Simply The Best Rose Bushes

Simply the Best Hybrid Tea Rose

Simply the Best is far and away the best of the orange roses. Although describing it as simply 'orange' is a bit like describing Tina Turner as simply a 'singer' - when many think she is one of the best. The flowers are perfectly shaped - many petalled, fully double, with high centres and held on long stems. And the colour is more golden, with fire at its heart, than orange; warm, rich and amazingly elegant.

Everything about this rose is good - the foliage is bronze when young turning to a glossy, healthy green as it ages. Simply the Best is just brilliantly named and should be somewhere near the top of everyone's list of roses to grow and admire. Buying it's a given but if you are looking for a range of roses to plant in the same border, then go to our main rose list here, but before you do; a final thought. This was Rose of the Year in 2002, to no one's surprise, so it's very good indeed.

Great for your garden

Simply the Best needs a sunny spot as it'll be one of the stars of the rose bed, so find it a prime position with deep, moisture retentive soil. Plant it where it's seen often and easy to get to; it's both highly scented and a super cutting rose so it'll attract visitors anyway! This is a medium sized hybrid tea, growing to about 3ft 6 ins (1.1m). It looks a hundred times better planted in a triangular group with the plants about 80cm apart. If your garden plan doesn't allow for an orange rose (shame) then plant a couple in your cutting bed as Simply the Best is also perfect for flower arrangements.

Rosa Simply the Best facts

• Type: Hybrid Tea
• Colour: Deep fiery gold
• Flower shape: Fully double,classic high centred hybrid tea
• Fragrance strength: Strong
• Final height and spread: 3ft 6ins x 3ft
• Flowering season: All summer
• Repeat Flowering: Yes
• Disease resistance: Excellent

History & Trivia

Simply the Best is yet another rose from the brilliant Sam McGredy. When asked why he had named it as he did, his answer was short: "because it is". Rose of the Year in 2002 it was also the official rose of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.