Henry,

I went to the link, read the article, and looked at the photo of the Karl Switzer Rose Circle (garden). The garden looks dismal to me. How does it look to you?

I believe a public rose garden should have sufficient bushes to fill the beds. Evidently the garden had 600 rose bushes at one time. Going by the photograph provided in the article, I have counted 34 bushes in the section of the garden which appears to me to be half of if.

Perhaps financial support and bodies (volunteers or paid personnel), are in short supply, or the rose garden is in transition, and the beds will be renewed, now that the trial is over.

The Karl Switzer Rose Circle, located in Deering Oaks Park, Portland, ME, is laid out beautifully. The walking paths are well planned, and a thriving, lush rose garden would be a tremendous asset to the city of Portland.

I hope this potentially lovely garden soon becomes a rose garden the public is drawn to. It is certainly possible to go organic/low maintenance and have a lush, floriferous garden at the same time.

Moses

Viewing this garden would make me run back to my fungicide arsenal. Sorry.

I don't see any fungal issues. It looks to me like the roses are done with their flush. There were more blooms in July: rose-garden-deering-oaks-park. Deadheading and a light pruning for the home gardener wouldn't be too hard, but isn't allowed in the test garden.

Henry,

A dead rat looks realistic for the condition it is in, too.

Many of the Earth-Kind roses are, and this is my OPINION only (please don't beat me over the head with a rose cane as Chris, from New Flora, likes to do when I express my opinion/personal experience), not very disease resistant, and certainly not in the least winter hardy in Portland, Maine. Any novice rose gardener would know about winter hardiness, especially in Portland, ME.

Where is/was the local ARS Chapter/ Rose Club to help out?

Who ever was in charge of the whole idea of devoting an entire public rose garden, capable of holding 600 roses, to a years long test of just 61 bushes (3 each of 21 Earth-Kind varieties), did not make a wise move.

Test the E-K roses in a secluded spot, and plant annuals in the rose beds for the duration of the test. At least the public will have something beautiful to stroll through.

The Karl Switzer Rose Circle, I am certain, used to be a magnificent sight. Now look at it, pitiful.

I think it has fallen victim to one or all of the following: political correctness, green-earthers, decision by committee, or the creeping laziness many Americans are exhibiting more and more.

Expecting even tough roses to thrive and flourish with no: dead heading, annual pruning, watering, fertilizing, etc., is a Utopian's dream, not reality.

When you give little, get get little.

I am approaching the Karl Switzer Rose Circle from the standpoint of a visitor to the garden today. I am willing to bet that 99 visitors out of 100 visitors to the garden would call it, "dismal," too. The one visitor who would have no negative comment to voice would be someone's Poodle, on a leash, of course.

Moses

I wonder if those who are shocked missed that this is a test garden with no watering after the first year. Possibly, for some the no watering may seem to be a useless criteria. In my garden in Ohio I do not have government water rationing yet, but it is my understanding that many areas do.

As someone involved with a public garden with essentially similar criteria, I agree that the choice of roses was lazy. IMHO, it is a chronic problem with the Earth Kind program - they are still stuck in the past where everyone should grow the same roses. So they want to test the same roses, without taking into account local conditions like winter cold. Looking at the photograph, there are obviously NO rugosas, NO Explorers, and I'm not even sure there are any of the Fairy Tale roses that have done well for us under similar conditions in Hyde Park.

As for local ARS input, their primary focus for years was on HTs. It seems that they have followed many other local societies into the black hole that results from zigging when everyone else is zagging.

Perhaps a general description of the Earth Kind program would be useful here.

See:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkindroses/

See:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4729124/earth-kind-roses-at-the-columbus-park-of-roses-ohio?n=6

Video, see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N0M35pQmrs