A rose he bred in 1998 in his yard there was in The Denver Post for its official commercial launch after passing years of trials and evaluations... first at Ft. Collins Nursery, then in many gardens around Colorado.

Author Stephen Scanniello, who at the time was curator of the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, hosted John at his homes in Brooklyn and at Barnegat, New Jersey, and let John do many pollinations in the gardens. Also, he brought pollens from there back to Denver. The mother (seed parent) was a plant of 'General Jacqueminot', a Hybrid Perpetual from the year 1853. John applied pollen from 'Stephen's Big Purple', a modern Hybrid Tea from New Zealand as the father (pollen parent). The hip ripened that fall and he got seedlings that winter under glass. One stood out when it began blooming....It was planted it in his test bed next to his back patio.

It thrived, was SUPER fragrant, had awesome color BUT bloomed each June only. Despite that shortcoming, Scott Scogerboe, manager for Ft. Collins Nursery, fell in love with it and asked to test it commercially. Despite their brutal testing regimen it thrived THEN became a repeat bloomer!

Colorado Plant Select then tested it in many gardens around the state where it thrived too, even at 8,000 feet in the mountains (!)

Scott and other growers there have been propagating large numbers of it for sale at retail nurseries, Perhaps this Denver Post feature will introduce Coloradoans to it for their landscapes. I don't know if mail order sales are in the works but I think that IF it sells well in Colorado it might get marketed nationally.

John will be trialing it in Tampa and would LOVE for it to be trialed in California!

Melissa