Landscape Performance of Buck Roses under Minimal-input Conditions in North-central Texas

Griffith Buck (Iowa State University) bred roses ( Rosa sp.) to survive long, cold winters and hot, humid summers yet still retain their foliage without fungicides. Unfortunately, there is little known about the performance of Buck roses in the southern United States. Thirty-eight Buck rose cultivars were evaluated for flowering, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and overall landscape performance in alkaline soils with no fertilizer, no pesticides, and only limited irrigation. Flowering occurred on a bimodal basis, with the highest per plant mean bloom number (16.3 blooms) and bloom coverage (9.7%) in April, and a second flowering in the fall, with 13.7 blooms per plant and 6.9% bloom coverage in October. Drought stress symptoms were most evident in October, with a wide range of symptom severity across cultivars. Black spot ( Diplocarpon rosae ) and powdery mildew ( Podosphaera pannosa ) incidence were rare across all roses and years. Landscape performance scores, rated using a 0 to 10 scale with 10 representing a perfect plant and 0 a dead plant, were highest in April (6.5) and lowest in June (4.6) and July (4.6). Landscape performance was not correlated with bloom number or coverage. While unable to recommend many of the Buck roses for north-central Texas, the cultivars April Moon and Freckles, and possibly a few other roses, can join Carefree Beauty™ (BUCbi) as recommended roses for the area.