While their spouses were in the annual meeting (this year held in San Antonio) Mike Shoup gave the group an overview of antique roses.
Mike Shoup: "We do not have rose gardens, we have gardens with roses in them." Basically, antique roses come in all sizes and shapes. Modern roses are usually planted in rows like upright soldiers.
Antique roses are individuals like people, all have attributes and their own personalities. Each rose can have a different use, infinite ways to create your garden.
Fragrance is what is remembered and what keeps old garden roses going (as well as being very disease resistant). Breeders are good at giving us great new varieties with good color and disease resistance but these new roses have no fragrance. If Knock Out had a fragrance it would be a winner. "We need the fragrance to complete the rose."
