Beautiful roses from Morden By Tania Moffat


Proceeds from the 'Never Alone' rose help to improve the lives of those living with cancer. C


anadians love their roses and have been at the forefront of breeding cold-hardy roses that are now standards in northern gardens. Much of this


hybridization work was completed at the Morden Experi- mental Farm, later the Morden Research Station. Morden’s experimental plant program was established in 1915 by the Dominion Government and originally used to test fruit and farm crops. Now closed, the farm’s legacy lives on in the line of hardy shrub roses known as “Parkland” and the “Canadian Artist Series”. Canada’s cold-tolerant rose hybridization history The first government-funded rose breeding program,


The Farm, was started by William Saunders in 1900. He introduced the rose “Agnes” in 1922, in honour of his wife. Almost forty years later Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada started breeding programs in other cities and towns across the country: Morden, Man., Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,


50 • Fall 2016


Que., and later Alberta. The Canadian explorer series was a significant achieve-


ment completed by rose breeder Felicitas Svejda at The Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, who ultimately produced 25 cultivars to survive the humid temperatures of the eastern part of the country. The Explorer series contains roses that range in size from


three-to six-foot shrubs and nine-foot-high climbers. Many have semi-double blooms and occur in shades of pink and red. Roses crossed with Rugosa red are highly fragrant. What it means to be a Parkland Rose


The Morden Parkland roses are renowned for their


exceptional hardiness. Prior to Canada’s development of cold-hardy roses, growers living in anywhere in a zone five or colder purchased grafted roses and grew them as annu- als. These cultivars which included the floribundas, grandi- floras and hybrid teas were also very susceptible to disease.


localgardener.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80