Hot Cocoa™ Floribunda Rose

This rose is so uniquely colored that we may just have to invent a new name for the color of its lusciously ruffled blooms. A chocolate-brown infused with smoke and hints of purple . . . or perhaps a russet-influenced brick-red . . . There is no way to do justice to these sweetly fragrant, freely borne blossoms. Hot Cocoa™ is a 2000 All-America Rose Selection winner, and one glance will tell you why.

The flowers are 3½ inches wide, packed with petals and boasting merrily ruffled edges that add depth to their show. They arise from long, pinpoint buds of a deep rust color (glamorous enough all by themselves.) all over this floribunda shrub. The flowering begins in late spring and continues until fall, with bright green foliage framing the rich blossoms. Very vigorous and resistant to disease, Hot Cocoa™ would be a super garden presence even if its blooms weren't so spectacular. As it is, though, this is an entirely new color breakthrough that you won't want to miss enjoying in your own border, rose garden, or perennial bed.

Hot Cocoa™ reaches 3½ to 4 feet tall and 4½ feet wide, and demonstrates a great cold hardiness northern gardeners will appreciate (yet also thrives through zone 9 in the South). The flowers are exquisite in the garden and vase. And if you're ready to start exhibiting your Roses, why not begin with a flourish with this showstopper?

Space shrubs 3 feet apart in moist, well-enriched soil receiving full sun.