Buck Roses

PRESENTATION by Kent ZwickAugust 27, 2014

Spokane Rose Society

Distant Drums ~ Buck 1985 Photo by Connie Gale at RR

Buck Roses ~ Opening Statement

• I just sort of fell into it• No planning, just two roses that caught

my eye –Quietness & Distant Drums

• And then the main reason:–I found them much more difficult to kill.

• After that they grew on me !

QUIETNESS ~ Buck 2003Photo by Connie Gale at RR

Buck Roses• Sometime after the second tier of block I

began thinking about trying to acquire all of his roses still in commerce.– Depending on your source there are

104 varieties in commerce . Maybe!•Name discrepancies•New varieties popping up from the Buck

family –There are 8 “lost Buck roses”

PRAIRIE SQUIRE ~ BUCK SHR 1984 Photo by Connie Gale at NR

GRIFFITH BUCK 1915-1991• Pen Pal—Spanish Catalonian “Pedro Dot” Guessing this was pre high school• DOT gave him rose growing tips and introduced him to hybridizing. The DOT family contact lasted for three generations.

This interest was just that of a home gardener, nothing compared to what followed.

• Prior to WWII he was a teacher for 5 years in one of the Iowa school districts and as far as I can tell, just that… a teacher.• In WWII the served as a Paratrooper in the Golden Unicorn Division and saw combat in Europe.

PRAIRIE SQUIRE ~ BUCK SHR 1984 Photo by Connie Gale at NR

GRIFFITH BUCK• After that he was no longer just a teacher– BS in June 1948–MS in December 1949– PHD in March 1953– All dealing with Horticulture &

Microbiology• He became an assistant professor in ’53 but

did not become a full professor until 1974• This can lead to rampant speculation, but I’ll

get to that later.

LES SJULIN ~ BUCK 1981 Photo by Connie Gale at RR

GRIFFITH BUCK• His post graduate work must have gained him a

pretty sound reputation.• Canadian’s Dr. Frank Skinner and Will Godfrey

(Manitoba) asked him to hybridize the unique Siberian wild rose “Rosa Laxa Semipalantinsk” a repeat bloomer

• Buck worked with “Rosa Laxa” for 3-4 years with indifferent success—then in collaboration with Kordes of Germany he used “Josef Rothmund” as the seed parent: got 5 seeds from the cross. All germinated and four were like “Rosa Laxa” and one was the color of ‘Josef Rothmund, and that became the parent of all Bucks

Rural Rhythm ~ Buck 1984 Photo by Connie Gale at RR

GRIFFITH BUCK

• I would have loved to have met the man• Tenacious, Maybe pugnacious• Expert at academic infighting, Yet maybe

not. Left a trail of bruised egos and no support following.

• Definitely UNCONVENTIONAL, INDEPENDENT & EXASPERATING

Pipe Dreams ~ Buck SH 1984 Photo by Connie Gale at RR

BUCK ROSES• Hardiness and disease resistance were a

result of budget restraints and not intent.– Seeding one year in greenhouse– Transplant to garden, then just add water

• First roses were huge 10-12H, 12-15W. One of the first early successes Apple Jack [1973] is still quite large but not the giant of its predecessors. Wandering Wind [1973] was the first of the smaller shrub roses.

DISTANT DRUMS ~ Buck 1985

Photo by Connie Gale at RR

THE NAME OF THE ROSE

• Not a marketing man• Named for friends & whims• Names and confusion

APPLE JACK ~ Buck 1973 Photo by Connie Gale at NR

THE SPIRIT OF THE MAN

• 12 Prairie• 4 Country• 20 Friends

Distant Drums ~ Buck 1985 Photo by Connie Gale at RR

RETRIBUTION

• Buck retired in 1985• The entire program and all breeding

stock was destroyed shortly thereafter.

WINTER SUNSET ~ BUCK ROSE Photo by Connie Gale at NR

CREDITS & THANKS

MY THANKS TO CONNIE GALE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND AS THE CAMERA

ARTIST WHO CAPTURED THE BEAUTY OF BUCK’S ROSES

CREDITS & THANKS

MY THANKS TO CONNIE GALE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POWERPOINT

PRESENTATION AND AS THE CAMERA ARTIST WHO CAPTURED THE BEAUTY OF BUCK’S ROSES

NORTHLAND ROSARIUM WWW.NORTHLANDROSARIUM.COM

IOWA STATE WEB SITE: HTTP://WWW.CAD.IASTATE.EDU/PROSES.HTML

JULIE GUSTAFSON: GRIFFITH BUCK(1915-1991) HTTP://WWW.CAD.IASTATE.EDU/GRIFFITHBUCK.HTML

BOTANICA’S “ROSES” [PUBLISHED BY LAUREL GLEN 2000]

“SNOW ROSES DESERT BLOOMS” J.E. ORMESHER PHD PLUM PUBLISHING

RR ~ PHOTOS TAKEN AT ZWICK’S ROCK RIDGE ROSE GARDEN

ZWICKKW@GMAIL.COM

NR ~ PHOTOS TAKEN AT NORTHLAND ROSARIUM

WWW.NORTHLANDROSARIUM.COM

ALL ROSE DESCRIPTIONS UNDER NOTES TAB

HTTP://WWW.CAD.IASTATE.EDU/PROSES.HTML

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNIE GALE CONGALE@LIVE.COM