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Preface to 2011 Edition:
Horizon Roses, now approaching 40 years of publication, is aging well and continues its annual compilation of comments by the nation’s top exhibitors on the exhibition potential of the newest hybrid teas, floribundas, miniflora and miniature roses. For most exhibitors, it has long been considered an indispensible guide to buying new show roses.
The 2011 edition contains comments from 85 reporters, down two from the 87 last year. Also for the first time in several years the number of reports is down, from 2,300 to 2,138. On the surface that represents a 7% drop in reports. Closer investigation reveals this is not particularly significant since it follows on the heels of a huge increase in the number of reports last year. Last year’s total number of reports had been up a whopping 22.9% from the previous year’s record 1,872 reports. And so, this year’s number is up 14% from that in 2009.
It is also of note that the entire drop in the number of reports is attributable to a decrease in the number of reports on minifloras. All of the other categories in fact saw increases. With minifloras there had been an explosion of reports in the previous two years and it appears that exhibitors, having stocked up in recent years on the excess of new minifloras in the market place had begun to sort out the best ones
The composition of our reporters this year also shows a change. Although the number is nearly the same, there are actually 17 new reporters who replaced 20 older reporters that did not submit reports. Some of the older ones have retired, others have down-sized their gardens, and still others have not added new roses.
Our Northwest Regional Editor, Ken Rowe has retired after several years of service. I am grateful for his service. To fill the gap I have solicited reports from the Pacific Northwest directly and was pleased to obtain several new reporters from that important area. I could use some more and a volunteer for Regional Editor.
I am saddened to report the passing of Barbara Wright, the wife and exhibiting companion of our Carolina Regional Editor Fred Wright. Together they won six national trophies in their too-brief time together, including twice winning the J. Horace McFarland Memorial Award. Her memory lives on in two roses named after her and we express our support of Fred for his loss.
My annual “Box Score” summarizes the reports received on various varieties. Reversing the trend of recent years, there were more reports on HTs than any other classification, with the number increasing 5.5%. The percentage increase in the number of reports of grandifloras and floribundas is even greater, both hovering around 10%. Reports on miniature roses are also up, but less so at 5.7%. These increases are offset by the substantal decline in the number of reports on minifloras, down 24.6% from the record number last year.
The number of varieties on which reports have been received is down from 317 to 313, an insignificant decline of 1.3%. The average number of reports per reporter showed a similar small decline from 26.4 reports to 25.1. The robust number of new roses that received reports belies the general malaise in the rose industry that continued in 2011. Jackson & Perkins was sold in pieces in bankruptcy and a skeleton of unknown dimensions mails out catalogues from South Carolina offering roses renamed after wines with many recent J&P varieties among the missing. Gardens Alive, having employed the great hybridizer Keith Zary, was the successful bidder for Weeks Wholesale Rose Growers in a bankrupcty auction. Its future appears much brighter and we can be optimistic that it will perhaps escape its problems.
Other rose nurseries have also undertaken changes that will affect the availability of show roses. Almost Heaven Roses has closed with the passing of our beloved Vernon Rickard last year. An examination of the website of John’s Miniature Roses shows nothing new and many older varieties among the missing. Are they backing out of the retail sales of miniature roses? And, at press-time we learn from Robbie Tucker that Rosemania will not offer miniature roses for the next several years, this to devote limited greenhouse space to Robbie Tucker’s breeding program. We can hope this program will bear fruit and that the overall effect of this hiatus will be the introduction of some fine show roses.
The reduction in the number of reports has allowed me to drop four pages from last year. I was also able to go a little lighter on my editing this year, using abbreviations less often. (In particuar I dropped the “ex” for exhibition and spell out “miniflora”, the latter in my continued effort to eliminate the awkward term “Mini-Flora” – a position officially adopted by the ARS and still percolating slowly in show schedules.) As in the past, I have tried to preserve reporter comments as much as possible but have eliminated duplicative information, such as the name of the hybridizer or the official color class, which information is set forth following the name of the rose.
Continuing a feature I added four years ago, I have provided information on actual show results to date for the reported roses. This information is set forth in parentheses at the beginning of the comments. A key to the abbreviations is set forth at p. 98. The results reported are current through July 2011 and come from the show results submitted to www.roseshow.com, the website of the American Rose Exhibitors Society (ARES). Historically, this covers about 90% of U.S. show results.
There are only two new additions to the Honor Roll, both minifloras. They are Abby’s Angel, the brilliant yellow and red miniflora that last year had the higest number of reports, and the exceptional, Dr Troy Garret, named after a beloved Oklahoma exhibitor who has often submitted reports to Horizon Roses over the years. Both were hybridized by Whit Wells. There were no deletions as the existing roses on the Honor Roll all retained their position in the top 40 of the national rankings.
I was also able to include a number of reports on roses not yet introduced, some hyrbidized by our own contributors and others under test. Fred Wright has several HTs to be introduced including Phillips Grand Slam, Sister Jane, Sister Ruby and Top Gun, as well as the minifloras, Glowing Sunset, Princess Katelyn and Vernon’s Dream. Bill Blevins reports on several Silver Run test roses from John Smith, whose Randy Scott is the hottest new HT in rosedom. And, to add to that excitement, I report on the registration of Dona Martin, a crystal pink sport of Randy Scott. Dick Anthony introduces us to a slew of minis and minifloras under test from Whit Wells. Yes, there are some wonderful new roses looming over the horizon.
To conclude, the production of Horizon Roses requires a great deal of work, all volunteer, by rose exhibitors who believe as I do that it serves a worthy purpose. Thank you all my friends – I wish you many Queens.
Bob Martin