Summer RHA Newsletter Alert

General Discussion
1

Each issue contains two symposiums, one labeled “Beginner’s Luck” and one labeled something else. The “other” symposium topic for the summer RHA Newsletter is “breeding for fragrance.” I would like to begin working on the issue soon, and some of you apparently have forgotten to send the articles you have been working on. :slight_smile:

Please remember to send the articles and notes you have written. Remember, the sooner you send them, the sooner I can put the Newsletter together and get it to you.

Do you need to write about the genetic basis for fragrance in roses (or people)?

Do you need to conduct a controlled experiment in which you blindfold rosarians and ask them to identify which rose has been drinking Coke and which has been drinking Pepsi?

Do you need to prove that one of your seedlings has won the Gamble Award for rose fragrance?

To have your article or note or question published in the Newsletter, do you need to submit a list of the articles you’ve written about roses?

No.

No.

No.

And No.

But if you’ve found some crosses that seem to yield a good number of fragrant seedlings, or you’ve noticed that a particular parent seems to have a better-than-average number of fragrant offspring, or you’ve found that a high percentage of the grandchildren of a particular variety have good fragrance, please share your knowledge with us all. Knowledge of this sort, shared, will come back to haunt your nose, and it will benefit us and our favorite flower.

And if you haven’t had thoughts about fragrance, write about something else–maybe something that you thought of in relation to a symposium in an earlier issue.

Or just pass along a suggestion about a good way you have found to do something (or maybe to avoid doing something) related to hybridizing.

Soon.

Let me hear from you.

If you want to ask me about whether something would be useful in the Newsletter, let me hear from you.

Soon.

Thanks–

Peter

2

Hey Gang!

Peter mentioned to me that he has only ONE short article! The symposium topic for the summer issue is breeding for fragrance. I know that everyone loves a fragrant rose. That is the first thing a person does is to stick his/her nose into it! If fragrance is one of your hybridizing goals, how do you go about getting one? If you have a fragrant seedling, how about writing a short article telling how you went about creating it. It doesn’t have to be an English 101 term paper - and no, you will not get graded on it! But it will be appreciated. Remember, it is OUR newsletter.

Thanks,

John Moe

General Director, RHA

P.S. - He would appreciate a short article on any other facet of the hybridizig procss as well.

3

A month ago today I asked for some of you to write articles for the Newsletter. I know it has been a busy time of the year, but with hybridizing activities winding down for most of us, it may be time to renew my request–just in case you all forgot to send me something.

As it happens, that is what apparently has happened. There have been no new submissions since John posted his response above. That means that there has been a total of ONE short article sent me so far.

A lot of people give lip service (and nose service) to fragrance. I surely would like to see your thoughts about breeding for fragrance–whether you do it or don’t do it, whether you think that a particular variety or a “family” of roses has a better chance of passing it along, etc. See the above, and please send ME something for YOUR Newsletter.

If I’d had enough material for an issue on this subject, you’d have had the summer Newsletter already.

Don’t be a grinch. Send me an article for all of us. You’ll become rich and famous, and you’ll be a better person and feel a lot better about yourself too.

Peter

4

I’m sure that there many members that do not have or use a computer; and although this forum is becoming a very popular way to communicate and share ideas, the newsletter is vital to many.

I know it is in most rose societies. I just gave up the editorship of our local rose society newsletter after 11 years. The new editor proposed an e-mail only version. The phone calls started to come, and I had to assure them that there would continue to be a hard copy mailed to them. This would be a quick way to lose membership if they had no commnication with the society. I am sure that the same would happen to the RHA.

Now I know that by this time most of you are well into or about finished with your hybridizing program for the season. I also hope that a lot of you will take a few minutes to write a short article about some of the crosses that you are making or have made this year or whatever phase of hybridizing you would care to write about.

This is our newsletter and although we realize that everyone is busy, if everyone contributes something for one edition during the year that job is so much easier for our editor.

Section 1 of Article II of our constitution and bylaws states that the RHA shall disseminate information through a quarterly newsletter relating to all phases of the hybridization of roses.

I have sent an article and am working on another. Are you?

Thank you,

John Moe

General Director, RHA