|
| Two of the roses that I have fallen in love with were bred by a little known nursery man and hybridizer named Robert L. Smith. Both roses are rare, little known and hard to come by. The roses are Dakota Sun and Dakota's Song and are the only two of Mr. Smiths roses in commerce. But, both are outstanding cultivars, bred from parent stock of Griffith Buck breeding.
I was browsing the web this morning and did a google search on Mr. Smith and found an obituary stating that Mr. Smith had passed on last year. Below are excerpts from that notice that relate to his life as a plantsman: "�Robert LeRoy Smith, age 83 of River Falls, Wisconsin and formerly of Mitchell, South Dakota, died on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at Grace Health Care in River Falls�
Here now are images of the two roses that he bred:
Dakota Sun
Dakota's Song Both roses are rare and hard to come by. Sam Kedum Nursery is the only source listed for both and Roses Unlimited lists Dakota Sun. Sam Kedem no longer ships roses and they are only available at his nursery in Minnesotta. So for those of you who grow these roses, if you can, I would encourage you to please propagate them and pass them on, if possible to a nursery who might be willing to propogate and offer them for sale. It would be very sad to see these two exceptionally fine rose cultivars dissapear. Both deserve to be kept in commerce on merrit and as a tribute to this little known American plantsman. My two bits worth as a Canadian rose collector. Cheers, Rideau Rose Lad, aka Rick |
Here is a link that might be useful: Dakota Sun @ Help Me Find Roses
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| MAN -- Those are both BEAUTIFUL! Jeri |
|
- Posted by wirosarian z4b WI (My Page) on Wed, Aug 15, 12 at 12:47
| I was over to Sam's this year & bought one of each, unfortunately one was misnamed & discovered I had 2 Dakota Songs when they started to bloom. So far I'm impressed with the quality & quantity of bloom, fragrance & health. I have high hopes for the plants but need to give it 2 or 3 years before final judgement. Plan on going back to Sam's & picking up a Dakota Sun next year |
|
| They are lovely, and if they have any disease-resistance at all, this ex-daughter of South Dakota would be interested in getting one or both. Please do keep us up-to-date on these roses. Kate |
|
- Posted by annececilia z4a/N.Michigan (My Page) on Sun, Aug 19, 12 at 14:22
| What a great post, Rick! I had never heard of these two but you're right, it would be a shame to lose them from commerce. Perhaps Roses Unlimited could be coaxed into growing Dakota Song as well? Anne |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Roses Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.