** Moondance Rose

Moondance Rose
By barrie

Moondance is a white Floribunda rose honored by the AARS in 2007. We can always use more white (and true dark red) in the garden and the loose somewhat casual nature of the blooms is a juxtaposition with the clear, precise white color. We can always use more fragrant roses, and Moondance’s fragrance is described by the AARS as ‘delightfully spicy’, and spicy it may be, but the copyrighters over there at the AARS need a swift kick in the rump.

Described as upright and a vigorous grower with long stems (ie: stiff and too formal for most gardens), Moondance nonetheless does produce marvelously lovely roses. Further, despite my snitty remark about stiffness and formality, the dark, healthy foliage contrasted with the pure white blooms makes for a handsome garden rose.
I would use it in the back of the border (as almost all roses eventually end up with knotty knees of leafless canes near ground level). Consider this: With Moondance having qualities of long stems, upright growth, and robust healthiness, combined with dark foliage and white roses, we could have a very rare introduction into the garden: a rose that is at home as a garden plant and offers long-stem cut roses. More, as I mentioned before, white is always (always) a grand addition to any garden.
There is plenty of more good news, and I’m beginning to suspect I owe the AARS an apology for lambasting them recently, as Moondance was apparently bred to be highly resistant to blackspot, mildew, and rust. We shall see.