Although Shakespeare’s famous line proposes that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, for rose breeders who spend years developing it, the name is very important. Breeders usually select a name that helps describe the rose’s heritage, and marketers want a name that will sell. This rose is named Durban July, referring to the colourful clothes traditionally worn by patrons of this horse race, and it changes colour the older it gets. When the rose opens, the petals are light yellow. This gradually changes to orange-red.

Photo: Helena Barnard

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