Category: Roses

Peace Rose for United Nations’Day – Oct. 24

On By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #Author's Life, #PoweredByIndie, Gardening, Rose Gardening, RosesLeave a comment

peace-1  

Parentage: (‘George Dickson’ x ‘Souvenir de Claudius Pernet’) x (‘Joanna Hill’ x ‘Chas. P. Kilham’) x ‘Margaret McGredy”.

Hybridized by the French hybridizer Francis Meilland in the late 1930s, and introduced by Conard-Pyle Co., West Grove, PA in 1945.

 

The rose that is called ‘Peace’ in the United States and Great Britain is called ‘Mme Antoine Meilland’ in France, ‘Gioia’ (Joy) in Italy and ‘Gloria Dei” (The Glory of God) in Germany. ‘Peace’ is one of the most famous roses of the century if not of all times. It is one of the few modern roses surrounded by legend and myth. It was bred by Francis Meilland under the code name 3-35-40 and named it Madame A. Meilland, after his mother. Francis Meilland hybridized another lemon yellow rose with ‘Peace’ as the parent and named her ‘Grand’mere Jenny’, after his paternal grandmother.

 

One story goes that it was hybridized in France in the last years before World War II, and escaped as unnamed cuttings in the last American diplomatic bag to leave Paris as World War II began. Recognized as a winner, the rose was propagated by Conard-Pyle Co., a leading American rose nursery and released in 1945. Because it returned in peacetime to a liberated France, ‘Peace’ was the name the rose was given. Later, the ‘Peace’ rose took the world by storm after being the centerpiece on all the tables at the organizational meeting of the United Nations at San Francisco in 1945.

 

Another version of the story of ‘Peace’ is that it began in France when the Nazi invasion forced young Francis Meilland to smuggle three one-pound packages of an experimental rose into other countries. Two of the packages were confiscated, but the third made it to Robert Pyle of Conard-Pyle Co. in the United States. Ten years later, after this rose of outstanding character and quality had been tested throughout the United States, the ARS planned a special name-giving ceremony. At the Pacific Rose Society Exhibition in Pasadena, CA, Robert Pyle declared “We are persuaded that this greatest new rose of our time should be named for the world’s greatest desire – Peace.” Francis Meilland’s rose was given its American and English name ‘Peace’ on April 29, 1945, the day Berlin fell to the allies. Nine years after introduction, an American authority estimated that some thirty million ‘Peace’ were growing in gardens around the world. Nowadays, nobody seems to have kept count. With all the royalties coming from the sale of ‘Peace’, the Meillands were able to build a rose hybridizing empire on the Cap d’Antibes on the Mediterranean shores.
 

Another melodramatic story, so often told, is that the budwood of ‘Peace’ was smuggled out of the south of France by a heroic U.S. embassy official in November 1942, just hours before the German invasion. It’s a very good story, but the truth of the matter according to Francis Meilland, is that the budwood was sent to Germany, Italy and the United States via ordinary postal channels in the summer of 1939. Southern France at that time was not yet invaded. It was perfect timing. By receiving a few cuttings in 1939, Conard-Pyle was able to introduce this rose at the San Francisco conference to found the United Nations, the day Berlin fell in 1945. If these cuttings were received in November 1942 they could not have started budding until 1943, and they could not have built up enough stock of this rose in time for nationwide distribution three years later.

 

The day the war with Japan ended, ‘Peace’ was given the All American Rose Selection Award. A month later, the day the peace treaty was signed with Japan, ‘Peace’ received the American Rose Society’s supreme Award, the Gold Medal. ‘Peace’ has won most of the world’s top rose awards: Gold Medal, Portland 1944; All-American Rose Selection 1946; Gold Medal Certificate, American Rose Society 1947; Golden Rose, The Hague 1965; Hall of Fame, World Federation of Rose Societies 1976; and Award of Garden Merit, Royal Horticultural Society 1993. Today, ‘Peace’ is still the world’s favorite rose.

 

‘Peace’ is a vigorous, bushy, upright plant, 4-5 ft. tall with stiff canes covered with large, leathery, beautiful, dark green, glossy foliage with good disease-resistant quality. New growth appears light red. ‘Peace’ resents heavy pruning.

 

Buds are high-centered and cupped at opening. Blooms are double (40 to 45 petals), 5 to 6 inches across, near perfect in form and more or less continuous flowering throughout the season. Colors vary from day to day but are essentially creamy yellow edged in rose pink. It has a slight fragrance. It is a good exhibition rose and an excellent cut flower. It’s rated 8.0 on the 2017 Handbook for Selecting Roses.

 

Flowers were huge in 1940s. Somehow ‘Peace’ planted in the 1940s and still thriving today at well-maintained public gardens, war memorials, or at the homes of veteran gardeners are larger compared to the blooms on the ‘Peace’ plant you will receive from any nursery today. Even if genetic science tells you otherwise, still the ‘Peace’ sold today is just a pale imitation of the old ‘Peace’. Vita Sackville-West hated it and thought it horribly coarse.

 

Hybrid teas bred since the 1950s often have at least a little ‘Peace’ blood in them. Of the many mutations of ‘Peace’ introduced over the years, the most popular is ‘Chicago Peace’. Other sports of ‘Peace’ are ‘Berlin’, ‘Garden Party’, ‘Gold Crown’, ‘Glowing Peace’, ‘Love and Peace’ (2002 AARS Selection), ‘Perfume Delight’, ‘Pink Rose’, ‘Princesse de Monaco’, ‘Royal Highness’, ‘Speaker Sun’, ‘Sterling Silver’, and ‘Tropicana’. A Climbing form was introduced in 1950. ‘Climbing Peace’ is a climbing sport of ‘Peace’. It has shiny, deep green, almost-leathery foliage, and it has a very pleasing color, peachy pink suffused with apricot yellow. Its buds are exquisitely pointed, and they open into large, long-lasting flowers. It is so robust and healthy that you never have to spray it with pesticides. Its one real flaw is a complete lack of fragrance.

 

‘Peace’ is showcased at the following Display Gardens: Sturgeon Memorial Rose Garden, Largo, FL; Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA; Julia Davis Rose Garden, Boise, ID; George L. Luthy Memorial Rose Garden, Peoria, IL; Richmond Rose Garden, Richmond, IN; City of Portland Rose Circle, Portland, ME; The Jim Buck Ross Rose Garden, Jackson, MS; and Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, VA.

 

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

 Rosalinda Morgan, The Rose Lady

 Author of “The Wentworth Legacy”

 www.rosalindarmorgan.com

 

Is It Hard To Grow Roses? Not If You Try Eco-Friendly Method.

On By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #Author's Life, Gardening, Rose Culture, Rose Gardening, Roses2 Comments

IMG_1440As I talk to more people about growing roses, I was amazed at most of the answers I got, “Roses are hard to grow. You have to spray constantly.” Spraying scares some people. Most people just want to grow roses without spraying those chemicals and that is the main reason “Knock Out” roses are so popular. We have to educate them that there are alternative to spraying and there are other easy roses besides Knock Out roses.

Years ago, I sprayed my roses every week. Then in 1999, I decided to stop spraying because I could not stand the smell of those chemicals to the point of closing all my windows after I sprayed the garden. I was not going for the Queen of the Rose Show at that time. I was more interested in rose arrangements and showing my garden at our annual garden tour. I need color in the garden and fragrant roses. I discovered Bayers 3-in-1 systemic would do the same job so I used that. Then Bayers stopped selling them in New York. The first year, I did not spray, the garden looked terrible. Some of the roses got defoliated completely by August. But I ignored it as I looked for other alternatives.

For starters, I discovered Gardens Alive, a purveyor of earth-friendly products. I started spreading beneficial nematodes on the edge of the lawn in the spring and fall. They killed the grubs which grow up into Japanese beetles. I got rid of the beetles. For aphids, there are some environment-friendly methods you can use. Ladybugs and lacewing larvae will eat aphids. I used ladybugs. One rose supplier I asked told me to just give them a good blast of water. A heavy thunderstorm will probably do a better job than any dose of chemical spray. Since aphids cannot fly, once you knock them off the plant, they will not be able to return.

Red spider mite is a relative of the true spider and only occurs in the late spring/early summers in very dry conditions. Once you get an infestation, it is very hard to control but the most important thing to remember is that a very fine spray must be used on the sprayer and the plant must be completely wet. An application of dormant oil in late winter will kill eggs wintering on the ground. The telltale sign of an infestation is the leaves appear to lack color and eventually fall off. The mites, which are very, very small, appear on the underside of the leaves and are reddish brown.

To take care of diseases like blackspot, I used Pyola from Gardens Alive. I also bought Serenade from Possum Landscape Supply in Charleston. I tried Roses Alive a couple of years ago and the roses look very healthy without spraying toxic chemicals. I don’t own a sprayer since the year 2000 until I won one at our picnic two years ago. It is still in the box, unopened. This year, I tried Spray n Grow and it is a great product. My roses look healthy and the blooms are bigger.

Rose Gardening World on Facebook is a great source for eco-friendly rose care. If you ask, someone will give you an answer of what they use. Someone asked the other day what do you use for rust and the reply came: “I use two uncoated aspirins for a quart of water and let the aspirins dissolve and spray. I had my yellow girl with it and the rust disappeared in two applications.”

Most important of all is to keep your garden clean, tidy and weed free. Get rid of diseased leaves. I go out there every day and if I see leaves with blackspot, I pull them out. You don’t want the disease to spread. If you have pine straw mulch, it is hard to pick up the diseased leaves stuck between the straws so I opted for black cedar mulch.

Check your garden every day to see what is going on. Without those chemicals you are inhaling, you can enjoy the beauty that surrounds you anytime without the fear of harming yourself. It’s a healthy way of rose gardening.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda (The Rose Lady)

http://www.rosalindasgarden.com

FOURTH OF JULY – A Rose to Celebrate our Independence

On By SCLMRoseIn HOLIDAYS, RosesLeave a comment

FOURTH OF JULY

Striped Red and White Rose
Parentage: R. ‘Roller Coaster’ x R. ‘Altissimo’.

Fourth of July is a special day for our country. We celebrate our freedom that we cherish and that our veterans fought and died heroically and some are still fighting to preserve what we enjoy today. Won’t it be nice to honor our country by having “Fourth of July” rose in our garden? Yes, a rose by the name of “Fourth of July”. As a gardener, I designed my front garden in the theme of Red, White and Blue. I have white alyssum, blue pansies and red roses.

“Fourth of July” is a semi-double, gorgeous ruffled petals climber that looks like a burst of fireworks when in bloom. It has long, pointed buds and 3″ and 4″ blooms with striped red and white petals and glossy, dark green foliage. It is a vigorous plant and can grow 10 to 14 ft. high. It is the first climber to be honored as a 1999 All-America Selection winner for a long time. I planted mine next to a palm tree hoping it would climb the palm tree but the canes were growing away from the tree so I pegged the long cane. Pegging or bending the cane down and pegging it to the ground encourages more lateral stems and more blooms.

“Fourth of July” has strong apple fragrance, a very refreshing scent. Color is dramatic. It is a stunning plant, a real traffic stopper. It is an excellent repeat blooming rose with sensational flowers all season long. It is the best climber around winning awards at rose show around the country. You can plant them attached to an arch, pergola or trellis for a stunning display of colorful blooms. Some gardeners use them as a shrub in the entranceway to the garden. To grow them as a shrub, prune them heavily in the spring.

Best grown in medium moisture, slightly acidic, well-drained garden loams in full sun to part shade. Water deeply and regularly (mornings are best). Good air circulation is important because it promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps prevent diseases. Summer mulch helps retain moisture, keeps roots cool and discourages weeds. Remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. Remove and destroy diseased leaves from plants, as practicable, and clean up and destroy dead leaves from the ground around the plants both during the growing season and as part of winterizing your roses in late fall. It is very disease resistant and winter hardy.

Few roses can command attention like Fourth of July. It only has 10-16 petals but when Fourth of July is in bloom, it is quite a show.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!

Join a rose society: http://www.charlestonrose.com.