The spring meeting of the RHA will be Sunday afternoon, July 1st in St Paul, in conjunction with the ARS Spring Convention. We will visit the Horticultural Research Center and the Arboretum; have a lunch meeting and then view the rose research projects of Kathy Zuzek, see some work on blackspot, and have a demo on the root tip squash by David Zlesak. I hope that many of you are making plans to come to St Paul for this event. It should be not only a fun time, but very educational
It should be a very fun time. Kathy’s roses are beautiful. We will see the core breeding stock from her program, advanced selections, and discuss some of the breeding objectives that characterized her work. Her three new hardy polyantha selections are planted by the parking lot growing beautifully. They are called Sven, Lena, and Ole after the fictional characters from the jokes we tell up here. Ya sure you bet ya!
Kathy has been working at the HRC for 20 years of which 17 years were spent developing great rose germplasm. She has incorporated species with Explorer and Buck rose breeding lines and also has been working with polyanthas. She is at the point of having really good repeat blooming, disease resistant roses of cultivar potential come out of the program (beyond the polyanthas). Due to budget cutbacks and lack of established cultivars yet generating royalties she was laid off last December. Her seedling beds will continue to be watched and selected from as the program downsizes and likely will be phased out.
This Sunday will be a sad, yet very valuable opportunity to see the progress of a passionate Northern rose breeder and the progress she has made. If you can join us this coming Sunday please do.
Sincerely,
David
On Saturday I’ll be helping with the beginning rose growers seminar until 1PM. Afterwards, a local RHA member and I will go over to my rented garden plot a few miles away from the hotel to look at some of my seedlings. If anyone else would like to come and join us that would be great. I have mainly polyantha and shrub rose seedlings planted there.
Sincerely,
David
I really thought of trying to come David but I waited too late to make arrangements.
These events certainly sneak up on us. I wish I could see what you all are up to.
I’m sure it’s fascinating.
Are these events always in the East?
It’s very sad to hear of the loss of Kathy’s funding. I honestly think rose breeding is either going to become extremely specialized or left to hobbyist breeders before it’s over.
It’s just too expensive a proposition for most growers.
If research can’t be funded at the University level I can’t imagine too many other venues that might make it economically feasible.
lol, Robert. Rose outsourcing! ahahaha, I crack myself up 
You know it’s true! 
It’s quite possible.