Pink Ohara

The English garden rose, raised at altitude. Pink O'Hara is Delbard's signature romantic — 80 densely layered petals at 7 cm, opening into the full cabbage-rose form that defines the English garden register. The pink runs soft and warm: not blush, not magenta, but the timeless mid-pink of a cottage garden in June. Each head reads as the focal flower in any recipe — and the soft fragrance (rare in commercial cut roses) carries a meter or two on still air.

The grow story

Grown at 3,200 meters in our own production in Cayambe, Ecuador, in the high Andes. Eighty petals at 7 cm puts Pink O'Hara at the dense end of the garden-rose category — every layer needs both pigment saturation and structural thickness to keep the bloom open without flopping. The cold Andean nights buy that slow build; the slow high-altitude cycle gives the bloom the time it needs to develop fragrance compounds that warm-climate roses simply skip. Cut, hydrated, graded, and cold-packed within 48 hours of harvest.

At a glance

Best for

Romantic and English-cottage wedding palettes, anniversary work, garden-style bouquets that want the cabbage-form focal, and any recipe where fragrance is part of the gift. Pink O'Hara is the rose designers spec when a client says "I want it to smell like flowers" — most cut roses don't. 50 cm suits compote and bowl work; 60 cm carries hand-tieds. Layer the pink range from our wholesale rose range.

Pairs beautifully with

• Pink Xpression (vivid pink rosette) for form variety in the same color family
• Candy Xpression (vivid candy pink garden) for the bigger-bloom companion
• Sweetness (cream with blush edge) to lighten the palette
• Hermosa (pastel pink) to extend the soft register
• Eucalyptus Silver Dollar for the gray-green frame

Care notes

Re-cut at 45° under running water; first hydration in 95–100°F water with preservative, then hold at 34–38°F. Eighty petals takes two to three days to open fully — order with the event date in mind. The cabbage form is the goal; building too early shows the bud-stage, not the open cup. Moderately ethylene-sensitive. Keep the foliage stripped below the water line — leafy garden roses foul water faster than standard roses.

What working pros say

"Pink O'Hara is the romance rose. Brides who see the cabbage form in person stop comparing prices — they book the recipe."

— Wedding floral designer, New England (14 yrs experience)

"The smell is the upsell. Most cut roses are scentless, and clients know it. Hand them Pink O'Hara and the bouquet starts selling itself."

— Studio florist, Connecticut (10 yrs experience)