Rose growers ensure heritage is kept alive

NAME OF THE ROSE: Murray Radka admires the noisette rose Crepuscule in Jennie Chillingworth's Ohorere Garden. PHOTO/LEWIS GARDNER 010515WCLGROSE1

Heritage rose enthusiast Murray Radka is thrilled with the Wanganui response to his visit to collect and talk about his favourite flowers.

He spoke to 21 fellow rose lovers from Wanganui, Manawatu and Taranaki on Thursday at Jennie Chillingworth's Papaiti house and garden. "They were so enthusiastic. There was a lot of experience in that room," he said.

Not only that, Mrs Chillingworth had lots of phonecalls and emails from people in the area with heritage roses for him to collect. Some of those varieties are yet to be identified.

The Central Otago man is one of four people who run New Zealand's online national register of heritage roses.

They are travelling the country to collect and grow heritage roses before they disappear. Mr Radka has more than 1000 rose varieties at Brandy Hill, his garden near Alexandra.

He said heritage roses belong to 16 families. Their names trip off the tongue - damask roses, China roses, musk roses, moss roses. They are very fragrant, can be as big as trees and have more subtle colours than their modern relatives.

His favourite is Souvenir de la Malmaison, named by a Russian duke after the garden of a French woman he was in love with - a more romantic name than the modern Sexy Rexy.

"For as long as humans have walked this Earth, they have walked in company with these roses," he said.

Not for much longer perhaps. In 1995, there were more than 1300 heritage roses available to buy. Now there are fewer than 600, and Tasman Bay Roses is the last specialist nursery.

Heritage Roses New Zealand aims to keep at least one plant of each variety growing for posterity. They have combed the South Island for them so far. Wanganui was Mr Radka's last stop in the North Island.