All the flowers of the Exquisite range of perfumed varieties specially bred by David Austin Roses in England as cut-flowers are now being grown exclusively in Kenya for the European market and in Colombia and Ecuador for the markets of the USA, Russia and Japan. Luke Stimson at IPM-Essen 2006 demonstrated the 2 new varieties in the range. ‘Miranda’ has huge pink full petalled flowers, and ‘Rosalind’ is a white blush colour. Both are scented and in the case of ‘Roaslind this is very intense. The breeding program for perfumed cut-flower roses proceeds well and of the 20 new lines currently in trial, just four will be selected for introduction in 2007. The main and highly profitable market for these roses is as bouquets sold through chain stores such as Marks & Spencers, by mail order and e-commerce. They are also sold loose through the VBA auction in Holland, fetching an average price of €1,00 per stem. The vase-life of these varieties has recently been lengthened to 10-12 days by the addition of a new post-harvest additive. www.davidaustinroses.com
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