New Rose Named After Martha Stewart – Guess the Color?

By Jill Brooke

Star Roses and Plants has unveiled the Martha Stewart Rose for introduction in 2026. Martha Stewart is a Hybrid Tea Rose that has over 100 petals unfurling in shades of ballet pink and apricot. It is scented with notes of citrus and honeysuckle.

Bred by Meilland, this rose was originally introduced in Europe as Jean de la Fontaine. The North American launch under the name Martha Stewart through Star Roses and Plants will make the rose available at independent garden centers starting in 2026. Very limited quantities of bare-root plants are available now online.

Martha Stewart is so deserving of a flower. In her recent documentary, her quote about gardening has so resonated with many.  “If you want to be happy for a year, get married, if you want to be happy for a decade, get a dog, if you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.”

Furthermore, flower lover Martha Stewart is proving that you can age young by always learning and doing. She was even the Sports Illustrated’s oldest cover girl – at 81!

This is not the first flower named in her honor  A daffodil, which is a prized Karel van der Veek hybrid, was named of Stewart for her life-long “contagious passion for flower bulbs.” There is also a begonia named after her. But this is her first rose.

Stewart, who transformed herself from stockbroker to decorator to Omnimedia mogul, never turned down an opportunity to grow — and profit from her talents. She has proven once again that a brainy babe is not an oxymoron.

She also changed the perception of the domestic arts.

For a pursuit that was plagued by a whiff of superficiality, unless men were chefs, this self-taught former stockbroker approached the domestic arts with serious study and scientific zeal. Her attention to detail and tenacious curiosity built an empire making her in 2000 the first self-made female billionaire in the United States. Amazing right? And what I love is she has always been the goddess of the garden, sharing tips and flower varieties to adore and grow. Her book, “Flowers” was not only a tutorial but an inspiration to millions.

And she has recently published her 100th book.

So it is no surprise that she is evolving and sparking envy and respect for her beauty and brains too.   As a result, she is once again a trailblazer, providing recipes for navigating older age with grace and style and is so worthy of a flower being named after her.

Star Roses was very smart to honor her this way. Because Martha Stewart never stops blooming.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine. She also won the 2023 AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers.) Merit Award for showing how flowers impact history, news and cultur