LAKELAND, Fla. — A Lakeland college is home to one of the most diverse collections of rare roses in the country, but someone has stolen some of the rarest ones.
Ruth’s Rose Garden at Florida Southern College is one of the prettiest spots on campus.
“I just took a test, actually, so it’s nice to come here and decompress and look at the flowers and the birds and everything in between my classes,” said Dawn Stanczyk.
The garden holds 200 varieties of roses. It is the most genetically diverse collection in the Southeast United States.
“People who know roses from rose societies often come to see some of the rarer varieties that you just don’t find in other gardens, especially in Florida,” said Dr. Malcolm Manners, Florida Southern College horticulture professor.
Dr. Malcolm Manners was once named the “Great Rosarian of the World.” He said the roses grown in the garden are part of the school’s program that cures roses from a disease known as rose mosaic, and then supply them to nurseries around the world.
The garden has provided roses to nurseries in the U.S., Canada, Bermuda, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the glorious springtime bloom, Dr. Manners made an ugly discovery. Someone snuck into the garden and snipped about 100 “cuttings” from the Safrano rose bush and Pulich Children bush, the rarest in the garden.
“This is the first time I’ve ever noticed where an entire bush was completely harvested, so it’s not going to have any flowers for this spring,” Manners said.
The horticulture professor estimates about $2,500 worth of rose cuttings were stolen. He believes the rose robber is looking to make a profit from the unique plants.
“We don’t think they were taking them for cut flowers. The buds would’ve been too small. Probably they’re going to propagate them from cuttings and make new plants, probably for sale,” said Manners.
It will be a year until the Pulich Children blooms again.
