$125
Cost of a dozen roses (six Venetian and six Palazzo)
How to breed a rose
Breeding a new rose takes years. The color of the Venetian rose, for example, took eight years to develop.
1. It’s up to the breeders to decide how they want the rose to look — the color, the smell, the shape of the petals and the petal count. To hybridize a new rose, breeders first must choose the roses with which they want to begin.
2. Breeders take pollen from one rose — the pollen parent — and transfer it to the seed parent. The date of the cross and details on the parents are recorded, so the breeders can keep track of what crosses have been made.
3. Over the next few months, the seed parent grows rose hips with seeds inside. Breeders remove the seeds and plant them.
4. When seedlings emerge from the soil, the best ones are chosen to continue the breeding process. Once the seedlings grow into full-fledged adult plants, they are crossed again using the same process. That continues for several years until the desired characteristics of the rose are achieved.
5. Once breeders have settled on a final look, it can take six months to a couple of years before the rose is released to the market. The breeder then either names the rose or solicits suggestions for names.
Source: Fine Gardening
A rose by any other name literally might not smell as sweet as two roses named for Las Vegas landmarks.
These days, many roses have had their scents bred out to make them more insect resistant and easier to grow commercially.
Not so with the Venetian and Palazzo roses, named for the Strip resorts. Their fragrance and high petal count make them a relative rarity in the rose world.
The Palazzo rose was introduced in December 2012, while the Venetian rose debuted in August.
“It was always fascinating to me, what made a rose get named something,” said Dana Beatty, director of floral and horticulture at the Venetian and Palazzo.
So, Beatty, a floral designer for 32 years, started looking into how to have a rose named after the resorts.
Soon, she came across a classic, deep red rose grown in Amsterdam. The owner had bred the rose but was taking suggestions on a name.
“The rose’s owner didn’t like the names that were getting suggested,” Beatty said. “When we came to him with ‘Palazzo,’ he said, ‘That’s it. That’s the name.’ ”
Resort officials drafted a two-year exclusive contract to buy the rose from the breeder. They didn’t have to pay to name the rose, although some breeders do sell naming rights.
“They’re very protective of their products,” Beatty said.
When she started looking for a rose for the Venetian last year, Beatty wanted a flower that would complement the red of the Palazzo rose. She initially envisioned a purple flower to create a rich, royal feel in bouquets but ultimately settled on a softer warm cocoa, peach and champagne rose.
Beatty had considered another rose at first, but it died within a day of being delivered. Resort officials needed roses that lasted at least five days — longer than the average guest stay.
Eventually, they found a rose from a breeder in Ecuador. They liked its high petal count, color and fragrance, and the Venetian rose was born.
Today, the roses are used in high-limit guest areas and around the resort seasonally. In public areas, the roses have to be replaced frequently, since smoke in the casino and pinching from guests quickly degrades the flowers.
The Venetian rose isn’t as heavily produced as most other roses, but it is available commercially, as is the Palazzo rose in limited amounts.
Though the resorts don’t have the biggest floral shop on the Strip, the Venetian and Palazzo hope to set themselves apart with their unique breeds.
Roses “are named after famous people like Lady Di and Dolores Hope,” Beatty said. “Our property is symbolic of Italian romance, so what better way to recognize our resorts than to have roses named after them?”
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