Rosa 'Wekisoblip' WILD BLUE YONDER

Common Name: grandiflora rose 
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Zone: 5 to 9
Height: 4.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to September
Bloom Description: Purple-red with lavender hue
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Butterflies
Other: Thorns

Culture

Best grown in medium moisture, slightly acidic, well-drained garden loams in full sun. Tolerates some light shade, but best flowering and disease resistance generally occur in full sun. Water deeply and regularly (mornings are best). Avoid overhead watering. Good air circulation promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps control foliar diseases. Summer mulch helps retain moisture, keeps roots cool and discourages weeds. Remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. Crowns may need some winter protection in cold winter climates such as the St. Louis area. Remove and destroy diseased leaves from plants, as practicable, and clean up and destroy dead leaves from the ground around the plants both during the growing season and as part of a thorough cleanup during winter (dormant season). Hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses in St. Louis are usually pruned back to 12-18” from the ground in late winter.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Rosa is a genus of about 150 species of deciduous (occasionally evergreen) shrubs and climbers noted for their beautiful, often fragrant, single, semidouble or double flowers which are borne singly or in clusters on often prickly stems clad with 5-9 leaflets often having toothed margins.

Hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses are the classic florist-type roses. Hybrid tea roses have high centers, long stems and usually produce just one terminal flower per shoot. Floribundas produce clusters of flowers and grandifloras produce clusters of high-centered flowers. These roses require regular, severe pruning to maintain size and produce the long-stemmed blooms they are known for.

Genus name comes from the Latin name for rose.

WILD BLUE YONDER is a double-flowered grandiflora that grows as an upright, bushy shrub to 4-5’ tall. Fragrant flowers (to 4.5” across) feature wavy purple-red petals with lavender tones. Flowers bloom in clusters in May with sporadic continued bloom throughout the summer. Semi-glossy deep green foliage. U.S. Plant Patent Applied For (PPAF). 2006 AARS winner. Carruth 2006.

Problems

Roses are susceptible to a large number of diseases, the most common of which are black spot, powdery mildew, rust and rose rosette. Although good cultural practices are the first line of defense in disease control, regular preventative fungicide applications throughout the growing season are usually required, particularly in humid climates with regular rainfall such as the St. Louis area. Potential insect problems include aphids, beetles, borers, scale, thrips, rose midges, leafhoppers and spider mites. Local rose associations and extension services are usually able to offer specific recommendations and advice for selecting and growing roses.

WILD BLUE YONDER reportedly has good disease resistance to major rose diseases.

Uses

Grow as an accent or in small groups in borders, foundations, cottage gardens or rose gardens.

May be grown as a hedge.