Rosa Midas Touch

All-America Rose Selections (AARS) Winner 1994

Even if you don't share our love for yellow roses, how can you resist the positively neon-bright golden blooms of cheery, easy-as-pie Midas Touch? So weather resistant you'll wonder if it's really a rose, this hybrid tea holds its color proudly, even in hot weather, and releases a pleasant, Musk fragrance into the summer air. What a delight!

The fully double, beautifully formed 3- to 4-inch blooms, comprised of 17 to 25 petals, are very long-lived in the vase, too. They have a nice design detail: the outermost petal tips are softly recurved, creating a point in the center of each petal. No wonder this 1992 introduction promptly won recognition from the All-American Rose Selections (AARS) in 1994.

If you are prey to bad weather (and who isn't?), this is the shrub to grow! Very weather resistant, this vigorous plant reaches 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and wide, with fresh, disease-resistant foliage that keeps the garden looking healthy. All this and gorgeous color, too! It doesn't get much better than this.

It should be pruned in the spring, to half height or 18-20 inches above the ground, with the removal of old canes and dead wood. Cut back canes that cross each other. Gardeners in warmer climates will want to cut the remaining canes by one-third, while those in colder climates will probably need to trim it a bit more.