Special Memories™ Bedding rose FORtop – pharmaROSA® NEONATAL rooted cutting
Floribunda performance in bedding applications makes Special Memories™ FORtop a dependable option for nursery propagation beds and container production where remontant flowering and warm-toned colour are commercially valuable. Its upright, bushy habit and moderately dense, slightly glossy foliage support homogeneous blocks for 2–3 L standard containers, with compact, bush-trained structure well suited to repeatable, bench-stable production. The medium maintenance profile (with occasional plant protection) sits comfortably in integrated UK nursery workflows, including schemes serving public-realm and institutional projects that need reliable garden performance under varied weather, including sites exposed to cool, windy conditions in the north of the country. Medium-strength, noticeable fragrance, warm salmon–orange colour that softens to pastel peach-cream, and fully double, cup-shaped, cluster-flowered blooms together create a finished product that can underpin retail and reseller ranges. As own-root propagation material, the cultivar offers renewable growth and long lifespan, supporting stable capacity planning as root systems establish in year one, shoot framework consolidates in year two, and full ornamental value comes through reliably from year three in professional programmes.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- 2–3 L retail bedding floribunda – Core line using remontant, cluster-flowered habit and reliable garden performance in standard 2–3 L pots for colour bedding benches – retail/reseller channel.
- Fragrance-feature container block – Medium-strength, pleasant fragrance and double, cup-shaped blooms highlighted in grouped 2–3 L displays as a scented floribunda choice – independent garden centres.
- Themed “Special Memories” collection item – Name meaning and warm salmon–peach colour used in commemorative or gift-oriented ranges, built on own-root, bush-trained 2–3 L plants – specialist and mail-order partners.
- Park and edging floribunda line – Upright, bushy habit and medium maintenance needs positioned for public-realm edging and park beds, supplied from standard container production – municipal and contractor supply.
- Landscape mix-in rose for climatic reliability – Hardy, moderately disease-tolerant floribunda offered as a dependable component in mixed 2–3 L landscape trays for regionally varied UK planting – wholesale landscape distributors.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bedding rose registered as FORtop, marketed as Special Memories™ Bedding rose FORtop; exhibition category cut flower and exhibition hybrid tea; commercial group bed rose. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by John Ford with breeding year recorded as 2016; parentage, breeding company, introduction and registration years are not provided, and initial distributor data is also not provided. |
| Awards and recognition |
not provided |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright, bushy habit with moderately dense, slightly glossy medium-green foliage; plants reach about 75–105 cm in height with 50–70 cm spread and are moderately thorny on typical nursery wood. |
| Flower morphology |
Double, cup-shaped blooms with 26–39 petals, large flower size around 2.75–3.95 inches; flowers are formed mainly in clusters, delivering a typical floribunda bedding effect with good visual impact. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Warm peach-toned salmon orange with delicate pink; buds coral-salmon, opening to vivid coral-peach centres that soften to pink, then fade to pastel peach-cream; ARS Sal, RHS 36A outer, 36D inner. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Medium-strength, pleasant, harmonious fragrance that is clearly noticeable at close range; the double flower form limits pollen access, so it is primarily an ornamental, fragrance-led garden variety. |
| Hip characteristics |
Occasionally forms small, spherical hips about 8–12 mm in diameter; hips are orange-red and can give light seasonal interest if spent blooms are not removed too systematically after flowering. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately -21 – -18 °C (H7, Zon 3, USDA 6b); moderate heat and drought tolerance requiring irrigation in longer dry spells; disease resistance moderate overall with black spot resistance. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Suitable for flowerbeds, containers, edging and parks; standard container route with bush-trained, compact plants in 2–3 L pots; medium maintenance category with occasional plant protection advised. |
Special Memories™ Bedding rose FORtop offers remontant cluster flowering, hardy, bushy structure and dependable fragrance on own roots, supporting predictable, long-lived production blocks for which we would be pleased to discuss timing and capacity.
