These are b-l-a-c-k, a rich velvety black with maybe a hint of maroon when the sun shines through them. One is solid black, one is black with white streaks sort of making a pinwheel (thin stripes from center to edge, where the petals would be if the floral tube was divided into petals), one with red streaks and I believe one with a cream edge. They were featured in this springs pak trials out in California and are planned for release next year I believe. My only complaint would be that as a landscape plant the blackness would be lost. They would work best where they are seen up close like in a hanging basket or window box. As I understand it the bedding trial beds out at the Arb are a small money maker for the school. Companies pay money to have their plants trialed here. They are given nothing but basic care and if they fail, they fail. It is to see what cultivars do best here in the Piedmont and for us to see if they live up to the sales hype. My complaint is that plenty of way-cool plants show up in the trial but never show up in the garden centers, ever.

Close-up view of flower spike.. Image link:

Thanks for your comments folks. I totally agree that the whole premise is flawed since there isn't even one rose that we all on GW would agree would fit in everyone's garden. We have too many climates, or conditions, or preferences, or color schemes, to make this kind of blanket statement anything but hype. I'm with Seil - I recognize this as hype and it's no more egregious lying than any other marketing. "Best minivan for the price, "Low calorie ice cream", "Tastes great, less filling"... they're all seriously flawed statements, and arguably something we wouldn't even want (if I indulge in ice cream, I want the full glory and decadent taste, not a pale substitute). As Michael commented, marketers inherently serve their own interests, which is why I got a kick out of road signs up to Yellowstone this year like "Cody cattlewomen urge you to eat more beef". No bones (pardon the pun) about why they're recommending that strategy, and the same is true of J&P. I guess my curiosity about this list was more - are these arguably "very good" roses and relatively desirable among the roses J&P sells, or just whatever they have extras of this year and are trying to market to us. No way to know the latter, of course, but it's encouraging to hear for instance that Radiant Perfume does actually have a fantastic scent and seem to be a good rose. I can accept that Moondance or Sedona could be good roses just not in my yard, and I'm still hoping the latter works out for me. I have heard the mixed reviews on Zephrine Drouhin and dithered about it for years, but there aren't many thornless climbers and I do have enough cold that she might be happy. I agree that the quality of J&P roses has declined so much lately that they're my last choice of a vendor if a given rose is available anywhere else, but there still are a few roses only they sell for now. Cynthia

2 year update! The Turf Blue bluegrass has adapted very well to the NC environment. Disease has not been an issue - which is refreshing, and the cultivars in the mix are very aggressive - they filled in 6" holes left over from dead Bermuda in 6 weeks. The relationship with this mix has been a bumpy one. There have been periods when the grass looked lime green and I've seriously considered nuking it, but the fact it's so resilient stopped me. Meanwhile, I've learned to work with it, and it with me. I've learned that cutting below 2.5" produces some sort of reaction in the grass and it starts to put out massive amounts of new lime-green growth. As soon as I stopped trying to go lower and stabilized the HOC at 2.5", the color issue went away. Also, color has improved with age. And finally, PGR and FAS bump up the color significantly as well, bringing it into the acceptable range for my taste. Drought tolerance is similar to fescue, maybe slightly less. However, recovery from dormancy is outstanding, so even if it browns a little, it comes back with a vengeance. And where it doesn't, it spreads to fill in. It's peace of mind, and it's priceless. Because I know I can afford to push it and let go a little brown, I probably used less water on this summer that I used to use on fescue. Disease has not been an issue, brown patch doesn't touch it. So, I'm going into my 3rd years with the HGT mix. I am very pleased with its performance, and I expect even better now that it's mature. Color can be successfully managed, and it lives up to the H in HGT. Highly recommended as an alternative to fescue for the Transition Zone. http://lawniac.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/lawn_oct_2018.jpg