Rosa Zephirine Drouhin

Richly colorful and blessed with an intoxicating, strong raspberry scent, Zephirine Drouhin offers a tasty cocktail of vivid pink and liberating aroma. After taking in the charisma and romance, you'll quickly want to order another.

Introduced in France during the reign of Napoleon III, Zephirine Drouhin remains one of the world's most popular climbing roses. Blooming prolifically in the spring and fall, with reddish-pink, 4-inch flowers composed of as many as 30 densely colored petals producing Bourbon-like fragrance, it remains a strong performer with remarkable stamina.

The relaxed, semi-double blooms create an almost overwhelming sensory experience during spring and fall flushes. The foliage, a metallic purple when young, provides a dark-green complement to the deep pink blooms. The vigorous climber, which grows well in little sunlight, can reach 20 feet and can grow to 6 feet wide.

An outstanding choice for a trellis or porch, Zephirine Drouhin also can be trimmed into a formal hedge. Don't worry about baseballs or flying disks under the bushes or clumsy missteps -- these canes have no thorns that could leave a nasty scratch.

Flourishing best in moist, well-drained, loamy soil, this proven favorite thrives in a wide variety of other climates, too. For performance and stamina, it maintains it remains among the climbing elite.

Bareroot or Container?

Have you browsed through your favorite gardening catalog or website looking for the newest roses to plant in your garden and wondered whether it would be best to choose bareroot roses or those in nursery pots? Or does it matter? If you’re like most rose gardeners, this question has come up at one point or another. And we want to help you find the answer as to what’s the best for you and your garden.

Bareroot

Bareroot roses are an inexpensive and easy option for early-season planting. In fact, late winter is the best time to plant. Bareroot roses meet the highest industry standards. They arrive dormant, which makes them ideal for planting. The roots get to acclimate to native soil, as opposed to the packaged soil. And of course, since they aren't in soil when you get them, there’s no mess to contend with.

Bareroot roses may look dead, with their brown roots and dormant stem, but plants that arrive this way actually have the advantage of being able to focus their energies on strong root development rather than having to support an extensive growth of leaves during planting, which is very stressful.

You can plant your bareroot roses earlier in the growing season as well, since there aren't any leaves to get nipped back by frost. They can typically be planted as early as six weeks before your area’s last frost date in the spring. Since they don’t have to provide water to leaves or flowers, they usually establish quickly.

Container

Container roses should typically be planted in late spring and fall. They’re easy to plant (all you need is a trowel), and they provide instant gratification, as they aren't dormant and will have buds within a few short weeks, if they don’t when they arrive. They’re also perfect for transplanting into decorative containers and make an attractive gift.

Container roses are usually nicely leafed out, and may even have flowers on them, which is a great way for you to know when you purchase them what they’re going to look and smell like. As you can see, there are advantages to both bareroot or container roses, so whichever you decide is the best for your garden, we feel certain you’ll become a lifelong rose lover, if you aren't already!