Rose In Review
It is that time of year again. Time when the American Rose Society asks it members and non-members alike to rate the roses they grow. This project is called Roses in Review and the ratings gathered from throughout the country go into the ratings you see in the Handbook for Selecting Roses that all ARS members receive as a benefit of membership. The first step in the process is to check the listing of the roses to be reviewed. You can rate only theses roses. Once you have determined which of the roses you grow, head to the Rating Evaluation Sheet. They give you room to rate nine roses. If you have more than nine, make copies of the blank sheet. Next, I recommend observing your roses to be rated over time. Walk your garden now with your rating sheet and a pencil and make your observations of each bush you will be rating. In a few weeks, do this again, this time with a pen, and then in early September, do it once more, this time with a red pencil. Your bushes change over the course of the growing season and that fabulous Hybrid Tea your raved about in June may be totally defoliated due to blackspot by the fall. The mini that was so tiny and sparse in early July may have shot up and be filled with exhibition blooms in time for the district show. We are looking for the truest picture of each plant so please don’t make this a one time assessment.
Now that you feel you really know the best aspects of your roses. It is time for the reporting. The simplest way to complete your ratings is online from the ARS homepage, www.rose.org. Click on “Roses In Review CLICK HERE TO RATE YOUR ROSES” space and you are off and running. Please start by reviewing the Rating Instructions, either online or in the RIR packet. It will give you valuable guidelines for making your rating decisions. Note that each person wishing to evaluate roses must have a different email address. If you have only one email address in your household, please use “” as the second address.I know many of you do not grow any of the roses listed for rating but please complete the form anyway. This gives the ARS a better picture of just where the roses are grown or not grown. If two of you are both rating roses, please decide which varieties each will rate as having both of you rating the same bush will skew the total number grown. In other words, if Jane and John Doe grow one bush of ‘South Africa’ and one of ‘Above and Beyond’, one should rate the first and another the second. If you both rate both bushes now four are in the count instead of two. You can certainly work together to determine the ratings for these. You must give all the roses at least a Garden Rating and the ratings must be a specific number, not a range.
If you are not comfortable doing your ratings online you can submit your paper form to me. Copies of the RIR packet will be available at meetings. If you wish to download a PDF of the forms and print them out, follow this link:rose.org>Resources>2017 Roses in Review PDF.
Remember that which ever way you choose to do your Roses in Review ratings, this valuable information must be submitted by the September 26th deadline. If you choose to use the paper form, please mail it early enough to get it to me by September 25 so I can enter it electronically by the 26th.
Thanks for your continued support of this important part the American Rose Society’s mission to educate the public about America’s floral emblem, the rose. We should be very proud that the North Central District has received an award for the Highest Ration of Reporters to ARS Members for the last five years! Let’s keep up the great work!
Maggie Barr, NCD RIR coordinator
809 N WISCONSIN ST
PORT WASHINGTON, WI53074-1408
(262) 284-3318 home
(262) 707-0795 cell