Dr. Griffith Buck was a plant breeder at Iowa State University breeding new varieties of soybeans and corn but roses were his true love and passion. He started breeding roses around 1950 using strains of very cold hardy roses combined with modern hybrid teas and others. He would plant them outside in the field and those that survived harsh Iowa winters of 20-30 degrees below zero with absolutely no protection would be the seedlings he chose to introduce. These are very disease resistant roses and have been tested in Iowa's hot humid summers. Most other roses bred in America are bred in southern California where blackspot is not a problem so evalutations cannot be carried out.
I have admired Dr. Buck's rose breeding for many years. We visited the garden at Iowa State University, which features his roses, more than fifteen years ago. I liken Dr. Buck to the artist van Gogh whose paintings were never appreciated in his lifetime. Dr. Buck was also an artist of rose breeding. His creations are just now gaining the acceptance and popularity they have long deserved. His goal was to produce roses that were disease-resistant and very hardy. His efforts are highly regarded and have been preserved at the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Kathy Zuzek. We have been collecting and building up stock for the past few years and are pleased to offer an ever increasing range of his creations. While other roses need protection in zone 5, the Buck roses do not. Some protection in Zone 4 is advisable. In order for these roses to be ready to overwinter in zones 4 and 5 they should be planted by June 15th.
We planted an entire section with sixty varieties of these roses and the response to them would have been so gratifying to Griffith Buck. His widow Ruby and daughter Mary are still here to bask in the praise that husband and father is finally receiving. His vision and dedication in spite of not being recognized in his time are to be admired. We wish to thank Ruby Buck and daughter Mary for so faithfully tending his creations and being so willing to provide us with plant material.
