Award-winners have names as unique as they are

Four roses carry the prized All-American Rose Selection label for '99.

You'll smile at the fun-filled names that go with these award-winning roses - Fourth of July and Betty Boop created by Weeks Wholesale Rose Growers in Upland, Calif., and Candelabra and Kaleidoscope hybridized by Jackson &Perkins.

Evaluated by rose experts nationwide, roses competing for the annual title are scored on many traits, including color, fragrance, disease resistance, bud and flower form, vigor, hardiness, growth habit and foliage.

The AARS awards have been given by the nonprofit group of rose growers since 1938; see the AARS site at www.rose.org .

Here are the '99 winners!

Candelabra - Coral orange flowers flicker against a backdrop of dark green, glossy foliage. The lightly scented grandiflora produces clusters of 4-inch flowers with 25 petals. It grows 4 1/2 feet tall, and is a combination of Tournament of Roses and an unnamed seedling.

Kaleidoscope - It's the first AARS-winning shrub for Jackson & Perkins. Toasty tan and lavender flowers shift to lavender and pink, creating a prism of color excitement. Glossy foliage grows on a 3- to 4-foot-tall plant. Pointed buds open to reveal 3-inch flowers with 35-40 petals and a damask-like scent. It's a combination of Pink Pollyanna and Rainbow's End.

Fourth of July - The first climber to win the AARS-award in 23 years, Fourth of July reaches skyward with a burst of colors just like real fireworks. Its velvety red-and white-striped flowers grow on canes 10- to 14-feet long with medium to long stems covered in glossy, deep-green foliage. The flower clusters feature 4 1/2-inch flowers with 10 to 16 petals. Repeat flowers give a sweet fragrance. It comes from Roller Coaster and Altissimo.

Betty Boop - Named for the saucer-eyed, bob-haired cartoon flapper of the 1930s, Betty Boop the rose is an ivory yellow with a red-edge floribunda that flowers early and often during the growing season. The brightly colored clusters of flowers dance among the dark green leaves and dark red new growth. It presents a ``red hot mama'' of color, says Weeks. Betty Boop is a naturally rounded medium to tall plant with foliage to the ground. Use it as a landscape plant. The plant also offers a moderately fruity, sweet fragrance. Long, pointed buds mature into 4-inch flowers, each with 6 to 12 petals. The rose is a combination of Playboy and Picasso.

For more information about the AARS roses, contact Weeks Wholesale Roses Growers in Upland, Calif. at (800) 992-4409 or www.weeksroses.com; Jackson &Perkins (800) 872-7673 or www.jacksonandperkins.com .

BARE-ROOT ROSES

* In February, local garden centers offer bare-root roses for February and early March planting. See the February issue of Hampton Roads Gardening for information on how to plant bare-root roses.

Sources/photos: Courtesy Jackson & Perkins, Weeks Wholesale Roses Growers