Rose (Rosa hybrida L.) is referred to as the queen of flowers. It belongs to the genus Rosa and the family Rosaceae, and is ranked as number one cut-flower. There are several kinds of cultivars of rose in a dazzling spectrum of color, tint and hue, with forms ranging from miniatures to shrubs to climbers. Floribunda is a modern group of garden roses developed by crossing Hybrid Teas with the wild rose, Rosa multiflora, or polyantha roses. Garden roses are uniquely different from cut-roses on account of production of higher number of flowers per stem. Therefore more number of flowers produced per unit area fulfills the criteria for garden decoration. Modern landscape planners hardly utilize the available diversity of roses in landscaping although exclusive rose gardens have been established in various cities. Landscaping with roses is one way of adding beauty to gardens. Floribunda roses are an excellent category best suited for gardening as these produce more flowers per unit area and for a longer duration. The possibility of their use as cut- sprays under Indian conditions should also be explored. As there is a great diversity among floribunda roses, there is a need to evaluate performance of these cultivars. J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 8(2):271-275, 2013 Short communication Evaluation of floribunda rose (Rosa hybrida L.) cultivars for landscape use under Punjab condition Parget Singh, R.K. Dubey, Ranjit Singh and Ramesh Kumar Department of Floriculture and Landscaping Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141004, India E-mail: rkdubey.flori@pau.edu ABSTRACT The present study was carried out to evaluate floribunda rose cultivars for landscape use under sub-tropical climate of the Punjab. Thirty cultivars were planted in Randomized Block Design, with three replications. Maximum plant height (53.67cm) was recorded in ‘Banjaran’, while plant-spread, leaf length and leaf breadth were maximum (90.83cm, 12.73cm and 9.10cm, respectively) in ‘Brown Velvet’. The cv. Iceberg produced comparatively longer (2.77cm) buds. Flower size was maximum in ‘Charleston’ (8.37cm). Number of petals per flower was higher in ‘Arunima’. Thorn density was found to be higher (42.67 per ten cm i.e., decimeter) in cv. ‘St. Boniface’ whereas, ‘Summer Snow’ and ‘Ahalya’ were thornless. Thorn shape was that of a hook in all the cultivars. Maximum number of flowers per plant, per unit area were recorded in ‘Summer Snow’ (367.85/m2), which was on par with ‘Arunima’ (340.32/m2), ‘First Edition’ (320.75/m2) and ‘Thornless Beauty’ (328.24/m2). Flower stalk length (82.33cm) and flower duration (141.33 days) were higher in cv. Brown Velvet. The cultivars were also evaluated for their fragrance. Key words: Floribunda rose, evaluation, landscape The present experiment was carried out at the research farm, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during the years 2009-2011. The Ludhiana, being subtropical, is characterized by cold winters, with occasional ground-frost in December and January, and, high temperatures associated with hot, desiccating winds in May and June. Average annual rainfall in the area is 700mm. The soil of the experimental plot was sandy-loam with medium fertility at pH 8. Rose cultivars were collected from various sources like Directorate of Floricultural Research, IARI, New Delhi, and from private nurseries and included cvs. Banjaran, Parfait, Gold Cup, Junior Miss, Brown Velvet, Sexy Rexy, Valentine, Rumba, Red Gold, Charleston, Sparton, Thornless Beauty, Hot Cocoa, Show Bizz, Neelambari, Princess de Monaco, Nimes, Iceberg, Summer Snow, First Edition, Charisma, Bordure Vive, John John, Saratoga, St. Boniface, Hemangini, Arunima, Nordia, Lenturner and Ahalya. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design, with three replications, with one 272 plant per replication. A year old plants, already established in the field, were used for recording observations. Planting distance of the rose bushes was 75cm x75cm. Uniform cultural practices like pruning, fertilization and pesticide application, were applied to all the plants well in time as per standard package of practices. Plants were flood-irrigated as and when required. Frequency of irrigation during the summer months was twice a week, whereas in the winter it was once a week. Manual weeding was done weekly. Observations were recorded on various parameters, viz., plant height (cm), plant-spread (NS and EW spread, in cm), thorn density (count per 10cm), leaf length and leaf breadth (cm), bud length and diameter (cm), flower size (cm), flower shoot length (cm), flower color (as per RHS color chart), duration of flowering (days), fragrance (Yes/No), flower vase-life in tap water (days), petal number/ flower, and seed setting (Yes/No). Data were statistically analyzed using cpcs1 software. Subtropical climatic conditions are characterized by extremes of winter and summer temperatures, and have a marked effect on plant height, plant-spread, leaf length and leaf breadth (Table 1). Plant height varied from 21.33cm to 53.67cm, thus showing a wide variation among cultivars. Maximum plant height (53.67cm) was recorded in ‘Banjaran’, followed by ‘Hot Cocoa’, ‘Gold Cup’ and ‘Brown Velvet’, with 52, 51.67 and 50cm, respectively. Plants were dwarf in the case of ‘Bordure Vive’ (21.33cm). Cultivars Bordure Vive, Hemangini and Show Bizz were observed to be dwarf compared to others as these exhibited lower plant height (21.33, 27.33 and 26.33cm, respectively). Therefore, these cultivars are suitable for high-density planting. Variation in plant height among different cultivars may be due to individual genetic make-up of the cultivars. Our results are in conformity with findings of Murugesan et al (1991) and Singh et al (2004). Maximum plant-spread (90.83cm) was observed in ‘Brown Velvet’, followed by Table 1. Evaluation of floribunda rose cultivars for plant height, plant spread, leaf length and leaf breadth Name of cultivar Plant Plant Leaf Leaf height spread length breadth (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) Banjaran 53.67 41.17 11.23 8.13 Parafait 38.00 31.67 8.57 6.30 Gold Cup 51.67 43.33 8.27 5.30 Junior Miss 43.00 39.67 8.27 6.73 Brown Velvet 50.00 90.83 12.73 9.10 Sexy Rexy 31.00 40.67 9.33 7.73 Valentine 31.67 39.00 8.20 7.17 Rumba 46.33 40.17 8.57 5.80 Red Gold 39.00 37.17 7.87 6.30 Charleston 42.33 39.00 8.97 6.00 Sparton 28.67 32.17 8.10 7.10 Thornless Beauty 44.33 50.50 9.47 7.73 Hot Cocoa 52.00 49.67 9.77 8.10 Show Bizz 27.33 19.17 6.07 4.17 Neelambari 35.00 28.83 7.93 6.20 Princess de Monaco 47.67 45.33 10.10 7.33 Nimes 37.33 35.67 12.47 9.43 Iceberg 33.33 16.83 8.53 6.80 Summer Snow 29.33 23.00 7.67 4.83 First Edition 37.67 52.00 9.60 7.97 Charisma 42.67 32.00 9.00 6.00 Bordure Vive 21.33 29.17 8.17 7.23 John John 46.67 32.67 9.17 7.10 Saratoga 42.33 30.67 8.27 7.10 St. Boniface 37.67 38.17 9.37 5.27 Hemangini 26.33 32.50 9.17 7.10 Arunima 37.67 39.17 8.53 6.03 Nordia 31.00 28.00 10.10 7.97 Lenturner 28.33 32.17 8.23 5.07 Ahalya 28.67 29.67 10.07 6.03 CD (P=0.05) 11.93 13.64 0 .84 0.53 Table 2. Evaluation of floribunda rose cultivars for bud length, bud diameter, flower size and flower stalk length Name of cultivar Bud Bud Flower Flower length diameter size stalk (cm) (cm) (cm) length (cm) Banjaran 1.97 1.27 6.13 54.67 Parafait 1.80 1.57 6.70 38.67 Gold Cup 1.67 1.33 5.03 39.67 Junior Miss 1.87 1.37 5.80 45.67 Brown Velvet 2.10 1.77 6.60 82.33 Sexy Rexy 1.70 1.33 6.97 32.00 Valentine 1.93 1.20 6.77 35.33 Rumba 1.60 1.23 4.63 46.67 Red Gold 2.33 1.47 6.23 32.00 Charleston 2.47 1.70 8.37 43.67 Sparton 1.67 1.47 5.80 40.00 Thornless Beauty 2.30 0.90 4.57 51.33 Hot Cocoa 2.43 1.80 5.30 46.67 Show Bizz 1.53 1.20 5.63 24.67 Neelambari 1.73 1.23 5.30 42.00 Princess de Monaco 2.57 1.77 6.70 39.33 Nimes 1.67 1.53 5.30 41.67 Iceberg 2.77 1.03 6.47 41.00 Summer Snow 1.50 0.83 5.27 50.67 First Edition 2.90 1.50 6.00 43.33 Charisma 1.77 1.27 5.27 32.00 Bordure Vive 2.20 1.30 6.20 24.33 John John 2.53 1.73 5.40 36.67 Saratoga 1.60 1.13 4.37 50.00 St. Boniface 2.13 1.47 5.70 31.00 Hemangini 2.03 1.47 4.50 40.00 Arunima 1.80 1.30 6.63 29.67 Nordia 2.20 1.40 5.30 30.33 Lenturner 2.50 1.70 4.70 23.00 Ahalya 1.80 1.10 4.57 33.67 CD (P=0.05) 0 .39 0.25 0.59 12.97 J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 8(2):271-275, 2013 Parget Singh et al 273 ‘First Edition’, ‘Thornless Beauty’ and ‘Hot Cocoa’ where plant-spread recorded was 52.0, 50.50 and 49.67cm, respectively. Cultivars with lower plant-spread were ‘Iceberg’, ‘Show Bizz’ and ‘Summer Snow’ and had an upright growth-habit, thus, rendering them suitable for close planting. Malhotra (1997) also reported similar findings when evaluating roses under polyhouse and open conditions. Maximum leaf length (12.73cm) was recorded in ‘Brown Velvet’, followed by ‘Nimes’ and ‘Banjaran’ (12.47 and 11.23cm, respectively) (Table 1). Minimum leaf length (6.07cm) was recorded in ‘Show Bizz’. Leaf breadth was maximum (9.43cm) in ‘Nimes’, followed by ‘Brown Velvet’ and ‘Banjaran’ (9.10 and 8.13cm, respectively). Minimum leaf breadth (4.17cm) was found in ‘Show Bizz’, followed by ‘Summer Snow’ and ‘Lenturner’, where it was 4.83 and 5.07cm, respectively. Larger leaf size is more desirable as it has a higher photosynthetic area which affects plant growth and productivity positively. Table 2 shows that bud length varied from 1.5cm in ‘Summer Snow’, to 2.9cm in ‘First Edition’. Diameter of the flower bud varied from 0.83cm in ‘Summer Snow’, to 1.77cm in ‘Brown Velvet’ and ‘Princess de Monaco’. Wide variation was observed in flower size among different cultivars (Table 2). Maximum flower size (8.37cm) was recorded in ‘Charleston’, followed by ‘Sexy Rexy’ (6.97cm) and ‘Valentine’ (6.77cm). Smallest flowers (4.37cm) were Table 3. Evaluation of floribunda rose cultivars for petal number, thorn density, vase life, Number of flowers per plant and duration of flowering Name of Petal Thorn Vase-life Number Duration cultivar number/ density (days) of of flower (count flowers/ flowering per 10 plant (days) cm) Banjaran 24.67 10.00 6.00 93.23 129.67 Parafait 61.00 20.00 5.00 103.10 129.33 Gold Cup 27.33 14.00 11.00 48.21 137.00 Junior Miss 30.67 20.00 5.00 73.85 134.67 Brown Velvet 26.00 18.00 7.00 171.12 141.33 Sexy Rexy 36.33 17.67 6.00 107.87 132.33 Valentine 33.00 9.67 5.00 262.23 130.67 Rumba 32.00 14.33 8.00 132.12 127.67 Red Gold 18.00 32.00 7.00 92.01 125.33 Charleston 20.67 20.00 5.00 183.87 129.00 Sparton 41.00 22.00 6.00 68.36 130.33 Thornless 19.00 16.00 6.00 328.24 133.67 Beauty Hot Cocoa 19.67 24.00 5.00 130.69 134.33 Show Bizz 26.67 20.00 6.00 88.42 133.67 Neelambari 33.00 6.00 5.00 257.23 131.33 Princess de 32.67 25.00 4.00 27.28 132.33 Monaco Nimes 29.33 6.00 6.00 86.45 135.33 Iceberg 28.00 8.00 7.00 121.26 128.67 Summer Snow 20.00 0.00 5.00 367.85 160.67 First Edition 26.00 16.00 7.00 320.75 132.33 Charisma 32.00 10.33 8.00 142.95 133.00 Bordure Vive 20.00 16.00 6.00 98.19 130.67 John John 21.00 14.00 7.00 48.83 130.33 Saratoga 22.00 18.00 5.00 95.65 135.00 St. Boniface 23.00 42.67 6.00 78.76 127.33 Hemangini 41.33 12.00 5.00 220.46 129.00 Arunima 66.00 12.00 4.00 340.32 129.00 Nordia 40.00 14.00 5.00 72.65 134.00 Lenturner 32.00 26.00 5.00 65.12 133.67 Ahalya 20.00 20.00 6.00 145.65 134.00 CD (P=0.05) 2.19 2.51 1.36 48.96 4.87 Table 4. Evaluation of floribunda rose cultivars for flower colour, fragrance and seed-set Name of Flower colour RHSCC Fragrance Seed No. (Yes/No) setting (Yes/No) Banjaran Red Group 44 B Yes No Parfait Red Group 54 A No No Gold Cup Yellow Group 12 A Yes Yes Junior Miss Red Group 49 B No Yes Brown Velvet Greyed Red Group 179 A Yes No Sexy Rexy Red Group 49 B No No Valentine Red Group 46 A Yes No Rumba Yellow Group 4 B Yes Yes Red Gold Red Group 39 B No No Charleston Red Group 53 A No Yes Sparton Red Group 47 B No No Thornless Red Group 55 A Yes No Beauty Hot Cocoa Greyed Red Group 181 B Yes No Show Bizz Red Group 45 B No Yes Neelambari Red Purple Group 61 B No Yes Princess de Red Group 55 B No No Monaco Nimes Red Group 45 A No No Iceberg White - No No Summer Snow White - No No First Edition Orange Red Group N 34 B No No Charisma Orange Red Group N 30 A Yes No Bordure Vive Red Purple Group N 66 A Yes No John John Yellow Orange Group 14 A No No Saratoga White - No No St. Boniface Orange Red Group N 30 A Yes Yes Hemangini White - No No Arunima Red Purple Group 62 B No No Nordia Grayed Red Group 182 B No No Lenturner Red Group 55 C No No Ahalya Purple Group 75 B No No J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 8(2):271-275, 2013 Evaluation of floribunda roses for landscaping 274 observed in ‘Saratoga’. Larger flowers are considered to be better for exhibition purposes, while, cultivars with smaller flowers may be suited better for garden display. Similar differences in flower size of cultivars have been earlier reported by Murugesan et al (1991), Bhattacharjee (1994), Singh et al (1994), Malhotra (1997), Singh and Singh (2002) and Malik et al (2007). Similarly, the cultivars were evaluated for flower stalk length (Table 2). Maximum flower stem length (82.33cm) was recorded in ‘Brown Velvet’, while, ‘Lenturner’ recorded lower stalk length (23cm). Cultivars having flowers with higher number of petals were ‘Arunima’, ‘Parfait’ and ‘Hemangini’ at 66, 61 and 41.33 petals per flower, respectively (Table 3). However, lowest number of petals (18 per flower) was recorded in ‘Red Gold’. Based on thorn density, i.e., number of thorns per 10 cm (decimeter) of stem, ‘St. Boniface’ had the highest number of thorns (42.67) (Table 3). ‘Summer snow’ was thornless. ‘Nimes’ and ‘Iceberg’ bore very few (6 and 8, respectively). For landscape use, cultivars with fewer thorns are preferred. With this in view, ‘Summer Snow’, ‘Iceberg’, ‘Nimes’ and ‘Neelambari’ were rated as better. Similar variation in number of thorns among cultivars has been reported by Murugesan et al (1991), Sundram et al (1996) and Singh (1995) too. ‘Gold Cup’ exhibited maximum flower vase-life (11 days) (Table 3). ‘Princess de Monaco’ and ‘Arunima’ remained fresh in tap water for only up to four days which could be due to the accumulation of reducing and non-reducing sugars at harvest of stems. Some cultivars showed slow opening of petals, while, in others, petals opened faster. Maximum number of flowers per plant (consequently, per meter square area), were recorded in ‘Summer Snow’ (367.85/m2), on par with ‘Arunima’ (340.32/ m2), ‘First Edition’ (320.75/m2) and ‘Thornless Beauty’ (328.24/m2). Variation in vase-life of various rose cultivars has also been reported by Bhattacharjee (1994), Murugesan (1996) and Malhotra (1997) earlier. ‘Summer Snow’ produced flowers for longer duration (160.67 days), followed by ‘Gold Cup’ and ‘Nimes’ (137 and 135.33 days, respectively) (Table 3). However, flowering span was shortest in ‘Red Gold’ (125.33 days). ‘Summer Snow’ produced flowers in summer months too. Cultivars showed variation in flower colour too (Table 4). It was found that thirteen cultivars, namely , ‘Banjaran’, ‘Patfait’, ‘Junior Miss’, ‘Sexy Rexy’, ‘Valentine’ ,’Red Gold’, ‘Charleston’, ‘Sparton’, ‘Thornless Beauty’, ‘Show Biz’, ‘Prncess de Monaco’, ‘Nimes’, and ‘lenturner’ belonged to the red group, while three cultivars, ‘Arunima’, ‘Bordure Vive’ and ‘Neelambari’ fell into the red-purple group. Cultivars ‘Rumba’ and ‘Gold Cup’ belonged to the yellow group. ‘First Edition’, ‘Charisma’ and ‘St Boniface’ belonged to the orange-red group while ‘Brown Velvet’, ‘Hot Cocoa’ and ‘Nordia’ belonged to the grayed-red group. ‘John John’ fell into the yellow-orange group, whereas, ‘Ahalya’ in the purple-group. The remaining cultivars were white in colour. Cultivars ‘Banjaran’, ‘Gold Cup’, ‘Brown Velvet’, ‘Valentine’, ‘Rumba’, ‘Thornless Beauty’, ‘Hot Cocoa’, ‘Charisma’, ‘Bordure Vive’ and ‘St. Boniface’ were fragrant, while, the remaining ones were non-fragrant. Seed-set was observed in ‘Gold Cup’, ‘Junior Miss’, ‘Rumba’, ‘Charleston’, ‘Show Bizz’, ‘St. Boniface’ and ‘Neelambari’ under Punjab conditions. Rest of the cultivars did not set seed (Table 3). Singh (1995) also reported seed- set in rose cultivars under Punjab conditions. Based on results of the experiment, the varieties have been classified for various landscape uses as under: Landscape use Major Characters Varieties For pots More plant spread with less plant height; Parfait, Sexy Rexy, Valentine, Spartan, First Edition, Bordure Vive, Longer flowering duration Hemangini, Ahalya For bedding More number of flowers per unit area, Banjaran, Parfait, Gold Cup, Junior Miss, Brown Velvet, Sexy Rexy, with long flowering duration Valentine, Rumba, Red Gold, Charleston, Sparton, Thornless Beauty, Hot Cocoa, Show Bizz, Neelambari, Princess de Monaco, Nimes, Iceberg, Summer Snow, First Edition, Charisma, Bordure Vive, John John, Saratoga, St. Boniface, Hemangini, Arunima, Nordia, Lenturner, Ahalya For cut-flowers Long flower shoot (at least 35cm) Neelambari, Princess de Monaco, Nimes, Iceberg, Summer Snow, and considerably long vase-life First Edition, Banjaran, Parfait, Gold Cup, Junior Miss, Brown Velvet, Sexy Rexy, Valentine, Rumba, Red Gold, Charleston, Sparton, Thornless Beauty, Saratoga J. 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