New Bloom: Cameron County gardening group tests roses for state trial

HARLINGEN — Roses are considered by gardeners to be among the most difficult plants to grow, but horticulturalists are assisting those who love the plant species, but do not have the greenest thumbs.

The Cameron County Master Gardeners in cooperation with the Texas Agrilife Extension Service are working together on a three-year trial to produce “Earth-Kind” roses.

These roses can earn the “Earth-Kind” designation after the plants have gone through rigorous statewide testing and evaluation by a team of horticultural experts. AgriLife Extension horticulturists have been assessing and identifying Earth-Kind roses for more than 20 years.

Jennifer Herrera, a Cameron County Horticulture agent, said, the “Earth-Kind” plants must have a high level of landscape performance, including pest tolerance, freeze- and drought resistance, and rarely require the use of chemical pesticides, or fertilizers.

Earth-Kind roses start as antique roses, but are genetically altered and then tested for performance and sustainability.

These hybrid roses under development now range from single- and double-blossomed flowers in white, and shades of pinks, reds, and yellows, with fewer thorns. All varieties have an April to November blooming period, and some are fragrant.

The varieties range from dwarf shrubs that grow three to four feet tall, to climbers that can grow 15 to 20 feet tall.

Heidi Linnerman, a master gardener from La Feria, said, the program has yielded 21 varieties of roses designated as Earth-Kind. Field trials are taking place simultaneously across the county and internationally, in such places as New Zealand, India, and Bermuda.

She said two three-year Earth-Kind trials have been planted in San Benito and Harlingen this month.

Linnerman said the Cameron County Master Gardeners have planted eight potential Earth-Kind roses in San Benito at the Cameron County Master Gardener Arboretum and St. Albans Episcopal day school in Harlingen for rose trials.

The varieties planted locally are “Carefree Beauty,” a pink shrub; “Homerun,” a red single-rose; “Alister Stella Gray,” a light yellow, moderately fragrant climber, and “Easy Does It,” a fragrant flower with a peach-color blossom.

She said once the trial is completed in the Rio Grande Valley, any surviving roses will be tested in other parts of the country for the same amount of time.

“They have to survive several extremes before they are called Earth-Kind,” Linnerman said.

She said that once planted, master gardeners and horticulturists do very little to care for the roses.

“They were engineered to resist most pests, and grown on their own in pretty much any soil — and that’s what we are testing,” she said.

She said gardeners interested in planting Earth-Kind roses may find a couple of species, like Belinda’s Dream and Knock-Out, at large home and garden centers.