Winning Roses

If you're a rose, winning the All-America Rose Selections award is like winning the Miss America title -- except you don't have to put up with Donald Trump. The AARS medal means you've got both style and substance. The 2007 winners include a new Knock Out shrub rose by Bill Radler -- this one is Rainbow Knock Out -- as well as a white wonder named Moondance and a golden beauty called Strike It Rich. Here they are:

Rainbow Knock Out Class: Landscape Shrub Rose
Shape: Round and bushy
Foliage: Dark green with a sheen
Hardiness: Zone 4 with a mulch blanket in winter
Flowers: 2-inch, 5-petaled coral pink blooms with yellow centers
Special Talents: Resists black spot, powdery mildew and rust; blooms all season, showing off colorful hips in late fall
Introduced by: The Conard Pyle Co.

Moondance

Class: Floribunda

Shape: Tall, upright and well-branched

Foliage: Glossy dark green

Hardiness: Zone 4 with winter protection

Flowers:Oval-shaped buds give way to big, 3 1/2-inch creamy white 25-petaled blooms

Special Talents: Disease resistant; spicy scent
Introduced by: Jackson & Perkins

Strike It Rich Class: Grandiflora
Shape: Bushy and upstanding
Foliage: Dark green leaves with red stems
Hardiness: Zone 4 with a winter blanket
Flowers: Elegantly pointed buds open into showy 30-petaled flowers in shades of gold, orange and red
Special Talents: Disease resistant; strong spicy fragrance; long-lived flowers perfect for bouquets
Introduced by: Weeks Roses

And here's a sneak peek at one of the winners for 2008, when All-America Rose Selections celebrates its 70th anniversary:

Mardi Gras

Class: Floribunda

Shape: Well-branched, hedge-like

Foliage: Dark semi-glossy green

Hardiness: Zone 5

Flowers: 4-inch yellow-orange blossoms turn pink

Special Talents: Disease resistant, easy to grow, super floriferous, peppery scent, grows into a hedge

Introduced by: Jackson & Perkins