Media Contact: Barb DeGroot, PR Specialist, 952-443-1459

 Learn Easy Rose-Growing Techniques from U of M Experts

            Chanhassen, Minn. (April 23, 2009) –  Rose-growing needn’t be a thorny chore!  Learn  which varieties thrive best in Minnesota and easy techniques for growing them at “The Romance of Roses: Low-Maintenance Rose-Growing Workshop” on Saturday, May 2, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. 

            Co-sponsored by the Arboretum and University of Minnesota Extension, the workshop is open to the public and will run from 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Arboretum’s Andrus Learning Center.  Keynote speakers will include University of Minnesota rose hybridizers David Zlesak and Kathy Zuzek and U of M Extension plant pathologist Michelle Grabowski.  The fee of  $45 members, $55 non-members includes a gourmet box lunch and roses to take home.

            Winter-hardy roses are easy to grow, and require less chemical use and winter protection than the harder-to-grow hybrid tea or floribunda roses found in many garden centers. However, easy care does not mean sacrificing beauty. Participants will learn about different ornamental characteristics that add color and extended bloom time. 

            Topics include: the lore of roses; how to identify and treat common rose diseases; a review of the Earth-Kind rose trials; and how to select, care for and prune roses. 

          David Zlesak is an assistant extension professor in horticulture at the University of Minnesota.  He is passionate about roses and has been growing them since 1980 with an emphasis on hardy varieties. Zlesak is currently celebrating the release of a new variety of rose that he produced called ‘Candy Oh! Vivid Red’.

            Kathy Zuzek is an assistant extension professor in horticulture at the University of Minnesota whose education and work experience have focused on forest pathology, plant breeding, and the development of woody ornamental cultivars.  Her plant breeding efforts have provided northern gardeners with the new Northern Accents™ roses “Ole,” “Sven,”  and “Lena.”  

            To register, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu or call 952-443-1422.

Part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural & Natural Resources Sciences, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is located in Chanhassen on State Hwy. 5, nine miles west of the intersection with Interstate 494. Admission is $7 adults; free for ages 15 and younger and free for members.