The All-America Rose Selections (AARS) is a group of 25 official trial gardens, which are spread across the country in a variety of climates. They follow standards designed to test each rose with the care normally given by the home gardener, not the extra care that might be given at a botanic garden.

After years of testing, each rose grower decides which hybrids they want to put into production. Each year, the quantity available becomes larger.

Before a rose grower releases the rose for sale to the public, it can be entered into competition at the AARS trials. The specimens are assigned a number and under go a two-year test. Climbing roses go through a three-year test because they bloom on older canes. The roses are evaluated on 15 characteristics, covering the concerns of the typical homeowner rose grower. They are tested for vigor, disease resistance, flower production, flower shape, petal count, fragrance and many other attributes.

If a rose is a winner, the result is a beautiful and easy-to-grow rose. Easy to grow, if you plant it in the proper location and follow the proper maintenance techniques. Winning roses are then planted in over 130 public display gardens around the country, so that gardeners may see the roses. Many of the gardens also have several years' worth of winners available for comparison.

When you read a catalog from a rose grower, be careful not to be fooled by their own designations, such as "rose of the year" or some other colorful description that makes it sound like it is a winner from a real test or trial garden.

Some contests have a winner in every category each year, but not the AARS. There has not been a winner in the miniature, tree rose or climbing rose divisions for the past several years. AARS winners can be planted across the country with a good expectation of success.

Introduced in 1867, the hybrid tea rose hasn't been the same since - it is now the most popular type of rose. They have large flowers several inches across, borne singularly on stems as long as 18 inches. They usually require more care and winter protection than other types of roses.

Floribundas are usually a few feet shorter than hybrid teas and have many flowers on the end of the stem. Jackson and Perkins introduced the first one at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Many floribundas bloom for long periods over the summer.

The grandifloras are crosses between the first two types and contain clusters of flowers resembling hybrid teas. All three groups are more difficult to grow in northern areas of the country, compared to shrub roses and climbing roses.

The more petals on a rose plant, the more solid the flower bud looks and the longer it takes the flower to open. It lasts much longer in the nice-looking, partly-open stage. Fully open flowers tend to lose petals more quickly after they have been pollinated. A rose flower designated as a "single" has only five petals. Many shrub roses, crabapples, pears, serviceberry and other rose family plants have this open look. I prefer roses that have petal counts of at least 35 to 40, because they take longer to open.

This year, the AARS awarded only one rose. The floribunda named "Easy Does It" has multiple-colored flowers with a mild fruity fragrance. The ruffled- edged blooms are tinted pink and orange with a petal count of 25 to 30. It blooms on the ends of new branches, so pruning will help it maintain flowering all summer. Growing to about 3 or 4 feet tall, the bush is disease-resistant and develops best in full-sun locations. It is hardy in zones 6 through 9 and into zone 5 with winter protection.

E-mail questions to Jeff Rugg, University of Illinois Extension at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.