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Retailers to sell roses bred by John A. Starnes Jr.
By Times Staff Writer
Published March 8, 2008
Three roses bred by St. Petersburg Times garden correspondent John A. Starnes Jr. have been taken on by two major rose retailers. Starnes is a Tampa organic gardener and rosarian who studies, collects, cultivates and hybridizes roses for Florida. The Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas, will carry Starnes' Gold Blush and Sarasota Spice. Both will be available in the fall for $18.95 each. Gold Blush (Rosa moschata x Abraham Darby) is a stiff-caned climber with a scent of clove and cinnamon "that should thrive in most any climate other than true desert," Starnes said. He bred the rose in 1995. Sarasota Spice (The Gift x Blush Noisette) is a repeat-blooming climber with a pronounced cinnamon-clove scent, "perhaps the most fragrant rose I have bred yet," Starnes said. The rose, which he bred in 2003, blooms in both tight and pendulous clusters. "We're excited" about the Starnes hybrids, Emporium owner Mike Shoup said. The roses will appear on the company's Web site this summer, he said (www.antiqueroseemporium.com). Information: toll-free 1-800-441-0002). David Austin Roses (www.davidaustinroses.com) will feature Starnes' Brenda Mowery hybrid (Alba maxima x Alfred Colomb) in its 2009 catalog. This is a cold-weather rose, developed by Starnes in 1995 and tested for five years by Austin on its grounds in southern England. Its bouquet is that of Old Rose, spice, musk and tea. "It is very rare for rose breeders to use the true Old Roses (in this case an Alba) as parents, and it is what David Austin did when he first started breeding roses in the late '40s and early '50s," said Michael Marriott, technical manager for David Austin Roses, by e-mail from England. The Brenda Mowery "has simple but very charming blooms of absolutely pure pink that are very strongly fragrant. It is also extremely tough, reliable and healthy," Marriott said. "It will make a very fine addition to any garden, especially when associated with Old Roses, our own David Austin English roses and perennials."
[Last modified March 7, 2008, 13:37:40]
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