Opening Night Hybrid Tea Rose

All-America Rose Selections (AARS) Winner 1998

Welcome to the premiere of one of the most exciting hybrid tea roses to come along in decades. When awarded in 1998, it was the first true red hybrid tea to win an All-America Rose Selections award in 14 years. Opening Night is beautifully formed and large flowered, as formal and elegant in bud as it is in full blossom, with rich red coloring banked by glossy, deep green foliage. Long-lasting in garden or vase, this is a rose for your most special occasions.

From the moment these high-centered, pointed buds begin to appear, you know you're in for a special performance. They gradually unfurl to reveal 25 to 30 petals, with a subtly sweet fragrance and color to spare. The blooms are 4 inches across when fully open and keep their shape nicely over a long time.

Opening Night is adaptable and easy to grow in a wide range of climates and soils. It is quite heat tolerant and vigorous, reaching 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, with lush leaves that keep it handsome from early spring through fall. Space plants about 3 feet apart in sunny, well-drained soil, and feed well during the growth season. You will be regaled with magnificent color in return.

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.