Some, not all, rose shows have rose hybridizers that show up to display newly registered (ARS) roses.
Displaying roses at rose shows serves several important purposes for rose hybridizers:
- Recognition and Promotion: Rose shows provide a platform for hybridizers to showcase their new rose varieties to a wider audience. This exposure helps in gaining recognition for their work and promotes their roses among enthusiasts, gardeners, and potential buyers.
- Feedback and Evaluation: Rose shows allow hybridizers to receive valuable feedback on their rose varieties from judges and fellow enthusiasts. This feedback may include assessments of characteristics such as bloom form, color, fragrance, disease resistance, and overall garden performance. This evaluation helps hybridizers to identify strengths and weaknesses in their roses and informs future breeding decisions.
- Comparison and Benchmarking: Displaying roses at shows allows hybridizers to compare their roses with others in the same category or class. This comparison helps them to benchmark their roses against existing varieties, assess their competitiveness in the market, and identify areas for improvement.
- Networking and Collaboration: Rose shows provide opportunities for hybridizers to network with other enthusiasts, breeders, growers, and industry professionals. These interactions can lead to collaborations, knowledge sharing, and the exchange of genetic material, which can be valuable for advancing breeding programs.
- Marketing and Sales: Rose shows serve as a marketing platform for hybridizers to promote their roses directly to potential buyers, including individual gardeners, nurseries, and commercial growers. Positive recognition and awards received at shows can enhance the marketability of their roses and contribute to increased sales.
- Preservation and Conservation: Many rose shows also feature heritage or heirloom rose categories, which help in preserving and conserving older rose varieties. Hybridizers interested in preserving genetic diversity or heritage roses can use these shows to introduce and promote such varieties to a wider audience.
Overall, displaying roses at rose shows plays a crucial role in the success of rose hybridizers by providing them with opportunities for recognition, feedback, comparison, collaboration, marketing, and rose preservation.