20/05/2025
It’s that time of year and winter is upon us, other than for those who live in warmer climes, of course.
Iceberg roses in our front garden have done what they have done for several years, i.e. grow and flower prolifically, all in the colour of their name! Nothing whiter than the white of an iceberg, despite the marketing burbles of washing powder manufacturers!
Along came the autumn of 2025 and there was a significant change not seen here before. The ice-white flowers turned into shades of pink! This is the first time that ours have done this so, the question arose as to why this should have been the case. It was generally ascribed to the weather but being a curious fellow, I consulted the current day “source of all knowledge”, Google!
The research revealed 3 possible causes; as the plants are not that old, age was out of the question. They are also in exceedingly good health so Botrytis blight was also ruled out. This left what had already been suggested, being temperature!
To quote the Google AI overview; “Cooler temperatures can intensify existing pigments, making pink shades appear deeper or more saturated, while heat can fade colours”.
So there you have it, gut feel speculation proven to be 100% correct. Let that be a lesson, nogal!
