Rose (public) Garden  

Listing last updated on Sun Nov 2024

Lakeland, Florida
United States

863-680-4337  [Information]

There are two formal gardens on the campus: Ruth's Rose Garden, designed by Stephen Scanniello, housing approximately 300 roses, and the Jane Elizabeth Jenkins Rose Garden, housing approximately 75 plants. The college greenhouses also have many more varieties in containers, and there are some smaller rose beds across the campus. We try to grow roses from as many classes and with as much genetic diversity as possible, within the limitations of the Central Florida climate. So the collection is strong on Teas, Chinas, and Noisettes, but is quite diverse. Special collections include the true musk roses (forms of Rosa moschata), Florida-bred and Florida-found roses, Bermuda's "Mystery" roses, and Viru Viraraghavan's Indian R. gigantea hybrids.

FSC also has one of the two rose mosaic virus heat therapy programs in the USA (U. C. Davis has the other), and as such, the vast majority of our roses are tested free of that disease. We serve as a source of mosaic-free propagating material to nurseries throughout the U.S. and internationally.