For the 2009 season, Rose Exhibitors’ Quarterly recorded the results of 187 U.S. rose shows, representing more than 95 percent of the shows held. The purpose of this article is to summarize the top roses represented in our U.S. rose shows.
Results are tabulated for all hybrid teas and grandifloras that have received royalty awards or have appeared as individual specimens in the district and national challenge classes. For tabulation purposes, Queen is awarded six points, with five points for King, four for Princess, and three each for roses appearing in the Court of Honor and the challenge classes.
In all other classes the results have in prior years been reported by the number of winners for the year. There is not often a lot of difference between the numbers so a variation of a few winners in a year sometime has resulted in large moves in the rankings. The declining number of shows also aggravates this illusion of great movement. Therefore, to give a better picture of possible trends, the results now use a running three-year total, identifying the change from the previous three-year total.
