With orange-bronze center petals and an eventual pink hue, every blossom is a teensy-weensy sunset.
Roses never disappoint when used to enhance a garden, but two-toned roses like ‘Distant Drums’ are a little something extra special. This shrub rose is long-lived with pale orange, almost bronze-colored centers fading gradually to tints of pink or purple. Most of the flowers become soft pink as the season progresses. Its heavy summer-long flowering and 3–4″ flowers make it an excellent candidate for cutting—only a few stems are necessary to fill a vase nicely.
How to Grow ‘Distant Drums’ Roses
Hardy in zones 5–9, ‘Distant Drums’ prefers a full sun (min. 6 hr/day) and deep, well-drained soil. It is usually 3–4 ft high and 3 ft wide. Aside from its striking flowers, it has a sweet-spicy fragrance that is usually said to have the scent of myrrh. One of the joys of this rose is that no two flowers are ever even roughly the same color.
Planting Tips
Plant early spring after last frost or fall at least six weeks before first frost. Bare-root roses: soak roots two hours, plant hole 1 ft deep and 2 ft wide, spread roots, fill back in, water heavily. Container plants: plant hole twice as wide and deep as the container, fill and water.
Pruning & Maintenance
Since ‘Distant Drums’ blooms on new wood, prune annually in dormant spring—remove winter-killed stems before the final frost. Remove faded flowers throughout the growing season to encourage ongoing flowering and give the plant a neater appearance. With aggressive disease resistance, it will usually withstand issues like powdery mildew.
This two-tone showy flower of this rose will turn heads wherever it’s planted. If you love its sunset hues, pair it with another multicolor variety—like ‘Peach Lemonade’—for an added eye-catching effect.
