wrote:

Hmmm.................it would be interesting if you could pin down the
dates for this. Wheatcroft Roses or Harry Wheatcroft and Sons? I was
working at HW & Sons during 1967/8/9 and I can't remember hearing
about this, though as a very junior employee I wouldn't hear the
management talk.

If I remember correctly, I was told this in the very early '70's when
Harry used to visit our summer shows. We ( I was plants manager for
Webbs at Wychbold at the time) used to put on a pretty impressive
summer show with Wheatcroft roses, Blackmore & Langdons incredible
show Begonias and Delphs, Wills Fuchsias and Fibrex for Pelargoniums,
Ferns and Ivies. Not exactly Chelsea, but a rather splendid effort
nonetheless.

Old Harry used to arrive - ever the showman, in white suit, panama and
white Rolls Royce. I took the opportunity to chat with him whenever I
could - he had so many fascinating tales to tell and relished the
opportunity to tell them at the drop of a hat. At the time there were
pretty strong connections between Webbs and Wheatcrofts - so much so
that the Sales Manager was married to one of the Keys girls (Fibrex)
and I think it was Chris Wheatcroft who married one of the other
sisters.

The Ena Harkness I took to shows for them was
certainly fragrant. Dunno about what I was budding because we were
just issued every morning with bundles of budwood without flowers.

I can't be sure, but I think the problem had been sorted well before
then - we were main agents for Wheatcrofts and when I first took the
job, I remember some customers eyeing Ena suspiciously.

It was already well known then that Gloire de Dijon was a shadow of its
former self and it happened with Super Star soon after, though that
was soon superceded by better varieties in that colour range.

If ever a star should fall from grace so spectacularly it was 'Super
Star'. To my mind it was the epitome of plant style over substance.
Yes the colour was a breakthrough, but such a gangly inelegant plant
and so prone to mildew and rust. When I started my nursery a few
years later, I refused to stock it. In a way, I was being somewhat
inconsistent for I would happily stock and recommend hybrid gallica
roses, which are almost all highly prone to mildew.

I suppose I can defend that stance by the fact that gallicas can be
heavily mildewed and yet not lose any vigour. Not so 'Super Star', to
get it to perform well it needed far more TLC than most people could
give. Occasionally you would see a good plant, but not before you had
seen a hundred bad ones beforehand.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November