Virtues: Pretty Polly Pink rose grows as a compact bush well suited to a range of garden applications. It offers a heavy bloom all summer, with lightly fragrant pink flowers that support pollinators. In 2022, the American Garden Rose Selections trialing program awarded Pretty Polly Pink with a Regional Choice Award for the Northeast, Northwest, South Central and Southeast regions of the United States.
Common name: Pretty Polly Pink rose
Botanical name: Rosa 'Zlepolone'
Exposure: Full sun
Flowers: Semidouble petals in a light to medium pink color, surrounding a boss of golden stamens. Sprays can contain 30 individual roses, each about one inch across. The fragrance is sweet but light. Blooms continually from spring to fall. Attractive to bumblebees and other pollinators.
Foliage: Medium green foliage with very good resistance to disease.
Habit: This rose grows to just under three feet tall and about three feet wide, with a dense, bushy habit. It can be grown in a large container or within a mixed bed. Planted in multiples, it makes a tidy, low-maintenance blooming edger for a pathway or patio.
Origin: Star Roses and Plants introduced Pretty Polly Pink to market. It was bred by Minnesota-based rosarian Dr. David Zlesak. This rose is a polyantha type. Polyanthas are known for their low, compact habit, hardiness, repeat bloom and their flowers, which are small but carried in great numbers at the tips of the branches.
How to grow it: Site in full sun. Following the last hard frost in early spring, cut the stems back between 10 and 18 inches tall and remove completely any damaged growth. Apply a fertilizer balanced for roses after the first flush of flowers opens. Provide regular water during dry spells and especially as the plant is getting established in its first year or two in the garden. Pretty Polly Pink is hardy in USDA Zones 4 through 10.
Image courtesy of Star Roses and Plants
