I have MONEY

Been reading and thinking about this since yesterday and thinking about how I would go about choosing different types of rose plants for demonstration pruning.

To the greater part of the population , a rose is a rose . Most have thorns though some don't and some roses smell better than others ; and they do come in colours other than red when it's not Valentine's Day.
And they have all heard the bogey myths about roses being difficult to handle , tricky to grow and pruning is steeped in deep mystique .

I think I would start with what is available at the average garden center / nursery [and I'm not talking specialist rose nursery] or the local Bunning's store . [It would appear that they carry the same range Australia wide ]
[[And yes I can hear all your loud shrieks of **BORING** across the Nullabor but to be quite honest , I think that someone who knows the difference between a David Austin and an Alistair Clarke is not going to be watching a pruning demo in the first place unless they want to have a chat with you afterwards .]]

I'm assuming that the roses are going to be planted in situ ? And where is the Field Day actually held ? who is going to look after and also see and enjoy the roses for the rest of the year ? It's okay to get excited about breeding or different quality of the flowers etc but if it's a Pruning Demo , done at Pruning Time a lot of that is going to be wasted on the public as most rose bushes are looking tatty and going dormant.

So, Classes of Roses .
[Deep breath here.]

Firstly some Hybrid Teas. They are what most non rosarians would recognise as a rose. For a pruning demo you want strong robust bushes that you can make decent chomps into and not too much piddly twiggy stuff to be wasting time on .
The Children's Rose and Best Friend are two good bushes to get stuck into.
Ignore the blue bale twine ; I had to pull the bush back up straight after one of the horses pulled it skew-whiff when they got their rug hooked up on it when walking through the garden.

Then some Floribundas . Again I would go for bushes that are going to give you some size to work with but can be dealt with , with a minimum of fuss . Sweet Sonata is a glorious rose and one of my favourite , easiest to prune bushes . [ It wont hurt your cred if you show you can do a pro job with minimal effort ] Apricot Nectar and Lili Marlene are also two floribundas that get a bit of size . And it doesn't hurt to have bushes that the punters can recognise the names ; they can think "I can do that ! "

A Climbing Rose or two. Perhaps an *Old* , [ Blackboy , New Dawn , Zepherine Drouhin etc ] and a *New* - Pierre de Ronsard perhaps or Altissimo or Golden Showers etc .
Climbing roses are one of the rose types that has a lot of people stumped when it comes to pruning and training them . Then you also get questions about how do you treat the once flowering types , eg Albertine [I love this rose to bits even if it's thorns want to tear one to bits ] or Mme Gregoire Staechelin . This can lead to an overlapping of subject with some of the O.G.R's and their management .

Look in most garden centers , and they'll have some standard roses included in their range .
Someone might ask for advice on how to treat their Icebergs or Seductions ,[ and not see the funny side if you tell them to rip 'em out ] I have even seen some very tall growing H.T's [ Mr Lincoln , Lady X , Queen Elizabeth] as standards for sale in Big W . Last year I saw some D.A's grown as standards for the first time . On another forum that I belong to , two roses that you can almost guarantee someone will ask about pruning each year are Renae and Crepuscule when they are grown as weeping standards .
I don't have many [about 5 at last count] but one of the easiest to prune is Minuette this one is a 3' patio standard and a lot of people grow them in large pots.

Miniatures and Patio Roses are other classes of roses that you will find in most garden centers and even in supermarkets from time to time. Quite often bought as gifts or impulse buys when they are flowering .
These can the be subdivided into cutting grown plants on own roots and ones grown on understock . I have several clumps of Softee growing on it's own roots, not the best pic I'm sorry but I prune it by cutting the whole mass [mess] off just above ground level and it does it a treat.

Mustn't forget D.A's "English Roses" , whether you want to class them by themselves or use them as an example of Modern Shrub Roses . Wonderful plants in the garden and actually a class of roses that I find flower very well if they are not pruned every year . They can attain majestic proportions too . Sweet Juliet here was planted in late 2004 and has been pruned a couple of times . I stuck my 5yr old in front of her yesterday to give some sense of scale ; he is 1.16m tall .

Sorry , did you say this was an hour long demo or a week ??

What about the Groundcover Roses that you can prune with a chainsaw or the Species or or or ....

Better stop there , I have just seen the time !

Keep it simple and straight forward and use common roses that new / novice growers will recognise and be able to source without too much fuss . Once they have become hooked , well then there is a big wide rosie world out there for them to discover .

Cheers and Good Luck.
Rosalie.

This shot below is where the roses will be planted this time and as money or donations come along more will be added.

[[And yes I can hear all your loud shrieks of **BORING** across the Nullabor but to be quite honest , I think that someone who knows the difference between a David Austin and an Alistair Clarke is not going to be watching a pruning demo in the first place unless they want to have a chat with you afterwards .]]
Rosalie, on this little bit, it is not formal, I treat as a very laid back affair. The people that come to see and talk roses are a verried lot. Som people that come are from the south coast of NSW, Sydney, Country NSW, and Mudgee it's self.
Subjects that were covered Friday/Sat
basic pruning and why, some got the chance when secuaters are handed to them

what has effected my rose bush(show & tell). what have you sprayed, grass in the rose garden, my answer R/up. and how to fix it.

I have just bought a house with roses in it, what do i do. I will come around next weekend and we will go through them.
what rose is this, send me pictures and my forum friends will try to ID it

Hello again David, how are things, this couple come to the field days every year from western NSW. They have 400 plus roses. They share their knowledge and learn some new things as we are a friendly bunch.

where do I buy from, how to care, water, feed, prune, how to take cuttings,seed. What sort of beds.

What sort of rose do I need for my style of garden

I have grown roses for 30 years, how do i rejuvinate my very old rose, was one from last year, Gentleman came back this year with cutting and gave it to me with thanks written on a card.

So basically what I am saying is we have cross section of rose growers from novice to show bench people

Thank for your post on this subject Rosalie, your post has given me some more food for thought, the more the merryer, we will be getting some new members also from the field days. All I am is the conduit passing on information and getting aswers from somewhere.
Everyone have a great day.

There are Aus-bred HTs, floribundas, shrubs, minis, groundcovers, standards, climbers... See Ross's catalogue for examples. More elsewhere. There are plenty of people "dumbing down" rose selection - TV and magazines! - I'd be more inclined to let the field days be a chance for participants to go away talking about new ideas.
Interesting that sales of standards and Austins have fallen right off in SA. Changing fashions.

Margaret I budded Titian middle of last season thanks to Patricia so should be able to help with that one on your list.

Sorry, can't help with the others despite having about 30 Aussie HT's

Titian we have, thanks. It was highly-regarded OS and is still fairly easy to find.

Field days are an excellent opportunity to educate people that there are other ways of doing things too... in much the same way as this forum is a conduit through which to manifest change. The dumbing down of rose selection is something happening all over the world and this will ultimately end up with roses falling from favour completely unless people, who are more proactive, help to raise the awareness of people everywhere. I would be proud to be labelled a rose activist actually. In a time when we should be treading more lightly on the planet people need to be aware that there are other rose options that do not require pampering nor chemical intervention to survive and look great. People need to know that there are roses that can benefit urban and rural ecosystems in much the same way as native plants do and people should be more aware of their heritage and know that roses play an important role in Australia's past. Knowing there are Australian bred roses to fit every need and category is a great way to do this. For those who think a rose is a rose is a rose, a gentle 'Did you know this one was actually bred in Australia?" might be all one needs to pique their curiosity. Likewise a gentle 'Whilst we prune this rose every year, see that one over there? It never gets pruned' might make a big impact especially if they see a fully leafed up and flowering shrub in the middle of winter next to a bunch of bare sticks. I don't support the idea of using everyday roses for this because IMO they represent something that is no longer appropriate for gardens anywhere. It also helps perpetuate this monopoly on choice the big chain stores have and the dumbing down of expectations. All the questions asked of you Dave are typical questions and not one of these can't be answered within an Australian context and IMO an opportunity lost is an opportunity wasted.

I have 'Titian' courtesy of Patricia and 30 other Aussie HT's .

Would be willing to donate with great pleasure for an Australian Garden.

We must keep the dream alive.

Looks like the money has run out. Get the council involved and get the whole thing moving.

Bruce the council is not involved as the site is called AREC (Australian Rural Education Centre), basicly run by the Dept of Ag and the company AREC. If it had not been for the new girl at the Dept the rose would not be coming, most of the displays are by the exhibitors and maintained by them. Arec only looks after the hardware, IE buildings and roads.
I am going to Victoria on the 24th of September for 2 weeks and picking up the roses then nd returning them to my place to nerture them till winter when they will have their permanent home with all the goodies they need.

Well done David.

Where the Hell's this garden David, all the members of the forum are waiting for pix and an invitation. Do you still have the money or a wonderful garden in the making? It's time to give your old mate Mushroom a few details so I know when to visit and see the blooms.