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Milberger's Nursery and Landscaping
3920 North Loop 1604 E.
San Antonio, TX 78247
210.497.3760
nursery@milbergersa.com
Three exits east of 281, inside of 1604
Next to the Diamond Shamrock station
Please click map for more detailed map and driving directions.
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ROSES--BREEDING AND TOUGHNESS The thousands of different roses available today all trace their heritage back to the twelve dozen or so species roses, the ones that grow in the wild. The process of obtaining new roses is called hybridization. In this process, the pollen from one plant fertilizes the ovary of another. The plants from the resulting seeds will all be different. Bees and other pollinating insects can cause this process to happen "naturally." Man can also create hybrids and has perfected it to a fine art in the last 100 + years, continually improving both flowers and plants. The overall procedure is lengthy - - from crossing to introduction to the public takes 7 to 10 years of painstaking work. Before the cross is made, the hybridizer selects the parent plants, taking into account color, form, hardiness, disease resistance, foliage, and so forth. Next, the outer petals of the selected parents are removed, exposing the reproductive organs. All roses have both male and female parts. In the center of the flower are the female organs - - pistils and bear pollen-producing anthers. To prevent self-pollination, the anthers are removed on the "mother" plants. The anthers on the "father" plant are harvested, labeled, and stored. About a day later, a sticky substance forms on the stigmas. The anthers release the dust-size pollen at about the same time, at which point it is brushed on the stigmas. The rose is now labeled with information such as date and parentage. A bag is placed over the pollinated flower, protecting it from any further pollination. If fertilization occurred, the area beneath the reproductive organs begins to swell. This is the hip, or fruit, of the rose. It ripens in several months, is harvested, and the seeds removed. The seeds are then cleaned and stratified,
a process in which the seeds are placed in small containers
of peat moss and stored at 40 degrees F. for 6 weeks, before
being planted. Growing in a greenhouse, the first flowers
may appear within 7 to 8 weeks after germination, giving an
indication of this new plant's potential. The seedlings that pass muster are now ready for field testing and evaluation. More than just one plant is needed for this, so the original seedling is propagated. In order to have additional plants exactly like the parent, new ones are started by taking a cutting of a piece of stem that is the bud, or eye, found at the point where the leaf joins the stem. This is grafted onto a rootstock - - a rooted cutting of another rose. Grafting is necessary because many of today's complex hybrids root poorly or erratically on their own. Most garden roses are grown on a variety of Multiflora rose. Buds are taken from dormant plants in late fall and grafted the following spring or summer. It is as budded, field-grown plants that these new roses really begin to "show off." More are discarded and a few are budded in larger quantities for further testing. Only about 100 make it to the second budding. For at least another 2 to 4 years this process continues until only a handful remain. Some of the most promising are entered in the All-America Rose Selections judging. Four plants of each variety are sent to the 23 AARS test gardens around the country for 2 more years of observation. Once a company is ready to introduce a variety, large quantities of plants are budded and grown to marketable age--a period of another one or 2 years. Long and arduous, the process of hybridization is now complete. The new variety - - superior in any number of ways, be it color, fragrance, foliage, hardiness, disease resistance, or whatever - - is now ready to bloom and grow beautifully in yards all over the country. Who knows? It may be the best seller, the one topping "PEACE", with over 20 million plants sold since 1945, and found in nearly every home rose garden. One rose characteristic that most people expect is fragrance. Watch someone walk by roses in full bloom. First, there'll be an exclamation over color or beauty, but, inevitably, the head will bend in expectation of that special scent we've come to expect. Many years ago, Alice Morse Earle wrote, "The fragrance of the sweetest rose is beyond any other flower scent, it is irresistible, enthralling; you cannot leave it. I have never doubted the rose has some compelling quality not shared by other flowers. I do not know whether it comes from some inherent witchery of the plant, but it certainly exists." Elusive and mysterious, the fragrance of roses and the romance surrounding it is legendary. For instance, Cleopatra supposedly entertained Marc Anthony in a room filled with 18 inches of rose petals, and the sails of her ship were soaked with rose water so that "the very winds were lovesick." In the 1300's, Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, whose beauty ritual included quantities of rose water, was, at the age of 72, able to successfully woo the King of Poland. At a 17th century Persian royal wedding, rose petals were floated on garden canals filled with rose water. Such lavishness attests to both the literal and figurative power of rose fragrance. Some of the mystery and illusion of rose fragrance may, in part, be due to the fact that there are actually more than 2 dozen different varieties of rose scent, with some roses having a mixture of these various perfumes. The seven basic scents that are most often found in hybrid tea roses include rose, nasturtium, orris, violet, apple, lemon, and clover. Some of the other scents are fern or moss, hyacinth, orange, bay anise, lily-of-the-valley, linseed oil, hone, wine, marigold, quince, geranium, peppers, parsley, and raspberry. In general, the most highly scented roses are ones that are either darker in color, have more petals to the flower, or have thick, velvety petals. Another correlation is that the red and pink roses are most likely to smell like a "rose," while white and yellow ones lean to orris, nasturtium, violet, or lemon. Orange-shaded roses will usually have scents of fruit, orris, nasturtium, violet, or clover. Rose fragrance will be strongest on warm, sunny days when the soil is moist because that is when the production of the scent ingredients increases. Often, a rose that was fragrant in the morning is no longer so by late afternoon. "MISTER LINCOLN" is one of the best roses for potpourri because it also keeps its strong scent after drying. Another interesting aspect to fragrance is that it is affected by disease. Mildew, especially, will cause a loss of scent. No discussion of roses and fragrance is immune to the argument that the "new" roses just don't have the strong, sweet smell of the "old" roses. Nostalgia withstanding, "it ain't necessarily so." Dr. W. E. Lammerts, a rose scientist, did an in-depth analysis in 1951 and found that quite a few of the older rose varieties were either only moderately scented or had no scent at all. In 1956, Dr. James A. Gamble reported in the American Rose Annual that on examination of 3,900 rose varieties, both old and new, 25 percent were scentless, 20 percent strongly scented, and the rest had some scent. THE DURABLE BEAUTIES There are roses that do not need spraying to survive. Infection of these rose varieties with black spot fungus and powdery mildew (white powder-like substance) on their leaves WILL OCCUR when conditions are favorable for disease. Although the leaves are infected and damaged because of a lack of judicious spraying, some rose varieties WILL survive and WILL produce an abundance of quality flowers. The list of recommended roses is not drawn from the old-fashioned or antique roses. We have been misled into believing that because antique roses are old they are disease resistant. Many of the antique roses can survive without pesticide sprays. However, the quality of bloom, especially for cut flowers, produced cannot equal and are not acceptable to most rose growers. If someone is going to grow roses, they want the flower produced to resemble that which most people consider to be a rose. The following list of most survivable large-flowered or cut-flower roses is derived after carefully examining recommendations from several sources which actually field tested varieties. The most definitive evaluation was from the Burden Research Plantation Rose Garden in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. More than 350 of the hybrid tea rose varieties were not sprayed for insects or disease for several years. In August, 1991, Greg Grant (at the time Research and Development Horticulturist for Lone Star Growers in San Antonio) rated what had survived. The following were the best of the survivors. A high correlation of survivability of varieties exists between the Louisiana test and other similar tests from Texas and across the U.S. The SURVIVABLE-WITH-LITTLE-PESTICIDES roses include: America -- CLIMBING rose Bud ovoid (egg shaped) and pointed; Flower SALMON COLOR; reverse lighter, double flower (43 pedals), imbricated, medium (3-4 inch); Very Fragrant. BELINDA'S DREAM ROSE http://www.timelessroses.com/BelindasDream.htm http://www.timelessroses.com/DonJuan.htm Bud ovoid (egg shaped); Flower VELVETY DARK RED COLOR, double (35 petals), cupped, large (5 inch); Very Fragrant; Foliage dark, glossy, leathery; 8 feet tall. DOUBLE DELIGHT http://www.timelessroses.com/DoubleDelight.htm Bud long, pointed to urn-shaped; Flower CREAMY WHITE BECOMING STRAWBERRY-RED, double bloom (40 petals), high centered, large (5 inch); Fragrant (spicy); Growth upright, spreading, bushy. All American Rose Society Award, 1977; Rose Fragrance Medal, 1986. FRAGRANT CLOUD Bud ovoid; Flower CORAL-RED BECOMING GERANIUM-RED COLOR, double (28 petals), well-formed, large (5 inch); Very Fragrant; Foliage dark, glossy; Growth vigorous and upright; Fragrance Medal 1969. MISTER LINCOLN http://www.timelessroses.com/mrlincoln.htm Bud urn-shaped; Flower DARK-RED COLOR, double flower (35 pedals), high-centered to cupped, large bloom (5 inch); Very Fragrant; Foliage leathery, dark; Growth vigorous. All American Rose Society Award 1965. QUEEN ELIZABETH http://www.timelessroses.com/QueenElizabeth.htm Bud pointed; Flower MEDIUM PINK COLOR, double flower (38 petals), high-centered to cupped, large (4 inch) blooms borne singly and in clusters; Fragrant; Foliage dark, glossy, leathery; Growth very vigorous, upright and bushy. All American Rose Society Award, 1955. Mrs. Dudley Cross ''Mrs. Dudley Cross'' is a compact, shapely bush that is the most commonly found rose in San Antonio (dubbed "the San Antonio Rose" in the great rose hunt of the '80's!) fragrant, double, delicately shaped yellow flowers that blush a little pink in the sun. The stems are nearly always thornless and the foliage is healthy and handsome -- especially during the "winter" months in South Central Texas. =================================
AIN'T SHE SWEET http://www.witherspoonrose.com/aints1.jpg ARTISTRY
BLACK MAGIC BLUE NILE BRANDY BRIDE'S DREAM BRIGADOON CELEBRITY CENTURY TWO CHICAGO PEACE CROWD PLEASER
DOLLY PARTON http://www.starroses.com/hybridtea/dolly.htm http://www.starroses.com/hybridtea/double.htm
FRAGRANT CLOUD http://www.starroses.com/hybridtea/fragrant.htm GEMINI HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INGRID BERGMAN JOHN F. KENNEDY JUST JOEY KEY LARGO LOVE AND PEACE MEDALLION http://www.starroses.com/hybridtea/medallio.htm MISTER LINCOLN MOONSTONE NEW ZEALAND
OLYMPIAD PARTY TIME PEACE PERFECT MOMENT PRINCESSE DE MONACO RIO SAMBA ROSE RHAPSODY
SECRET http://www.timelessroses.com/Secret.htm STAINLESS STEEL ST. PATRICK TROPICANA VETERANS' HONOR ================================================== GRANDIFLORAS CRIMSON BOUQUET FRAGRANT PLUM
HEART O'GOLD LOVE QUEEN ELIZABETH SAN ANTONIO TOURNAMENT OF ROSES ============================ AMBER WAVES ANGEL FACE BETTY BOOP
BRASS BAND
BRITE LITES CHINA DOLL
EASY GOING EUROPEANA FABULOUS FRAGRANT APRICOT GEORGE BURNS GOLDMARIE ICEBERG
LIVIN' EASY http://www.starroses.com/floribunda/livin'.htm MARMALADE SKIES MIAMI MOON MISS BEHAVIN OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PLAYGIRL RED FAIRY SCENTIMENTAL SHEILA'S PERFUME SHOWBIZ SINGIN' IN THE RAIN SUMMER FASHION SUN FLARE TRUMPETER AMERICA http://www.starroses.com/climbers/america.htm BLAZE
FOURTH OF JULY http://www.starroses.com/climbers/fourthof.htm JOSEPH'S COAT ROYAL GOLD ==================================== GROUND COVER, HEDGE, SHRUB ======================= BABY BLANKET CAREFREE DELIGHT CAREFREE WONDER COUNTESS CELESTE ELECTRIC BLANKET KALEIDOSCOPE KNOCK OUT LEMON ZEST OUTTA THE BLUE PILLOW FIGHT PRINCESS MARIANNA QUEEN MARGARETHE STARRY NIGHT ===================================== ==================== COTILLION FALSTAFF GLAMIS CASTLE GOLDEN CELEBRATION GUINEVERE L. D. BRAITHWAITE TEASING GEORGIA VICTORIAN SPICE MINIATURES BLACK JADE CHILD'S PLAY CRACKLING FIRE GIZMO HOT TAMALE LEMON DROP MINNIE PEARL RAINBOW'S END http://www.bridgesroses.com/rainsend.htm
SUN SPRINKLES STARLA WINSOME ============================================ ARCHDUKE CHARLES http://www.roseinfo.com/archduke.html http://www.timelessroses.com/ArchdukeCharles.htm Full, very shapely flowers open with crimson outer petals and neat pink centers, then darkens to crimson red. Forms erect bush. BARONNE PREVOST Large, flat and double blossoms of rich soft pink very fragrant blooms. 4 feet - 5 feet. CALDWELL PINK CECILE BRUNNER --- Climbing Perfectly shaped little pink blooms. Can climb
to 15 to 20 feet. KATY ROAD PINK KRISTEN POULSEN Vivid reddish pink single flowers on an erect bush with dark green foliage. MAGGIE MARIE PAVIE http://www.timelessroses.com/marie_pavie.htm
MARJORIE FAIR MARTHA GONZALES Bright scarlet flowers open flat to decorate a bushy shrub. Excellent low hedge or border plant. MONSIEUR TILLER MUTABILIS "THE BUTTERFLY ROSE" http://www.timelessroses.com/Mutabilis.htm
OLD BLUSH http://www.timelessroses.com/oldblush.htm Lilac pink flowers in loose clusters, blooms profusely on a large upright bush to 5 feet tall. OLD BLUSH ---- CLIMBING SOMBREUIL --- CLIMBING Creamy white blooms are very large and flat, very fragrant on a vigorous climbing bush THE FAIRY http://www.timelessroses.com/TheFairy.htm
THE FAIRY ---- CLIMBING |