A select group of gardeners will be able to remember the 1812 Bicentennial for years to come, when the celebratory rose blooms in their garden each spring.
In honour of the 2012 Ontario Horticultural Association Convention, being held at Niagara College's Niagara-on-the-Lake campus this August, a KORcasima rose was named specifically to commemorate the War of 1812 bicentennial celebration. The scented floribunda rose features large crimson red blossoms and is a repeat bloomer with an abundance of showy blooms. It is hardy and disease resistant, with a three to four foot bush.
While the rose has been named the “official rose” of Niagara's War of 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council, it will be hard for many to find. In fact, Shirley Madsen of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society said the plants available for 2012 are already sold out. They were made available exclusively through Ontario Horticultural Association members and sold out quickly, with orders coming from across Ontario and as far away as British Columbia and California. Madsen said additional plants will be sold in 2013 and 2014, but they are also selling fast.
For those who would like to see the flowers first hand, there are select plantings of them around Niagara. The rose can be found in flower beds at McFarland House, Laura Secord Homestead and the BMO branch in Niagara-on-the-Lake; outside the cenotaph in Beamsville; and in historic places around Niagara Falls.
Two beds with 30 bushes in each were also planted at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara College campus. Rose committee members Neil Miles from the Lincoln Horticultural Society and Rose Walsh, president of the St. Catharines Horticultural Society, were on site late in June to deadhead the flower beds to ensure a fresh bloom in time for the August convention.
While the rose was propagated by Kordes Roses in Germany, it was grown and tended in Niagara-on-the-Lake by Palantine Fruits and Roses Nursery. Its name came courtesy of Gerry Barnim, a Niagara-on-the-Lake resident who won the naming contest held amongst Ontario horticultural societies.  
For more information about the rose or to purchase plants from the 2013 or 2014 growths, contact Shirley Madsen at notlhortsociety@gmail.com.