Don thinks that ‘Iceberg’ is possibly the best garden rose that has ever been bred. It produces clusters of white, fragrant blooms for most of the year, and its disease resistance is legendary. Although we call it ‘Iceberg’ in Australia, it has different names in other parts of the world. In France it is known as ‘Snow Fairy’ and in Germany it’s known as ‘Snow White’.
Iceberg sports
The good news is that ‘sports’, or mutations of ‘Iceberg’ have been discovered in Tasmania. The original sport was ‘Blushing Pink Iceberg’, which has white flowers blushed with a very delicate pale pink, giving them a hand painted look. This soft pink cultivar produced another sport – a dark pink rose known as ‘Brilliant Pink Iceberg’.
‘Burgundy Iceberg’
If you like dark coloured roses there is a new ‘Iceberg’ rose available with deep, velvet burgundy flowers. ‘Burgundy Iceberg’ is a sport of ‘Brilliant Pink Iceberg’. Like all the other iceberg roses, ‘Burgundy Iceberg’ has a free flowering habit, clusters of fragrant flowers and very good disease resistance.
Further information
‘Burgundy Iceberg’ can be ordered through your local nursery or specialist rose nursery and will be available from May 31. Bare rooted plants and bags will cost approx. $20.