Tags: 2015, Meeting, roses, Season 2014-2015, Tom Carruth

For our January event, the “King of the roses,” Tom Carruth presented on The Roses of the Huntington Gardens. Tom talked about The Huntington’s three-acre Rose Garden, which showcases more than 1,200 cultivars and some 4,000 individual shrubs. Established in 1908, the historic landscape is among the most beautiful areas of the grounds, frequently cited by visitors as a favorite Huntington attraction.

Tom Carruth is a plant ‘freak’ whose obsession blossomed as a child, despite growing up in the Texas panhandle. His passion became a profession after he received a Bachelors in Horticulture (1974) and a Masters in Plant Breeding (1976) from Texas A & M University.

Regardless of the advice given by his most inspiring professor, Dr. J. C. Raulston, Tom pursued his dream to become a rose breeder. Since 1975, he’s worked in the rose industry in California with the late Bill Warriner of Jackson & Perkins Co. and Jack Christensen of the former Armstrong’s Nursery. From 1987 until early 2012, he was in charge of the rose hybridizing effort as Director of Research & Marketing at Weeks Roses. He wore many hats at Weeks, writing all the descriptive copy for their catalog, overseeing the catalog design & printing and directing the photography, marketing & website.

The broad goal of Tom’s breeding was to make the rose a contender with all plants, rather than a fussy queen of the garden. His introductions stress disease resistance, fragrance, floriferousness, novelty & attractive habit. JULIA CHILD serves as a prime example, achieving a very rare worldwide introduction. The velvety deep purple EBB TIDE was the first of a real color breakthrough. Tom is the inventor of over 90 plant patents and he had also accumulated 11 AARS Award Winners in just 14 years.

Weeks’ AARS Award Winners to emerge from Tom’s hybridizing work include: the 2011 Winner, DICK CLARK, which he co-hybridized with assistant Christian Bédard, CINCO DE MAYO (2009), STRIKE IT RICH (2007); JULIA CHILD (2006); WILD BLUE YONDER (2006); ABOUT FACE (2005); MEMORIAL DAY (2004); HOT COCOA (2003); BETTY BOOP (1999); FOURTH OF JULY (1999) and SCENTIMENTAL (1997).

Tom has over 100 introductions to his credit with numerous national & international awards. Some of the ‘stars’ from Tom’s work includes…HOME RUN, PINK HOME RUN, EBB TIDE, CH-CHING!, MARILYN MONROE, MOONSTONE, GEORGE BURNS, NEPTUNE, CHIHULY, TOPSY TURVY, CANDY LAND, PURPLE SPLASH, RUBY RUBY, DIAMOND EYES, GOOD AS GOLD, NEIL DIAMOND & ANNA’S PROMISE.

Tom retired from Weeks Roses to take a new role as the E.L. & Ruth B. Shannon Curator of the Rose Collection at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. Tom is overseeing the renovation of the rose garden with an eye on refocusing the rose collection to equal the beauty of the many other spectacular gardens at the Huntington.