NASHVILLE ROSE LEAF
Official Publication of The Nashville Rose Society Serving Rose Enthusiasts Throughout Middle Tennessee
February 1st NRS Meeting at Cheekwood
6:30 pm - Refreshments 7:00 pm - Charles Lott - Consulting Rosarian Program & Ken Correll - Beekeeping FEBRUARY 2011 Volume 44, Issue 1
Affiliated with the American Rose Society - www.ars.org
Photo courtesy of Sam Jones
Photo courtesy of Katherine Bomboy
February Rose of the Month ‘Crescendo’s “Love-at-First-Sight” - Stirs Musical Hearts and Senses
From left to right NRS members attending the introduction of ‘Crescendo’ at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Sam & Nancy Jones, Pat Bullard, Leann Barron, Ron Daniels,Larry Baird, Ann Lott, Connie Baird, Marty Reich and Charles Lott.
By: Sam Jones What can be said about ‘Crescendo’ after its first season in Nashville gardens? First, it is truly a Nashville rose, introduced in Nashville for Nashville, and prominently displayed in the Nashville Music Garden in the heart of downtown Music City, where the inspiration for its musical identity was born. Unveiled last March by Nashville’s celebrity singers Barbara Mandrell, Pam Tillis, and Brenda Lee at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, its name was conceived by Nashville’s own renowned Symphony Orchestra as a living symbol of its pleasing strains and enduring musical tones. ‘Crescendo’s’ qualifications include classical beauty and form, delightful fragrance, and colors that are a melodic blend of cream and pink. Opening buds and petal edges reveal shades of raspberry pink, unfolding to a crescendo of cream brightly blaring from the center. Its breeder, Keith Zary, described ‘Crescendo’ as a “truly great rose,” with rare qualities that are seldom achieved by hybridizers. Its grower, Jackson & Perkins, has featured ‘Crescendo’ prominently for its national
commercial sales for 2011. With such hype, ‘Crescendo’ is worth serious consideration for gardener who seek enjoyable color, blooms, perfume, and pleasurable growing experiences with roses. Grown by many Nashvillians after a media-publicized unveiling in March, 2010, ‘Crescendo’ was the Novice Queen in the Nashville Rose Show in early October, and bushes continued blooming vigorously well into November. In brighter sunlight, its pink blends deepened in tone, and hues lightened under subdued conditions. In its first garden season, stems were often short, though frequent, creating blooms that were excellent candidates for arrangements, floating bowls, picture frames, and English boxes. It remains to be seen in the coming seasons whether its stems will stand tall with “the big boys” for Queen of Show. Its beauty and form are well suited for the competition. Let’s hope the stems and foliage also measure up to the challenge. (Cont’d on page 2)