Griffith Buck was a professor at an Iowa agricultural university during the 1970's and '80's and he observed how woefully inadequate the California-based breeding programs were for meeting the needs of rose lovers on the plains. The commercial offerings typically posessed neither adequate cold hardiness to endure the bitter plains winters nor the resistance to fungal disease roses require to thrive in the damp northern plains summers. He set to work developing roses that would avoid both these problems. The list of roses bred by Buck is very long, perhaps mounting up close to a hundred cultivars. But these are a few that strike one as being exceptionally good looking; and many are reasonably well distributed. Fortunately there has been a strong resurgence of interest in his roses. This bodes well for the future of low-maintenance roses in North America.
Carefree Beauty I have seen trained as a six foot tall shrub in a local park. At full bloom it was quite impressive. Folksinger reaches almost six feet in height and a little more than half that wide. It bears it roses at the ends of canes, near eye level. One could wish that it were just a tad shorter or better branched, but it is well covered with foliage and this complements the flowers that are latte colored just tinged with apricot. One wonders whether it might benefit as do several of Austin's roses from pegging or 'self pegging' to promote development of blossoms along the canes. Hawkeye Belle is knee high. It is very well branched and quite foliferous, bearing pale pink flowers whose petals form hundreds of concentric rings. They fade and get muddled. Both effects are pretty. Of the others, I have only seen some photos; but I am interested in trying them. There is some question in my own mind about whether cold hardiness has come at the expense of fragrance, and I hope to prove this hypothesis wrong quickly.
Connected to database: rosefile_roses
| Cultivar | Class | Color | Fragrance | Breeder | Hardiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amiga Mia | Modern Shrub | Candy Pink | Strong | Buck | Zone 4 |
Applejack | Modern Shrub | Pink | Moderate | Buck | Zone 3 |
April Moon | Modern Shrub | Primrose | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Aunt Honey | Modern Shrub | Candy Pink | Strong | Buck | Zone 4 |
Carefree Beauty | Modern Shrub | Pink | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Country Dancer | Modern Shrub | Rose | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Distant Drums | Modern Shrub | Tawny Blend | Strong | Buck | Zone 4 |
Earth Song | Hybrid Tea | Pink | Strong | Buck | Zone 4 |
Folksinger | Modern Shrub | Pale Apricot | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Golden Unicorn | Modern Shrub | Coral/Gold Blend | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Hawkeye Belle | Modern Shrub | Pale Pink | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Hi, Neighbor | Modern Shrub | Crimson | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Mountain Music | Modern Shrub | Pink / Yellow | Buck | Zone 4 | |
Prairie Flower | Modern Shrub | Cerise | None | Buck | 4 |
Prairie Harvest | Modern Shrub | Primrose | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Prairie Princess | Hybrid Tea | Rose | Moderate | Buck | Zone 4 |
Prairie Star | Modern Shrub | White | Buck | ||
Prairie Sunrise | Modern Shrub | Buff | Strong | Buck | |
Prairie Sunset | Modern Shrub | Rose | Slight | Buck | 4 |
Winter Sunset | Modern Shrub | Apricot | Buck | ||