Life has been eventful and crazy the past several years, but I wanted to give you all an update. For those who don’t know me, I went to LSU, worked with the Texas A&M rose breeding program and became the Director of Breeding at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX. Words can’t express how much I owe especially Mike Shoup, but also David Byrne, David Zlesak, Kim Rupert, Jim Sproul, and others.
My breeding efforts have now culminated in several awards:
‘Up For Anything’
2024 American Rose Society International Trials
■ ARC Gold Medal for Dr. J. Horace McFarland Award (Most Outstanding Rose)
■ Dr. Joseph & Marion Klima Award (Best Garden Impression Rose)
■ American Rose Center Committee Award (Best Shrub-Landscape Rose)
‘Glass Slipper’
2024 American Rose Society International Trials
■ William J. Radler Award (Most Disease Resistant Rose)
‘Femme Fatale’
2023 American Rose Society International Trials
■ American Rose Society President’s Award (Best Hybrid Tea Rose)
■ Virginia K. Shehee Award (Most Fragrant Rose)
‘Magnolia Memories’
2023 American Garden Rose Selections
■ 1st Place (Most Fragrant Rose)
After the Antique Rose Emporium I moved on to work in Chickpea Breeding and then to CEA Breeding. During that time I got married, bought a house and now have a 4 month old little one. Now that things are settling down, and I have my own property, I’m realizing how much I miss rose breeding and decided that I am officially getting back into the rose breeding game!
Hi Andrew! What brought you to Maryland? Are you working with a group doing plant breeding? I’m glad you are going to do more rose breeding. Wishing you and your family the very best.
I was fairly impressed by Femme Fatale last year, and am looking forward to seeing what Magnolia Memories (and FF) will do this year. Maryland’s mountains are probably a bit less unkind to roses in terms of blackspot compared to my location, much lower and closer to the Bay/ocean, which is both good and bad from a breeding perspective. On the other hand, if you need anyone who can torture your roses during the summer to see what they’re really made of, I might know a guy…
Great to see you here again, Andrew.
Congrats on the family!
Is Glass Slippers a “Muriel” descendent via “Out of Yesteryear”? I have wondered in the past what that one might offer progeny.
Sounds like you are now in a much friendlier climate for rose breeding than here in Central Texas.
Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to say about hips yet, but maybe Andrew can give you some insight. The plant is coming along again, but had a several-month setback as neighbors nuked their entire fenceline with herbicide and many of my plants suffered serious injury. A few were killed outright (Lasting Memories didn’t make it, and I’ve ordered another). I haven’t noticed any significant disease developing on the foliage of Magnolia Memories, so it seems promising.