown, none really match the ethereal beauty of the real thing. I'm hoping Ping Lim will come up with something, eventually, though most of his roses tend to be bright colors. But he breeds for health, and every one of his roses that I have are workhorses. If he could couple the subtlety of French Lace to the health of his Kasmir...Whoa!
Hope springs eternal...

John, well said! Here are a few blooms from years past, drawn from different members who have contributed to our database of photographs...

Mike, the two top photos are exactly how I remember my French Lace...for the first year or two, lol. Calif_Sue's pic is proof of my guess that it would be wonderful in CA. It makes me almost want to try again, but I know it would just be a temporary "fix" for my habit. Here in BS heaven, it's just not meant to be.

Ah some really great roses and info. Looking for one that has a fragrance and can make it in zones 5-6 here in southwestern PA. The only one I have which is not AAR is Hansa a tough as nails rugosa. But I would really like to grow some tea roses.

Gary, I think you mean hybrid tea roses. Hybrid tea and real "tea" roses are two different classes. Real tea roses are warm climate roses only. They will not survive our cold climates. They will do fine to about zone 8 and, maybe with good winter protection, to zone 7. I have tried to grow them in my zone 6 several times with extreme winter protection and they still die over the winter. However, many hybrid teas will make it through our winters with good protection. It all depends on the variety.