A rosy future!
National trials of potential new rose varieties to be relaunched next year
Trials of new seedling roses are to be staged in England again after an 18-month hiatus.
When the international trials ground based at the Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) in St Albans closed in May 2017 there was international concern at the lack of opportunity to evaluate potential new roses from breeders.
The new initiative is being led by Paul Rochford, a previous president of the RNRS and owner and director of Joseph Rochford Gardens Ltd, a commercial nursery and garden retail operation in Hertfordshire. Besides gaining access to the historical RNRS trial records Paul has the support of major players in the industry, such as The Rose Society UK, British Association of Rose Breeders (BARB), Roses UK and the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS).
Elsewhere in the UK only Tollcross Park in Glasgow and a similar facility in Belfast operated other trials. The RNRS and Tollcross formed part of a wider international network of trials overseen by the WFRS, also
giving varieties, awards some for of the which best are pictured above.
Trialled for three years, with judging by an international panel in the second and third year, candidate seedlings will vie for category awards, along with a People’s Choice and Children’s Choice awards.
Paul has employed the services of Kerry Austen, formerly head gardener of the venture which is planned to start in 2019, with plants in the ground at the end of this month.
“After the closure of the RNRS I’ve always dreamed something like this would happen,” said Kerry. “We want this to be a centre of excellence for roses, not just for trialling, but also for education and to develop a wider appreciation and understanding of our industry and all that goes into creating a new rose.”
The proposed plot, just under football pitch size, is separate from the main Rochford nursery and will be periodically open to the public once established.