One of the largest rose breeding companies in the world is based in Uetersen (Schleswig-Holstein). During the main shipping season in spring, thousands of plants are sent from there every day to beautify the gardens and balconies of rose lovers. The customers are particularly looking forward to the new varieties, into which Jens Krüger, head of the breeding department, has put years of planning and work into.
Jens Krüger has been heading the breeding department of the rose breeding business for 18 years.
According to a cross-breeding plan he developed, the employees of the family business pollinate around 80,000 selected plants each season, all by hand. The rose hips, the fruits of the rose, are harvested in autumn. The approximately 300,000 seeds it contains are planted in the ground in December. Whether new successful varieties will actually grow from this will only become apparent a few years later. It takes a lot of patience and a bit of luck when growing roses.
Wild roses from Stoltenberg near Kiel
During guided tours, rose farmer Horst Peters introduces visitors to the advantages of “his” rose varieties.
For rose farmer Horst Peters, his greatest joy lies in bringing people closer to the cultural history of the rose. In his two and a half hectare natural garden in Stoltenberg near Kiel, mainly wild, unusual and almost forgotten rose varieties grow. The humanities graduate wants to bring them back into the minds of rose lovers and into the gardens. During tours, seminars and lectures, Horst Peters raves about the many advantages of his favorites: they are easy to care for, hardy and a feast for the eyes all year round. One or two louses may also run across the leaves, that’s just part of the rosy trees. While Peters shares his immense knowledge with the garden visitors, his wife Cirsten convinces them of the tasty nature of a rose, which also promises great effectiveness as a medicinal plant.
“The Northern Reportage” accompanies the professional breeders from Uetersen and the rose lover from Stoltenberg over an entire rose year.
Further information
In order for roses to be strong and bloom profusely, they need pruning in spring. What is important? more