5 minutes with ……..  

Bob Webster

Bob is Vice Chairman of ARBA and lives in Sheffield. 

Q.     How did you become interested in breeding roses? 

I became interested in growing roses in the 1960’s and after reading articles by two of Britain’s greatest ever rose breeders, Sam McCredy and Jack Harkness, I wanted to try my hand at creating my own varieties. I soon became hooked and I hope to enjoy what has become a wonderful interesting hobby for many years to come.  

Q.    Do you have an objective when choosing parent roses for breeding? 

I try to select my roses for breeding very carefully. They must always exhibit at least one feature that I would wish to have in my own creations. I would never use a rose that I consider to be inferior to my aims regarding its growth, disease resistance and beauty of flower.  I try to use a mixture of my own varieties and the best of commercial varieties including roses bred by other ARBA members.  

Q.     Apart from roses you have bred yourself, what is you favourite rose and why? 

I love every one of them and see beauty in them all. However, if I was only allowed to grow one variety then this would be ‘New Dawn’. To see this rose scrambling over a fence or low wall seems to make the cares of the world fade away as the sheer beauty of nature’s creation is taken in.

 Q.     What do you consider to be the most successful rose you have bred and why? 

The most successful rose I have bred is a low growing floribunda called ‘My Mum’ and is in commerce at many garden centres. However, my favourite rose that I have bred is a H.T. called ‘The Marquess of Bristol’ which exhibits many of the features I have been aiming for in a H.T. rose. It is a variety that has proved to be very useful and reliable as a seed parent imparting vigour, disease resistance and floriferous qualities. I have worked with it for many years and it features in many of my successful varieties. Its parentage is ‘Pristine x Remember Me’. 

Q.     If you could offer just one tip for the beginner what would it be? 

Get cracking as soon as possible. The interest and enjoyment that rose breeding provides is never ending and no one is too young or too old to start. It consumes your idle hours and although it can be almost impossible you can always dream of perfection.    

Q.   What are you working on at the moment? 

 I am searching for roses that I would choose to grow in my own garden. I have two breeding lines aimed at this objective but I often use random parents to try to improve the line. Specifically, my aims are:- ·        Hybrid Teas that give lots of flower and are disease and weather resistant. ·        Miniature roses with H.T. shaped blooms that are vigorous disease free and suitable for the English climate.   

Kind regards and good luck  

Bob Webster