The Pink Rose Study!
We’ve had many requests for a pink rose study, one with a focus on medium pinks that are not too blush pink nor too hot pink. Here we have a nice collection of 11 medium pink roses, hopefully you find something just right for your needs!
All 11 varieties were provided by Denver, Colorado based Amato Wholesale. Thank you team Amatos for these beautiful roses!!
Geraldine
Vase Life: 10-12 Days
Width when open: 2.5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: So few thorns and leaves on this variety that I was able to clean them with my hands, no knives or thorn stripper. However, be careful when cleaning as the flowers can pop off at the neck.
The blooms did not budge much during the almost two weeks I watched them. How they look when unwrapped is pretty much how they stayed, perhaps a tad bit of unfurling of petals.
The pink has this touch of dusty pink to it, would work just fine if they look you are going for has an antique feel.
Hermosa
Vase Life: 9-10 Days
Width when open: 2.5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Lots of leaves to remove during processing, but thankfully not a lot of thorns. I found I needed to remove a lot of the guard petals on Hermosa.
I liked Hermosa because it added a punch of color to the range of these pinks, it would work great in arrangements to add a splash of richer, darker pink.
Overall, I felt it’s shape and size is very closely related to Geraldine, it also doesn’t open much after many days in a vase.
Jessica
Vase Life: 10-11 Days
Width when open: 2.75-3″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: I found it necessary to remove all the guard petals on this variety, they were bruised and not pretty. Once given some time to open this rose had a very pretty shape. I liked that it kept this sweet and pretty rose shape with slightly pointed petals, it would look great mixed with other varieties and offer its own unique shape. Plus, this is a true pink. Would be great for both bridal work and arrangements.
If I were to call up the wholesaler and request that they pull a medium pink rose for me, this is the rose I hope they do pull!
Mother Of Pearl
Vase Life: 8-10 Days
Width when open: 3 – almost 4″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Opens up into a large bloom. I found this variety to be very interesting to watch as it matured. First, there are 25 stems in the bunch and I noticed each bloom was a slightly different color! This is great if you like to have variety and texture in your designs or if you are going for an antique look. This would not be the rose for your project if you desire all the flowers to be exact.
The outer petals are pink and then can fade to latte or lavender inside the center.
If you happen to like the Koko Loko rose seen in many rose gardens then you’d probably like Mother Of Pearl, it has that same essence of coloring and feel in the shape it blooms into.
Nena
Vase Life: 10-12 Days
Width when open: 1.5-2″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Cutie! Yes, it’s a cute rose. Petite enough that it could be used for a boutonniere. Plus, it doesn’t bloom open which is another reason it makes a good boutonniere. The outer petals are white and has a pink center.
Novia
Vase Life: 8-10 Days
Width when open: 2-3″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: During processing I noticed the stems were very strong and few thorns, very easy to clean. It has a light, sweet scent. The blooms are a good size and would be great for arrangements and centerpieces. The outer petals are very light and the center is a sweet pink.
A thought on Novia, it is a good size and shape for centerpieces, but I wouldn’t personally use it for bridal party bouquets, the blooms aren’t refined enough or offer an interesting enough shape to be set in bouquets.
As the rose aged I did pull off a lot of the outer petals as they were browning.
Pink Mondial
Vase Life: 9 Days
Width when open: 2-3″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Strong stems and few thorns to clean while processing. I had heard that Pink Mondial opens up huge, yet, I found this bunch of blooms didn’t budge much – a few of the blooms opened to a max of 3″ wide.
It has a bit of that dusty, antique look and would mix well with Geraldine.
Sexy Pink
Vase Life: 10-11 Days
Width when open: 4-5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: The stems are softer than the other varieties, use a gentler hand when processing. This rose had the best scent in the group!
By day two the rose was bloomed fully open. This did concern me at first as I wondered if opening that quickly would translate to a short vase life, thankfully that did not happen. Day 9 and maybe 2 stems had wilted down. The rose is gorgeous with hints of pinks, peaches, and cream. It has a very garden rose full petaled look to it and would be beautiful in bridal bouquets and centerpieces. The blooms are a nice, full size.
Sophie
Vase Life: 9-10 Days
Width when open: 3.5-4.5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Have your rose stripper at the handy, lots of thorns on this one.
A large, full bloom that is perfect for centerpieces as it takes up a lot of real estate in the arrangement. A great, solid pink color and very consistent coloring on all 25 blooms. This one can take a full day or two outside of the cooler to open up prior to using in wedding arrangements.
Sweet Akito
Vase Life: 10 Days
Width when open: 2.5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Get your rose strippers out, this one has a lot of painful thorns to clean off!!
I had expected this bloom to be smaller that it actually was, I thought it would be a good one for boutonnieres. Turns out it is much bigger than expected. Would work well in bridal and bridesmaids’ bouquets, a medium sized bloom. As you can see in the photo at the top of this post where it is grouped with 4 varieties, it is actually larger than Titanic.
Titanic
Vase Life: 10 Days
Width when open: 2-2.5″
Bunch Size: 25 Stems
Origin: South America
Details: Easy to process because there are not a lot of leaves or thorns, but the stems are soft so be sure to handle with a gentle hand. A good, trusty medium pink. This rose did not open up much during the time I watched it, I thought it might unfurl more, but did not. A good size bloom for bouquets or smaller centerpieces.
Details about all the roses in this study:
-The Roses were never placed in the cooler once I received them!
-The Roses were set out in the house for the course of the rose study.
-I did not use quick dip, flower food or crowning glory, or any other “helpers”. Just freshly cut stems placed in clear water.
A HUGE THANK YOU to Amato Wholesale for providing all of these roses for the Pink Rose Study.
http://www.amatodenver.com
Amato Wholesale Florist, Inc., 6601 Downing Street, Denver CO 80229 | Tel: 303-287-3329
Check out the videos:
Day 4 of The Rose Study:
Day 9 of The Rose Study:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Photographs in this post are by Alicia Schwede
This blog first appeared on Flirty Fleurs
Beautiful study once again Alicia! I use your rose studies so often when trying to find that just right shade. Thanks for all the work you put into these!
Thank yo so much for this! We need more of this type of information to help florists make decisions regarding what roses to use to avoid disastrous situations. Now that I am retired, I would love to help with these studies.
We have found Titanic to bruise easily. Jessika is a much hardier baby pink rose. Pink Mondial opens very big for us… We sell it as a garden rose as it’s pricier than regular pinks. Hermosa is big, beautiful salmon pink but doesn’t open, remains only half bloom. Mother of Pearl strong rose opens well, very pale and looks antique but customers sometimes return it looking for traditional baby pink upon which we give Jessika.
Other great pinks:. Do try Pink Impressions: it’s millenial pink and opens big and Engagement:peachy/pink and opens very big.
Great work and very informative. Love your blog and feed. More power!!!