One of the most fascinating series of roses is the line of winter-hardy shrubs developed by Dr. Griffith Buck.
Griffith Buck became intersted in roses during his teen years due to his 'pen pal', Pedro Dot of Spain. After his discharge from the military in December of 1945, he entered Iowa State College in January of 1946. There he enrolled in the horticulture program. Griffith Buck was a researcher and professor of horticulture at Iowa State University from 1948 to 1985 where he hybridized not only nearly 90 rose varieties, but also 15 varieties of geraniums and a heliotrope. His reputation grew as a widely recognized rose hybridizer and respected member of the rose growing community.
He was trying to hybridize winter hardy roses - rose that could withstand a prairie winter and bloom lushly during the prairie summer. He began using Rosa laxa in his hybridizing program though it had barely been used in breeding up until
Griffith Buck became intersted in roses during his teen years due to his 'pen pal', Pedro Dot of Spain. After his discharge from the military in December of 1945, he entered Iowa State College in January of 1946. There he enrolled in the horticulture program. Griffith Buck was a researcher and professor of horticulture at Iowa State University from 1948 to 1985 where he hybridized not only nearly 90 rose varieties, but also 15 varieties of geraniums and a heliotrope. His reputation grew as a widely recognized rose hybridizer and respected member of the rose growing community.
He was trying to hybridize winter hardy roses - rose that could withstand a prairie winter and bloom lushly during the prairie summer. He began using Rosa laxa in his hybridizing program though it had barely been used in breeding up until
that time. After 3 or 4 years, Buck realized his first hybrids were taking several years to set on blooms and the difference from the original R. laxa was fairly insignificant. In his work, Buck noted that since many characteristics don't even develop until maturity, it could take 3 to 5 years for each test plant to mature and in some cases even bloom for the first time. Often the resulting plants were not worth the wait but still required years of study before being discarded.
From a speech Buck made in 1985, he explained, "While I didn't start to develop roses that were disease resistant, I had inherently selected for disease resistance by the manner in which I made the selections in the field. My normal procedure was to grow the seedlings in the greenhouse one year until they got big enough, and plant them out the second spring. The only attention they would get would be water and cultivation. I didn't spray for disease. If they couldn't hold on to their foliage, they wouldn't properly mature, and therefore they wouldn't overwinter well. In a sense I was selecting for those that could hold on to their foliage in spite of becoming infected with foliage diseases."
Distant Drums', a mauve-blend (with plenty of tan) shrub, was introduced in 1984. The seed parent was 'September Morn' (apricot blend grandiflora, 1981), the pollen came from 'The Yoeman' (orange-pink shrub, 1969). Both parents are fragrant, and Distant Drums has a very strong perfume - myrrh and anise. The blooms are medium sized, double, with a ruffled, rosette form. The color is intensely mauvey bronze when first open, slowly blending to tannish mauve, and finishing a yellowed lavender.
Dr. Buck was actually allergic to rose pollen - and since he could smell this dusky rose while standing several feet away - he named it 'Distant Drums'.
Dr. Buck retired at the age of 70, and soon after his breeding stock was destroyed. Many of his varieties survived because of the Buck's personal collection and many of the friends given these plants offered cuttings back. They were then collected at the Minnesota Arboretum where they were carefully tested and cataloged.
From a speech Buck made in 1985, he explained, "While I didn't start to develop roses that were disease resistant, I had inherently selected for disease resistance by the manner in which I made the selections in the field. My normal procedure was to grow the seedlings in the greenhouse one year until they got big enough, and plant them out the second spring. The only attention they would get would be water and cultivation. I didn't spray for disease. If they couldn't hold on to their foliage, they wouldn't properly mature, and therefore they wouldn't overwinter well. In a sense I was selecting for those that could hold on to their foliage in spite of becoming infected with foliage diseases."
Distant Drums', a mauve-blend (with plenty of tan) shrub, was introduced in 1984. The seed parent was 'September Morn' (apricot blend grandiflora, 1981), the pollen came from 'The Yoeman' (orange-pink shrub, 1969). Both parents are fragrant, and Distant Drums has a very strong perfume - myrrh and anise. The blooms are medium sized, double, with a ruffled, rosette form. The color is intensely mauvey bronze when first open, slowly blending to tannish mauve, and finishing a yellowed lavender.
Dr. Buck was actually allergic to rose pollen - and since he could smell this dusky rose while standing several feet away - he named it 'Distant Drums'.
Dr. Buck retired at the age of 70, and soon after his breeding stock was destroyed. Many of his varieties survived because of the Buck's personal collection and many of the friends given these plants offered cuttings back. They were then collected at the Minnesota Arboretum where they were carefully tested and cataloged.
Today, collections of the Buck Roses can also be seen at the Iowa Arboretum (Luther, IA), Reiman Gardens (Ames, IA), Bentonsport Gardens (Bentonsport, IA) and Elko County Rose Garden (Elko, Nevada). There are over 60 industry sources where the Buck Roses may be purchased including nurseries in the US, Canada, England, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, and India. Griffith Buck passed away March 28, 1991 at the age of 75, but he left a legacy of beauty through his roses.
'Distant Drums' makes a rounded bush to about 3 1/2 feet in the mid west, larger in less extreme parts of the country. It is grown for its fantastic fragrance, for its superb disease resistance and winter hardiness, and the intriguing color.
Most Garden Centers in the mid west carry Buck roses. For those who prefer mail order, you can try B&B Nursery, Roses Unlimited, Chamblee's, Vintage Gardens, Sequoia Nursery, and The Uncommon Rose.
