Rose blooms in every color abound at the four-and-a-half acre international rose test garden in Portland. Founded in 1917, the international rose garden served not only as a collection of American hybrids, but also a safe haven for the roses of Europe that were in danger of being damaged and lost forever during the bombings of WWI.
New rose hybrids are tested at each of twenty-four sites throughout the country (including the Portland garden) and referred to only by a code number. The entries are then "evaluated for two years with fourteen different pieces of desirable criteria including plant habit, vigor, disease resistance, color, flower production, form, foliage, and fragrance." The test garden studies up to 200 rose cultivars each year.
[International Rose Test Garden; 1-6. c. lynn; 7. IRTG]
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