Hidden in the center of the San Joaquin Valley is a gentleman known to the rose world as "Mr. Miniature." Ralph Moore hybridized the first miniature roses in the United States and it became the basis for the American Miniature Rose Industry.
With $800 dollars, a few hundred rose bushes and a dream, Ralph Moore opened SEQUOIA NURSERY on February 28, 1937. Some of the rose plants were traded for other trees and plants. Sequoia Nursery began as a small retail general nursery on one acre of ground on the same location as where they are located today.
But the dream of breeding new and better roses was a priority. The miniature section consisted of three varieties,Rosa Rouletii (pink),Oakington Ruby (red) and White Fairy. Tom Thumb (an offspring of R.Rouletii) and Oakington Ruby became the breeding basis from which all of the miniature roses were developed.
Over the years many other kinds, species and varieties have been incorporated into the breeding program in order to develop the great array and diversity of miniature (and other roses) which have come out of the research at Sequoia Nursery.
Sequoia Nursery is not the largest miniature rose nursery but it has developed and maintained one of the largest and most varied rose breeding programs. Over the last 60 years over 300 new varieties of miniature roses plus several hybrid rugosas and other types of roses including moss and striped roses have been produced. A few varieties include Topez Jewel, Linda Campbell, Star Delight, Sharon's Delight, Playgirl, Playtime , and Red Fairy.
Recently a new line of miniature roses called HALO-TM Roses has been developed. The Halo-TM roses are another dream come true for Ralph Moore. Ralph saw some seedlings of the miniature Anytime (Sam McGredy) which showed a small lavender area at the base of each petal. His thought was "Could these be crossed with the floribunda, Angel Face, to get a wider, more pronounced lavender zone at each petal base?"
Ralph went back to square one. He grew a lot of self seedlings from Anytime and out of the lot selected several which showed this lavender ring, or zone, that he called a "halo." But one selection stood out so he propagated a number of plants to use for further breeding-this one, which he dubbed 'Eye 8,' grew well, flowered profusely, set seed hips and had a pronounced lavender ring (or halo) surrounding the yellow stamens.
From this selection (Eye 8) Ralph proceeded to grow more seedlings, both self and crossed with other roses. The halo was always lavender but he knew that since lavender is part red that soon he should have a plant with the halo more red than lavender. Unfortunately, many of these seedlings were weak, poor growers and inclined to mildew. But eventually that sought for red did show up. This cross of (Anytime x Indian Princess) x self was a vigorous grower but rather shy in bloom, and the single orange red flower was cup shaped. But the red halo was there. So then came a seedling from Eye 8 x Gold Badge. The semidouble two inch flower was a pink blend suffused with yellow. Good repeat bloom and the fact that it produced pollen and set seed now opened the way for progress.
With this seedling, which in Ralph's breeding records is "Peach Halo"(never introduced) he had (and still have) an excellent parent which showed a bit of the reddish color in its halo. Further crosses over the years have produced an array of the Halo roses, a few of which have been named and introduced.
In recognition of Ralph's work for over sixty years, Mr. Moore has been the recipient of the ARS Gold Medal, The Dean Hole Medal(Great Britain), Australian Rose Society Gold Medal, and the Gold Medal of the World Organization of Rose Societies, plus numerous other honors, including the Research Award(1987) of the California Association of Nurserymen. Mr. Moore has also received the Award of Excellence designation from the American Rose Society for nineteen of his miniature roses.
Mr. Moore has said that rose hybridizers stand on the shoulders of those who go before them, acknowledging that he, too, has stood on the shoulders of earlier hybridizers. It is clear that Mr. Moore's roses will be utilized by others for years to come and that new and exiting roses will be developed by those who stand on the shoulders of the Rose-man with an imaginative vision. Ralph's ideal is to produce "The Very Best." So each year the "very best" varieties are introduced. But time moves on. So we keep on striving and looking for "The Very Best."
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1997 Linda Burg