Skagit Horticulture adds Brindabella Roses

Suntory Flowers has licensed rose and perennial powerhouse Skagit Horticulture of Mount Vernon, Washington, to produce Brindabella Roses. In addition to expanding supply geographically, this will be the first time Brindabella is offered to the North American market as bare root. Plants will be available in 72-cell liners and bare root forms through an exclusive distribution partnership with McHutchison and Vaughan’s Horticulture.

“This is a proven series that is gaining significant traction in the industry,” says Pamela Straub, vendor program manager for McHutchison and Vaughan’s Horticulture. “Brindabella is a landscape shrub rose that looks and smells like a rose. It’s extremely fragrant and highly disease resistant. This is a strong addition to any shrub rose program and we’re excited to offer it.”

Skagit Horticulture evaluated Brindabella Roses in field production and was pleased with the results. “Having both liners and bare root availability will expand access to more growers across the country as public demand builds,” says Scott Crownover, Skagit Horticulture president and CEO. “We’re excited to partner with Suntory Flowers, McHutchison and Vaughan’s Horticulture for this exciting rose introduction.”

Brindabella Roses debuted in North America in 2018 through a partnership between Suntory Flowers, Sun-Fire Nurseries and Dig Plant Company, which represents the breeders, John and Sylvia Gray in Australia.

According to the company, Brindabella Roses are bred for form, function and fragrance — large, fully-petaled flowers; dense, bushy growth habit; and disease resistance to black spot and powdery mildew. The roses have demonstrated winter hardiness. Brindabella Purple Prince has earned two awards for landscape performance from national rose trialing organizations:

• Local Artist Award from American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S) for performance in the Upper Midwest and Northeast.

• Regional Choice Award and Fragrance Award from American Garden Rose Selections (AGRS), with winning scores in the Northeast, South Central and Southwest regions.

Adding a rose specialist like Skagit Horticulture will expand supply to both meet and drive demand. ”We have been getting requests for bare root since we introduced Brindabella in 2018,” says T Jay Higgins, general manager of Suntory Flowers. “With Skagit’s decades of experience and a great reputation for high quality bare root and liners, we could not be happier to welcome them to the Brindabella team. This will be a great opportunity for nursery growers to book Brindabella with an established and trusted source.”

Brindabella Roses are available through Sun-Fire Nurseries in Sarasota, Florida; First Step Greenhouses in Temecula, California; and Skagit Horticulture in Mount Vernon, Washington.

For more information, visit www.suntoryflowers.com. Also, visit their booth at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trades Show (MANTS) in Baltimore, Jan. 5-7, booth 2854.