Elaine, I'd sure like your thoughts on this report that Cottage_Rose has talked about in the Roses forum? What do you make of it, and what effect will it have on us?
Possible future rose/plant import ban
Well, Donna, I did respond to Cottagerose's thread on the rose forum! In reality, all plants are quarantined and checked by Ag Canda thoroughly before going into the nursery, here in Canada. I do know, that David Austin roses from the UK will no longer be exported to us. Budwood is being sent to the US to Tyler, Texas for grafting to understock, "Dr Huey" According to Austin, the new introductions will not be sent out any more....here, or maybe even, the U.S............Donna, it's not the Rose Mosaic Virus, that is the culprit,..........it is SOD..the Sudden Oak Death fungus, that is the reason. I also know for sure, many garden ctres and nurseries in BC, alone, particularly the Lower Mainland here will only be purchasing locally. E. I gave a power point presentation on roses, last Thursday eve at our gdn club...went over well! Whilst doing this, I was asked about many roses from here, there and all over...so I passed on the news I've been receiving from the Nursery trade here. It is to our dismay, this news! I, when working in a nursery, actually was one of the first people to import roses from David Austin's....so I, myself, feel like I've been kicked in the head...for 5 yrs we ordered these roses. They came in on super understock, "Rosa Laxa"......good, strong and healthy! So now, if you want to order, I can suggest own root only, say, from Old Roses, Hornby Island, Russian Roses for the North, and, of course, Brentwood Bay Nursery, which we intend to visit during our RU. Pickering still grafts onto Rosa Multiflora, which is ok also! We have to wait and see.............E
Sad news, isn't it. Such a shame. We'll all have to keep our eyes open for the good ones that we can still get our hands on.