Rose expert to share tips at Marin event

Rose specialist Jai Alltizer has such a penchant for growing rare and hard-to-find roses that every year he propagates around 1,400 of them from cuttings in the private San Francisco and Sebastopol gardens of Alexander Nurseries & Garden Designs, a company he co-owns.

That’s in addition to the nearly 4,000 roses he grows in both of his nurseries. The two growing areas allow him to determine the ones best suited for Bay Area gardens.

On Tuesday evening, he’ll present a demonstration to the members and guests of the Marin Rose Society, showing them how to propagate new rose plants using their own roses at home.

He will also deliver to the meeting any roses people have purchased online by Sunday. (Other arrangements can be made for those unable to attend the meeting.) Roses cost between $25 and $75, and options can be found at alexandernurseries.com. If interested, email Sales@AlexanderNurseries.com.

He says that, following his instructions, rose propagators should expect to see new growth on their cuttings within three to six weeks, and depending upon the variety, a new rose between six weeks and a year.

So, why would anyone want to start their own rose bushes when there are so many available at garden centers? And why propagate rare or hard-to-find roses?

For many reasons. Propagating roses as a DIY project is economical for those who want mass plantings of roses around their properties. It’s great for those who admire a friend’s rose and want to grow one for their own garden, for those who want to ensure lots of bouquets to bring indoors or for those who want to give a favorite rose as a gift.

Propagating a rare or hard-to-find rose, though, takes the project to another level.

“For some people, the appeal of an old rose is in the subtle charm or nuanced colorings, and for others, it’s the depth or quality of their fragrance,” he said. “Many, but not all, of the older varieties require less care and input than their modern counterparts, which is an important aspect that many gardeners overlook.”

The bigger picture for keeping these roses alive, though, is to keep them from going extinct.

According to Alltizer, the mass marketing of new varieties pushes aside older varieties, and some roses are being lost or forgotten.

“We’ve seen this happen around the world in public rose gardens with the removal of once-blooming (a rose that blooms only once a season) ramblers to the point that some are on the edge of extinction, and we’ve also seen the loss of many small nursery businesses in the last 10 to 15 years,” he said.

Defining a rare or hard-to-find rose is easy for Alltizer.

“If you have to call more than three people to see if they offer it, then a rose is hard to find,” he said. “I think if it only grows in a few collections on any given continent, then it is very rare.”

Some rose varieties that he sells date back to the 1800s.

Whether you’re ready to propagate an old-variety rose or want to try a ready-to-plant one in your garden, here are some of Alltizer’s selections from his collection.

Rarest roses

• ‘Climbing Souvenir de Claudius Pernet’: “It’s in very few collections in the United States and has a beautiful flower shape and color,” he said.

• ‘Zeus’: “Its gray-green serrated leaf edges and yellow flowers are a stunning combination,” he said.

• ‘Senegal’: “The dark red flowers turn nearly black as they age,” he said.

• ‘Coral Creeper’: “It has large flat coral-pink flowers,” he said.

Must-haves in his own garden

• ‘Rêve d’Or’: “It’s low maintenance and always in bloom,” he said.

• ‘Gruss an Aachen’: “It’s an attractive landscape shrub that’s good for cut flowers,” he said.

• ‘Bleu Magenta’: “It’s an incredible color with flexible canes to train,” he said.

Bestsellers

• ‘Eden’: “It’s not rare, but people love this one due to its romantic flower shape and coloring,” he said.

• ‘Gruss an Aachen’: Alltizer praises its flower shape, color and fragrance, adding that it’s also an attractive plant in the garden.

• ‘Sombreuil’: “Its large white flower smells like cupcakes,” he said.

Rare roses for home arrangements

• ‘Belle Portugaise’

• ‘Gruss an Coburg’

• ‘Lemon Sunbeam’

• ‘Marianne’

Most prolific

• ‘Pinkie Climber’: “It’s evergreen and always in bloom in the Bay Area and has few thorns,” Alltizer said.

• “‘Climbing Cecile Brunner’ is also rarely without blooms in the Bay Area, though it gets quite large,” he said.

• “‘Senegal’ is also hardly without blooms,” he said.

Fragrant favorites

• ‘Mirandy’

• ‘Vanguard’

• ‘Gruss an Coburg’

Best red roses

• ‘Crimson Cascade’

• ‘Senegal’

• ‘Mirandy’

Best pink roses

• ‘Pinkie Climber’

• ‘Savannah’

• ‘Coral Dawn’

Best yellow roses

• ‘Lemon Sunbeam’

• ‘Rêve d’Or’

• ‘Golden Showers’

Best climbing roses

• ‘Kiftsgate’

• ‘Mermaid’

• ‘Belle Portugaise’

What are the best roses for those who want to avoid thorns or roses that only bloom once a year?

“Plant ferns or camellias,” he quips. “Joking aside, I don’t see a problem with once-blooming roses, and in a world driven by instant gratification, it’s nice to have something to wait for each year, and requires very little maintenance.”

• Details: Jai Alltizer discusses “Propagating Your Roses” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Marin Art and Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. Admission is free. For more information, go to marinrose.org.

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Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published, and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.