fabulous!

I don't like this new trend of naming roses whose name includes punctuation, and by punctuation, I mean the exclamation mark. It seems silly and forced. Does that exclamation mark really add anything? For marketing purposes, am I more likely to purchase "Voluptuous!" rather than "Voluptuous"? Adding that punctuation is naming for the mindless masses, like the buyer can't make up their own mind, so adding that exclamation mark tells them what to think. I find it rather offensive. When reading a list of my varieties, it does catch the eye, but my first impression is that the exclamation mark makes the word preceding it a title of the list, rather than the name of a rose itself. "Fabulous!" being the quality of roses in the list rather than the name of on of the roses itself. Personally, I think the name "Voluptuous" would be kind of cute. I still don't like the strident glowing lipstick red of that rose and wouldn't buy it with either name, but "Voluptuous!" seems rather presumptuous, particularly because I don't find it to be very voluptuous, and that punctuation seems to try to force that opinion onto me. It's like saying "The sky is RED!" or "It's FAKE NEWS!" The emphasis doesn't make it true. And although names of cultivars frequently do describe a color or mood of the plant (such as Hesperaloe parvifolia 'Brakelights' which is an unusually red form), I find this forced word to convey falsehood.

So it was with great hesitancy that I purchased a rose named 'Fabulous!' I still hate the name. But it was one of those rare occasions where people have commented saying that it is indeed fabulous, with or without the exclamation point. They also commented that it is rarely sold anymore, which nearly convinced me that it really is a dud as the name would suggest. I did purchase it because a rose grower that I've appreciated, said that it was a good rose. Here in its second season, it has indeed turned out to be a good rose. It is vigorous, disease free, and blooms frequently, even in 100 degree heat. The only things that keep it from being "Fabulous!" in my book is that it has very little fragrance, and that the flowers are a little small. So "Fabulous!" or not, it's a pretty good rose.