As Shakespeare famously wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And Gertrude Stein’s “A rose is a rose is a rose” is her most famous quotation. Neither have anything to do with the genus Rosa — the world’s most talked about flowers. Rather, Shakespeare’s dialogue in the play has Juliet argue that the name of things do not matter — only what things are. And Stein’s words are generally interpreted to mean things are what they are.
Roses have inspired poetry, art, literature and song for thousands of years. Wild roses were known to the Chinese 5,000 years ago. There is evidence that roses were being cultivated in China as early as 500 BC. But it was the Romans who elevated the rose to the stature of queen of flowers. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, roses are available in enormous variety. It is estimated there are more than 60,000 registered cultivars of roses, and rose production is, globally, a multibillion dollar business. So with tens of thousands of these lovelies on the market, why do we not see Calgary parks and residential gardens overflowing with the most coveted of blooms?
If Rumen Conev, research scientist in plant breeding at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario, has his way, Canada could become a veritable Versailles, with roses blooming coast to coast.
Conev’s partnership program with the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association intends to develop a continuous line of high-quality rose varieties that will generate profitability for Canadian nurseries and retailers and brighten the Canadian landscape.
“Our No. 1 priority is to breed cold-hardy and black spot disease resistant landscape roses. We’re also interested in developing varieties that are aligned with what consumers want in a landscape rose — specific colours, glossy, dark green foliage, and fragrance,” said Conev in a recent interview. “The roses need to be resistant to powdery mildew and have the ability to bloom continuously. We breed for classic garden roses as well as for landscape roses suitable for mass planting, ground cover as well as container and patio grown plantings,” he added.
The program is now national in scope, with the focus varying depending upon where in the country the hybridized roses are to be grown.
Black spot, for example, is prevalent in the Great Lakes area, while powdery mildew thrives in British Columbia due to its moist climate. And hardiness in extreme conditions — Zone 2 — is being tested at the University of Saskatchewan. There is test site at Olds College, as well.
Now in its fifth year of testing, the pan-Canadian testing network collaborates with nurseries and academic institutions from coast to coast. Conev and his team are performing more than 15,000 crosses each year and combining the heredity of 100 parental varieties and lines from Canada and around the globe.
Every year, 10,000 to 15,000 hybrids are planted on the farm in Vineland, Ont., and evaluated for ornamental display and resistance to black spot disease. The best of these roses are sent to collaborators across Canada, including the University of Saskatchewan, for further testing in a variety of climatic conditions for black spot resistance and winter hardiness.
Following two to three years of rigorous testing in harsh conditions without fungicide sprays and winter protection, a couple of the best performing and adapted varieties are selected for commercialization each year. It is hoped the hybridized varieties will be on the market in the spring 2018. And the biggest rose-growers in Canada predict that if the target is hit, this will be one of the biggest successes in rose-growing history.
This will surely inspire more poetry, song, art and literature about the beloved rose.