2017 Results

Screaming Neon Red takes Most Outstanding Rose in the 

2017 Biltmore International Rose Trials

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (OCTOBER 2017) – An attention-getting fiery red rose named Screaming Neon Red (BAIneon) swept four out of seven categories at the recent finals of the 2017 Biltmore International Rose Trials.  

Bred by Ping Lim in Oregon for Bailey Nurseries, Inc., in Saint Paul, Minn., Screaming Neon Red took the top award, the George and Edith Vanderbilt Award for Most Outstanding Rose of the trials. Lim’s roses have taken categories in previous competitions, including the 2016 Pauline Merrell Award for Best Hybrid Tea, and 2015’s Gilded Age Award for Best Climber.  

In addition to winning the Best in Show Award, Screaming Neon Red took home the Lord Burleigh Award for Most Disease Resistant, the Chauncey Beadle Award for Best Shrub, and the William Cecil Award for Best Growth Habit.

Screaming Neon Red is part of Bailey Nurseries’ Easy Elegance Rose brand. It was among a collection of 30 roses planted for trials in 2015 in the western border of Biltmore’s historic Rose Garden. A permanent jury of rose experts judged the plantings four times a year during the trial’s two years.

Since 2011, Biltmore’s Rose Garden has been home to the trials in which nearly 200 varieties from growers and breeders worldwide have been planted and cared for by Biltmore’s expert horticulturalists.

Additional winners this year were:

• Dee-Lish, bred by Meilland (MEIclusif), winner of the Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil Award for Most Fragrant Rose

• Lion King (LIMking), bred by Ping Lim, winner of the Edith Wharton Award for Best Floribunda

• Anastasia (ADAMariat), bred by Michel Adam, winner of the Pauline Merrell Award for Best Hybrid Tea

Roses competing for this year’s titles came from the U.S., France, Great Britain and Germany. 

Trials of this type are open to rose breeders around the world – from professional to beginner. Competing roses are evaluated for overall health and rigor; fragrance; disease resistance; and ability to repeat bloom.

About Biltmore

Located in Asheville, N.C., Biltmore was the vision of George W. Vanderbilt.  Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, America’s largest home is a 250-room French Renaissance chateau, exhibiting the Vanderbilt family’s original collection of furnishings, art and antiques. Biltmore estate encompasses more than 8,000 acres including renowned gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture. Today, Biltmore includes Antler Hill Village, which features the award-winning Winery and Antler Hill Farm; four-star The Inn on Biltmore Estate; the Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate; Equestrian Center; numerous restaurants; event and meeting venues; and Biltmore For Your Home, the company’s licensed products division. To learn more about Biltmore, go to www.biltmore.com or call 877-BILTMORE.