News Release Distributed 01/05/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter in cooperation with the American Rose Society Gulf District will present a midwinter workshop on rose care Feb. 6-7 at the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in Gonzales, Louisiana.

The program is being held for members of the American Rose Society as well as Master Gardeners, home gardeners and others interested in roses, said LSU AgCenter horticulture professor Allen Owings.

Louisiana and Mississippi rose society presidents and Gulf District board members will meet during the afternoon of Feb. 6. An evening buffet dinner at 6:30 p.m. will include “From the Garden to the Trophy Table,” a presentation by Don and Paula Adlong from the Central Arkansas Rose Society.

Saturday educational programs will begin at 8:30 a.m. with many presentations on rose-related topics. A luncheon will feature 2014 Gulf District award presentations.

Speakers will include LSU AgCenter experts Ron Strahan and Ed Bush; Andrew Barocco, an undergraduate student in the LSU School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences; members of the New Orleans Old Garden Rose Society; rosarian Claude Graves from Dallas, Texas; rosarian Tommy Hebert from Beaumont, Texas; Peggy Martin of the Heritage Rose Foundation; regional American Rose Society director Baxter Williams; and B.J. Abshire of the Acadiana Rose Society.

The program will include a silent auction, and new roses from K and M Rose Nursery will be available for purchase. Consulting rosarians with the American Rose Society can earn continuing education credits by attending.

Registration for the workshop is open until Jan. 29. The cost, which includes both the Friday night dinner and Saturday program, is $65. Saturday-only registration is $40.

More information and a registration form for the workshop is available from Owings at 985-543-4125 or by email.