The 14th International Fragrant Rose Trial in Echigo Hillside Park, Nagaoka, Japan
Details of the result
The International Fragrant Rose Trials is held every year by inviting applications of new fragrant roses fromrose breeders not only in Japan but all around the world. All the applied nursery plants are planted andbrought up for two years under exactly the same condition in the snowy and cold region of Japan. Then,
examination session is held twice every spring and autumn by the Judging Committee comprising of expertsof roses and fragrances to decide the award winning varieties.
The winning prizes are Gold Award, Silver Award and Bronze Award each for the specified four criteria. Inaddition, as special awards, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award is presented tothe highest score winner among the Gold Award Winners, Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award ispresented to the highest score winner in the fragrance section among the winners of Gold, Silver and BronzeAwards, and Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award is presented to the most popular variety among the general
guests to the park.

<< Prize Winner Details and Judges’ Comments >>Judging Committee Chairman :Yoshihiro Ueda (Visiting Professor, Gifu International Academy of Horticulture)
We received a total of 49 entries in the 14th International Fragrant Rose Trials, with 17 Hybrid Tea (HT)entries, 18 Floribunda (F) entries, 12 Shrub (S) entries, and 2 entries in the Miniature (Min) category.
This year, after a mild winter with little snow, we experienced an unusual weather condition for the roseswith an exceptionally long rainy season followed by a lingering severe summer heat. The prolonged rains
softened the plants and caused scab, anthracnose, and downy mildew to appear. For roses grown underthese conditions, we awarded one gold, one silver, and one bronze for each of the HT, F, and S entries,
and one bronze for the Min entry. In addition, the Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award was given to the one
selected from the F entry by a popular vote of the park visitors.
Ninfa was the Gold Award winner in the F category and the recipient of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award. It is a magnificent and beautiful variety with large bloomsthat transition from a hybrid tea bloom form to a flat bloom form as the color transitions from salmon
pink to white.
Vieux Rose, the Gold Award winner in the HT category, is a deep red, large-bloom, glossy-leave variety
with a good balance of foliage and flowers.
Couronne Rouge (KIM-J-1294) , the Gold Award winner in the S category, is a fine variety with large,
ruffled petal, rosette blooms with the color transitioning from bright rich pink to pink.
With Smile in the F category, the winner of the Niigata Prefectural Governor's Award, is a generous
bloom variety with abundant pink blossoms achieving the highest scores in terms of fragrance intensityand quality.
MIREI in the F category, the winner of the Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award, is a lavender-blue, ruffled
petal, flat bloom variety. It was most popular among the park visitors most likely due to the color andgorgeousness preferred by a broad range of people.

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<< Prize Winner Details and Judges’ Comments >>Judging Committee Deputy Chairman : Yuji Ichikawa (Perfumer)
We received a total of 49 entries from Japan and overseas for the 14th International Fragrant Rose Trials. This
year we experienced an unusual weather condition with no snowfall in the winter, low temperatures in the earlyspring, prolonged rains in the first half of the summer and lingering intense heat in the second half. In spite of that,
we were blessed with relatively good weather in the fall and we were able to present a total of 10 prize-winningvarieties, with three gold, three silver, and four bronze awards in four categories, which is tied for the best to date.
Ninfa was awarded the Gold Award in the Floribunda category and the winner of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for the highest overall score. It has a myrrh fragrance described as“a myrrh fragrance of refreshing citrus and spice with a blend of anise characteristics”.
With Smile was awarded the Silver Award also in the Floribunda category and the winner of the Niigata
Prefectural Governor’s Award for the highest score in fragrance category. It has a fruity fragrance described as “afruity fragrance of green apple with a blend of gentle floral sweetness”.
Vieux Rose, the Gold Award winner in the Hybrid Tea category, has a tea fragrance described as “a tea fragrancewith clove-like spiciness and fresh fruity notes”.

Couronne Rouge (KIM-J-1294), the Gold Award winner in the Shrub category, has a modern damask fragrance
described as “a gorgeous damask fragrance of fresh lemon and strong honey-like sweetness”.
This year there was no entry worthy of gold award in the Miniature category.
Finally, MIREI in the Floribunda category, which won the Nagaoka City Mayor's Award by popular vote, has a
blue fragrance described as “a gentle blue rose fragrance of refreshing citrus with a blend of tea characteristics”.

Category : HTs, Grandifloras
Gold Award
Entry No.7
Variety : Vieux Rose
Breeder : Delbard - France
Flower : Deep red, large-cup, semi-hybrid-tea blooms. Glossy leaves with a good balance of foliage and flowers.
Fragrance type : Tea
A tea fragrance with clove-like spiciness and fresh fruity notes.

2Silver Award
Entry No.8
Variety : Weissherbst
Breeder : Tamotsu Tomokage - Japan
Flower : Gentle creamy yellow, large hybrid tea blooms.
Fragrance type : Tea
A natural and elegant tea fragrance with a sense of refreshing green lemon and clear sweetness.

Bronze Award
Entry No.17
Variety : Love Sick
Breeder : Fuminori Nukariya – JapanFlower : Pink, ruffled petal, plump cup blooms.
Fragrance type : Tea
A refreshing tea fragrance with apricot-like fruitiness and honey-like sweetness.

3Category : FGold Award
Special prize : Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award
Entry No.19
Variety : Ninfa
Breeder : Tamotsu Tomokage - Japan
Flower : Magnificent large blooms that transition from a hybrid tea bloom form to a flat bloom form as
the color transitions from salmon pink to white.
Fragrance type : Myrrh
A myrrh fragrance of refreshing citrus and spice with a blend of anise characteristics.

Silver Award
Special prize :Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award
Entry No.34
Variety : With Smile
Breeder : Hirotomi Yamakawa - Japan
Flower : Pink, closely packed blooms that transition to rosette blooms. A generous bloom variety with
abundant blossoms that blooms all at once.
Fragrance type : Fruity
A fruity fragrance of green apple with a blend of gentle floral sweetness.

4Bronze Award
Entry No.22
Variety : L’été
Breeder : Takunori Kimura - Japan
Flower : Rosette blooms with the color transition from yellow to creamy yellow.
Fragrance type : TeaA tea fragrance with the notes of fruity sweetness and anise.

Special prize : Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award
Entry No.28
Variety : MIREI
Breeder : Kimiko Kobayashi - Japan
Flower : Lavender-blue, very-double, ruffled petal flat blooms.
Fragrance type : Blue
A gentle blue rose fragrance of fresh citrus with a blend of tea notes.

5Category : SGold Award
Entry No.42
Variety : Couronne Rouge （KIM-J-1294）
Breeder : Takunori Kimura - Japan
Flower : The color transitions from bright rich pink to pink, and the front side of petals is in rich colorwith fine spots. Large, ruffled petal, rosette blooms.
Fragrance type : Damask-Modern
A gorgeous damask fragrance of fresh lemon and strong honey-like sweetness.

Silver Award
Entry No.43
Variety : Mother Elegans
Breeder : Koichi Sakaue - Japan
Flower : Pink, medium-cup, rosette or quarter blooms.
Fragrance type : Fruity
A fruity fragrance of honey-like sweet roses with refreshing apricot and green apple notes.

6Bronze Award
Entry No.38
Variety : 10-10356-5
Breeder : Delbard - France
Flower : Red-purple, large rosette blooms. The petals curl into a whorl shape as the blooming progresses.
Fragrance type : Damask-Modern
A gorgeous damask fragrance of apple fruity scent with added extra sweetness and depth.

Category : MinBronze Award
Entry No.48
Variety : Eliana HitⓇ PatioHitⓇ Poulpah104Ⓝ
Breeder : Poulsen Roser A/S - Denmark
Flower : Creamy yellow, closely packed blooms that transition to cup blooms and rosette blooms as theblooming progresses.
Fragrance type : Tea
An elegant tea fragrance with the characteristics of hyacinth-like freshness and light anise.

7The 14th International Fragrant Rose Trial in Echigo Hillside Park, Nagaoka, Japan（Echigo-IFRT）◆Guidelines for Applications
1. Eligibility for Applications：Breeders both professional and amateur, in Japan and overseas.
2. Acceptable Rose Varieties:(1)Varieties that have never been on the market within or outside Japan, or varieties that were first made available forsale on or after January 1, 2015.
(2) Categories of Acceptable Rose Varieties:
Part 1: Large-flowered Roses (HTs, Grandifloras)
Part 2: Floribunda Roses (F) (to be the family of "cluster-flowered roses")
Part 3: Shrubs(S)Part 4: Miniature Roses, Mini-floras, Patio Roses, and Polyanthas(Min)
Climbers are excluded from any of the above categories.
(3) The Number of Entries: Limited to a total of four varieties per single breeder.
(4) The Number of Trees per Variety:For each variety, three 2-to-3-year-old bare-root trees, either budded, grafted, or self-rooted.
3. Entry Fee : Free of charge◆The Periods of Judging: June and October, 2020
◆Judging and Commendation:
Chairman:Yoshihiro Ueda（Visiting Professor, Gifu International Academy of Horticulture）
Deputy:Yuji Ichikawa（Perfumer）
Naoki Ishikawa（Honorary President of Niigata Rose Society）
Naoharu Watanabe（Professor Emeritus, Shizuoka University）
Yuki Mikanagi（Curator of Herbarium, Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba）
Hideko Ishiguro（Rose researcher / Director of Ishiguro Music Academy）
Naomi Okubo（Leader, Quality Control Unit at Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO）
Johji Nishio（WFRS International Judges Committee / President of Machida Rose Society）
Yushi Terazima（Perfumer）
Takahiro Yamagishi（Director of Echigo Hillside National Government Park Office）◆Prizes: Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award for each category.
◆Special prizes: Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award (Top Award)
Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award
Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award◇Breeders : 22breeders◇The number of varieties : 49Varieties (HTs-17, F-18, S-12, Min-2)◇Participating nation : Japan, Denmark, France ,U.K.

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