Out, out black spot Breeders tackle the dreaded problems of growing roses http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearwest/chi-0610roses_gardenjun10,1,552211.story By Anne Raver New York Times News Service Published June 10, 2007 I grew up with roses that were sprayed so heavily with pesticides that I probably risked my life sniffing them. But there were, and are, alternatives to roses that need to be doused in deadly liquids. At a gathering of rosarians at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in March, Wilhelm Kordes III, a fourth-generation rose breeder from Sparrieshoop, Germany, showed images of his latest disease-resistant beauties, grown with no pesticides, distinguished by sumptuous shapes and velvety petals. There was Laguna, a deep pink climber: "very double, old-fashioned, with a lovely fragrance," Kordes said in his slow, elegant English. "That, I think, will have a great future." There were the new Fairy Tale shrub roses, like Brothers Grimm, a study of yellows and deep orange-red: "enchanting, fully double, fragrant," Kordes went on. He showed off other favorites, such as Lion's Rose, a pale pink floribunda: "no diseases, a lovely shape, the color very nice," he said. In March, Kordes was honored as Great Rosarian of the World for 2007 at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. The garden hosts a great rosarian lecture series, started seven years ago by Clair G. Martin, the Huntington's rose curator, to introduce Americans to a wider selection of roses. This year, the Huntington tradition became a bicoastal affair, as Kordes and Martin came to New York to join a lively discussion on rose trends at the New York Botanical Garden and at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden events. Low maintenance and disease resistance are key, but so too, are beauty and fragrance. And because gardeners are more aware of the dangers of pesticides, they are paying more attention to the soil, which is the basis for healthy plants. So there was a lot of talk about mulch. "Mushroom compost," said Anne O'Neill, the curator of the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. "Or Sweet Peet," she added, referring to an organic commercial mix of aged horse manure mixed with wood shavings (sweetpeet.com). "One inch is all you need," O'Neill said, and you will do a favor not only for your roses, but also for all those creatures in the soil. There was much discussion, too, about the Knock Out roses developed by William Radler, a breeder in Milwaukee. (Radler has been named the 2008 Great Rosarian of the World honoree.) "Double Knock Out Red is as completely free of black spot as any rose around," said Martin, the curator of the rose and perennial gardens at Huntington. Pat Shanley, president of the Manhattan Rose Society, loves the Double Pink Knock Out, because it blooms all summer long. "Bill Radler has shown people that it's fun to grow roses," she said. "And you don't have to put your life and the environment at risk to grow them." Knock Out roses have no fragrance, or very little. But like those indestructible petunias produced by Proven Winners, another mass marketer, these roses could be grown by anyone, anywhere. They have taken the fear factor out of growing roses. But do they make a garden interesting, even unforgettable? No. Kordes' roses, on the other hand, are sturdy, and they come in many colors, from creamy white and yellow to apricot and deep red. There are climbers, shrub roses and compact types perfect for the patio. And they all say no to chemicals. When Kordes took over the family nursery 17 years ago, he stopped spraying the fields of roses. Patches of color and lush green leaves signaled those that stood up to black spot and mildew. These roses, which have been hard to find in the United States, are now available at Wayside Gardens, in Hodges, S.C. (waysidegardens.com; 800-213-0379); Roses Unlimited, in Laurens, S.C. (864-682-7673; rosesunlimitedownroot.com); and Palatine Fruit and Roses, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (palatine roses.com; 905-468-8627). Kordes roses ( www.kordesroses.com ) have been workhorses for decades: I have 'Dortmund,' a cherry red climber, introduced in the 1950s, in my garden. I don't think I've ever seen a black spot on its tough, shiny green leaves. Now, Earth Kind Roses, (earthkind roses.tamu.edu), selected by a research program started by Steven W. George at Texas A&M University, has a list of 13 roses that can withstand drought and heat. And more roses are being tested in trial gardens. Marilyn Wellan, a past president of the American Rose Society, described the Texas A&M test site in Dallas, where 117 rose cultivars were planted "in the worst conditions," she said. "Those bushes were never sprayed, pruned or deadheaded," Wellan said. "By the end of the second year, all but 11 cultivars died." The survivors include 19th Century favorites like 'Mutabilis,' a China rose, whose single petals open yellow, then deepen to orange and red; 'Perle d'Or,' a peachy polyantha with a powerful scent; and 'Duchesse de Brabant,' a pink cabbage-style rose with a tea fragrance, as well as modern shrub roses like Knock Out and Carefree Beauty. Rose lovers can help widen that selection by testing Earth Kind candidates in their own gardens. "Join the Rose Brigade to test roses for A&M," Wellan said. "We're looking for roses good for the colder zones." Copyright 2007, Chicago Tribune

Hi, Kelly & Vapor, @celeste/NH Thank you for your ideas! i checked my friend’s location and she has humidity, too, so I am reworking my list. Rugosa are good. Kordes are great for no BS in humidity. Do you know what Old Garden Roses are best for zone 4 and humidity? @Kelly Tregaskis Collova Earth Angel & Madame Anisette are zone 5, but you have grown them in your zone 4. Are you zone 4a or 4 b? Where in your yard can you grow them? Maybe if you grow them on south side of home it keeps them warmer since they are not nade for your zone? However, climate has warmed all over and temps may not be getting as low as we are zoned, either. Also, did the cold winter get your Olivia? Olivia does really well in humidity. I have humidity & she gets no BS. Princess Alexandria of Kent gets BS, so I will not recommend for her. The DA roses list in my post above are zoned 4, but maybe DA are just not very hardy? Lichfield Angel, though, may be their most hardy rose-I have her and she grows no matter what where I have lost other roses. Yes, I heard less fragrant DA newer ones-thanks. Maybe if planted on south side home they will keep warmer in zone 4.

The Floral Fairy Tale, Cream Flower Circus, and Elegant Fairy Tale are light apricot that fade to cream, and they are quite compact (3' in my zone). Also, Lion's Fairy Tale is mostly cream for me and a large and pretty profuse bloomer. They're all heavy bloomers, reliably hardy in our zone 5, and supposed to be at least somewhat fragrant. They might be, but I can rarely smell most roses. As far as I can tell they last 5-7 days on the bush, but I don't tend to cut them so I can't tell in the house. The full petaled ones tend to be a little less long lasting in general. Here are photos of three of them: Floral Fairy Tale Cream Flower Circus Lion's Fairy Tale (mine was sold as Champagne Moment). It's usually on the pinkish side, but here it is last month in a white mood: Summer Memories is also a nice clean white and it has survived in the zone 4 pocket of my yard just fine. The photo is a little blurry, but the color is pretty true to life. Hope this helps! Cynthia

I bought a beautiful dark red mini at Walmart after Valentine's last year, marked down to about $2. It had about six little plants crammed into the pot. I separated out the plants and potted them up in their own small pots, about 4" size. They grew and bloomed very well last summer. I just potted one up into about a 3 gal. pot. They don't need great big pots while they're small. From a 4" pot I'd pot up into a gallon pot. Then when the plant roots fill the gal. pot you could plant in the ground or in a bigger pot. They do very well in pots. I think your thought about snipping a bud on a tiny plant with poor roots is good. It might help the plant direct its energies more to growing roots.