Mass Market News

‘Kensington Gardens’ rose from Eurosa Farms. A few weeks ago, while buying plants and flowers early one morning at United Flower Growers in Burnaby, some truly unique cut roses caught my eye. Their form was reminiscent of old-fashioned garden roses and similar in appearance to the Danish Renaissance and David Austin English roses but, alas, without the perfume. That really didn’t matter because they were so beautiful. It turned out that they are a new variety of roses being grown by Eurosa Farms on Vancouver Island. ‘Mystic Gardens’ Eurosa Farms / PNG To learn more, I spoke with Ryan Worsfold, son-in-law of Hans and Debbie Bulk, the founders of Eurosa Farms. Worsfold said they’d had their eye on these roses for five or six years after first spotting them growing in California. However, because of their poor growth habit and low production, these novelty garden roses did not seem like a viable crop for the cut rose market. On a European trip, the Eurosa folks noticed them again at Vip Roses in Holland. Their breeders had been working for over 10 years on these varieties, and they were having significant commercial success. In past years, much of the breeding stock would have been discarded as being a little far out of the ordinary, but they persevered because there was something truly special about each of these garden roses, and their uniqueness captured the public’s fascination. These roses still offer little or no fragrance, but it’s early days in the breeding process, and there will be many more varieties to come. ‘Regents Park’ Eurosa Farms / PNG ‘Yuldz’ Eurosa Farms / PNG Vase life is another consideration. Eurosa is using new floral preservatives to enhance the vase life, which currently stands at five or six days. Some of the flower heads are quite large in relation to the stem size, and shorter stems are better for getting consistent water to the flowers, as well as holding up the heads. They are close to the qualities of traditional rose varieties, and as the breeding work continues, the life span will improve. […]

Source: vancouversun.com