Rose Lemon Zeste

Fresh and vibrant, a new generation of the Florists roses with exceptionally shaped lime-yellow flowers with just a touch or purple-red on the very edges. They open very slowly to large, very full and originally shaped flowers. Makes perfect cut flowers as the flowers can live up to 14 - 15 days in a bouquet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The following detailed description of the rose variety ‘Lemon Zeste’ is provided with color descriptions using ordinary dictionary significance of color Phenotypic expression may vary with environmental, agricultural and climatic conditions, as well as differences in conditions of light and soil.

FLOWER

The flowering habit is continuous, as this rose variety is suitable for cut flower production under greenhouse conditions. In greenhouse conditions, it is able to produce flowers regularly all year round.

Flower bud:

The flower bud has a rounded shape with a pointed tip. The buds are large and broad, the length of the flower bud is about 3.5 cm long and 4 cm in diameter when the petals start to unfurl. When sepals first divide, the bud color is lime green with purple red intonations and transitions to purple red to the edges. When it is half opened, the upper and the under sides of the petals are lime green with yellow intonations closer to the base and medium purple red on the edges of the petals.

The sepals have lanceolate shape. Their surface texture on the upper surface is smooth, and the lower surface is downy. The length of the sepals is 4 cm and the width is about 1 cm. The colour of the sepals in the upper surface is medium brown green and on the lower surface is medium green with intonations and stripes of red brown purple. There are 3 heavily appendaged sepals and there are 2 lightly appendaged sepals with hairy edges.

The receptacle is medium sized, about 1 cm long and about 0.8 cm wide, has a cupped shape and smooth surface. The colour of the receptacle is medium green.

The peduncle is averaging to about 8.5 cm in length, strong and erect. The surface of the peduncle is smooth with few glandular hairs. The colour of the peduncle is medium green with strong red purple intonations.

Bloom:

The flowers or ‘Lemon Zeste’ are large, the average diameter of the open flower is about 12 – 13 cm. The flower is very full, very tightly stuffed with petals. The flower shape is quite complex, the best is characterized as a cupped rosette. Flower form persists until the end. Under stressful environmental conditions the flowers have a tendency for proliferation, when in the center of the flower appear undeveloped flower buds which creates so called ‘green-eye’.

The colour of the flowers upon opening is lime green transitioning to lemon yellow closer to the base and have red-purple on the very edges. When flowers open very slowly, about 3 to 5 days. During the opening the colours also dramatically change. The colour transition may differ from season to season and from weather conditions, but generally the colour becomes lemon yellow, fading to light green yellow, cream green or to lime green.

The flowers have excellent lasting qualities, persisting on the plant for about 14 to 18 days and as a cut flower for a long period, of about 12 to 15 days. The petals hang on and dry, which is why timely deadheading is obligatory when grown in the garden.

Petals:

The petals have a thick and smooth surface. Petals arrangement is imbricated. The petals usually hang on and dry on a plant. It is highly recommended to ensure timely deadheading to keep the plant tidy and healthy.

Fragrance:

The rose variety ‘Lemon Zeste’ has no fragrance.

PLANT

The growth habit is strong and vigorous. Forms upright, bushy, slightly outwardly growing plants. The mature and well-established rose has a height of about 70 - 100 cm, and the width of about 50 cm.

Foliage:

There is a normal quantity of foliage on the plants of this rose variety. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves is generally 5, and 3 closer to the flower bud, including the terminal leaflet. The average number of leaves per flowering stem is 12. The leaves are large to medium sized.

The new foliage on the upper side has medium green colour with dark brown purple intonations while the lower side is medium green. The mature foliage on the upper side is dark green and on the lower side is dark brown green.

Leaflets:

The leaflets are broadly oval, with rounded base shape and acuminate apex. The surface texture is leathery, semi-glossy and smooth. The edges are serrated, the type of serration is double and large.

The colour of the petiole is medium green with dark brown purple intonations.

The veins have medium green color, the venation pattern is reticulate (net-veined).

Wood:

The new wood of ‘Lemon Zeste’ rose variety has dark brown purple colour and smooth bark. The mature wood is dark green , the bark is smooth as well. The number of lateral branches is few, the average length of the lateral branch is 70 cm with the average diameter of about 6 mm.

Stems:

The stems are long and strong, the average length of the stem is 60 - 70 cm on average with the diameter of about 6 mm. The internode distance is average, and the pubescence is absent on the stems. The above measurements are all variable, depending on growing conditions in a season.

Prickles:

The quantity of prickles on the main canes and on the laterals from the main canes is very few, about 1 - 2 per 15 cm of the stem length. The colour of the prickles is light green when young and medium gray-brown when mature, the shape is slightly hooke downward, the length is about 10 mm.

Small prickles:

The small prickles are not observed on the main canes from the base and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose variety.

Disease resistance:

The rose variety ‘Lemon Zeste’ is disease resistant, particularly to mildew, blackspot and rust in greenhouse conditions, where the average day temperature is maintained at 17.5 degrees C. In a garden environment the resistance to black spot and mildew is moderate. Pest resistance has not been tested yet.

The variety is primarily bred for growing in greenhouse conditions and for cut flower production, therefore in garden conditions the cold hardiness is rather weak, it is not well suited for cold winters, however it is recorded that it can withstand winter in the garden in climates similar to USDA 7 and warmer.

Unfortunately we do not have information about the origin of the name of this rose.

Information about the parantage of this rose is not available or commecrically protected.

USDA 7