Excellence Roses to be trialed at Meise’s Botanical Garden

Wouter Swaerts, gardener at Meise’s Botanical Garden.

The Meise Botanical Garden will begin trialling roses vying for the Dutch-Belgo quality mark Excellence Roses this autumn.

Excellence Roses is an initiative of the Dutch Culture Group for Roses and Rootstocks, with its secretariat running under the Dutch industry body Anthos.

Rosa ‘Princess Mathilde’.

Having an Excellence Roses certification is a mark of quality. At the B2B level, Excellence Rose Certification is an important consideration when choosing a supplier, and the end-consumer ultimately enjoys the benefits of growing healthy and reliable rose blooms.

At the trial ground in Meise, a team of expert judges will look for strong, healthy, rich, and repeat-flowering roses that give good results to end users without the use of plant protection products.

As early as this autumn, new roses subject to inspections will be planted in Meise’s Botanical  Garden, bringing the number of judging locations to six: three in the Netherlands and three in Belgium.

The contemporary layout of the Meise Rose Garden, which opened in June 2019, took inspiration from the image of a budding rose. The labyrinth in the heart of the garden, formed by two spirals, tells the story of the origin and evolution of wild roses and shows how they are related.

With more than 100 different botanical species, the garden hosts one of the most important rose collections in the world. In the flowerbeds surrounding the viewing hill, one learns how garden roses were selected and developed from wild roses. In this area, a place has already been reserved for the roses that will soon compete in the three-year inspections, Bird’s Eye View Rose Garden Meise.

Gardener Wouter Swaerts is now busy preparing the new trial ground. He says, “The rose garden is designed to represent a budding flower. Its heart serves to explain how botanical roses have evolved over the centuries. The beds on the outer side represent the petals, telling the story of the modern garden rose. We show our visitors that plant breeders are constantly searching for new, richly flowering and healthy varieties.

“Moreover, we attach enormous importance to biodiversity. In the garden’s mixed borders, we aim to demonstrate to visitors that strong, richly flowering and naturally healthy roses deserve a place in every garden. This perfectly fits the philosophy behind the Excellence Roses quality mark”

Judges assess roses four times a year, with plant health, vigour, flower richness, fragrance, and rose hip formation being important criteria to double-check.

Roses that have achieved a minimum number of points after three years earn the Excellence Roses designation. Currently, the tally stands at 76 rose varieties, all strong and richly flowering roses that produce good results in gardens and public green spaces without the use of plant protection products. All Excellence Roses can be found on the KVBC website.

Rosa ‘Reine de Centfeuilles’.

The other trial grounds for Excellence Roses include the Rosarium in Boskoop (NL), Rozenhof Lottum (NL), Rosarium Winschoten (NL), the rose garden at Vrijbroekpark Mechelen (B) and the Botanical Garden De Kleine Boerderij in Merksplas (B).

The Rose Garden at Meise Botanic Garden is a valuable addition, bringing the number of locations to six. In addition, at Viaverde (formerly PCS) in Destelbergen, Belgium, you will find a show garden for landscape architects with a selection of roses that have already earned the predicate.

This autumn, rose breeders will again receive an email to submit roses. Breeders who are interested but did not receive a call previously can communicate this to secretariaat@anthos.org