June 16 Column: Spokane Rose Show
The Spokane Rose Show will be held next Saturday (June 22). In addition to having the opportunity to look at breathtakingly gorgeous roses, you’ll get to hear renowned rose hybridizer Ping Lim speak about everyone’s favorite flower. That’s the topic of my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Renowned hybridizer works to make roses easy, even in cooler climates.
Or you can read it below (don’t miss this week’s video underneath it!).
I had the pleasure of interviewing Ping (via phone) for this article and I am really excited to meet him! He has done so much work in the field of rose hybridizing in order to produce hardy, easy-care plants.
Column:
Is there any flower more beloved than the rose? While other flowers have appealing attributes, roses have the whole package. They’ve got beautiful blossoms over a long season, heavenly scents and ease of care. And so many different types with attractive growth habits.
On Saturday (June 22), roses will be in the spotlight for the Spokane Rose Society’s 72nd annual rose show. It will take place at CenterPlace in Spokane Valley. The show’s featured afternoon speaker will be the renowned rose hybridizer, Ping Lim.
Ping Lim’s background:
Originally from southern Laos, Lim has had a long association with this magical flower.
“At the age of 10, I first saw roses during a family vacation to a French resort in Paksong plateau,” he recalled during a recent phone interview. “At that moment, I was overwhelmed with their beauty. Their intoxicating fragrance soon had me fantasizing about becoming a rose grower.”
After graduating from Taiwan University with a horticulture degree, Lim immigrated to the United States in 1981. He was a rose breeder assistant at DeVor Nurseries in Pleasanton, Calif. Lim was later hired by Bailey Nurseries near Portland where he worked as rose research director from 1992 to 2008. He is now employed by Altman Plants in Vista, Calif., as ornamental plant research director.
Approach to growing roses
Roses have had a reputation in the past for being difficult to grow. Lim’s main goal with his rose-breeding work has been to make them easy to care for.
“There are more than 26,000 roses available commercially today in a huge spectrum of form and color. “It made no sense to me to create or duplicate another color. Instead, I wanted to produce healthy roses that can be grown without using chemicals.”
Ping Lim, renowned rose breeder.
Lim has created more than 49 different cultivars of roses over the years. The process takes an average of 10 years. Many of them have received prestigious awards
All of his roses grow on their own root, meaning they are not grafted. This should be of interest to gardeners in temperate climates since graft unions can be susceptible to winter kill. Lim’s roses are hardy down to USDA zones 4 and 5. He has even developed an own-root tree rose. That’s something Inland Northwest gardeners haven’t been able to include in their landscapes. It’s aptly named Polar Joy.
Rose Show
Carol Newcomb, owner of Rosarium Garden Center, is a fan of his roses. “Ping’s roses are healthy and hardy, and they are season-long bloomers. We have planted his complete collection, which will be blooming at the time of the show.”
In addition to attending Ping’s talk, you can admire the beautiful roses entered into the show from noon to 4 p.m. You might even want to show your own roses.
“We encourage all people to bring roses to the show,” Master Rosarian Lynn Schafer explained. “We will help them enter their roses. They don’t have to be members of the rose society, as we have classes for non-members and novices.”
For his talk, Lim will discuss his research efforts to produce environmentally-friendly roses.
“My goal has been to develop roses that can contribute to a better planet. Roses that are pesticide-free, disease-resistant, robust in variable climates and, of course, have uncompromised beauty and fragrance.”
The Rose Show (including Ping’s talk) is free to attend. It will be held at CenterPlace, located at 2426 N. Discovery Place in Spokane Valley. Everyone is encouraged to enter their prized roses into this event.
Here’s the schedule:
- 8 to 10 a.m. – Rose exhibit preparation
- 10 a.m. to Noon – Rose judging
- Noon to 4 p.m. – Visitor viewing (note that these are the ONLY hours you can view the rose exhibitis
- 3 p.m. – Ping Lim’s presentation
In case you’re curious about the two photos on this post, the rose at the very top is ‘At Last’ and the rose at the top left is ‘Fourth of July’.
This week’s video:
This week’s video is on a topic that is very near and dear to my heart: Garden and bird photography. In it, I show you the equipment I use to take the photos you see on this website. I also use it for my daily posts on Facebook and Instagram. You’ll also learn my tips for getting the best possible photos.