University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN-al Gardening Class Offers Insider’s Look at the Future of Roses

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Dec. 7, 2006) -- The 2007 season of Cal State Northridge’s CSUN-al Gardening Series will premier Saturday, Jan. 6, with an insider’s look at the future of roses.

Tom Carruth, director of research for Weeks Roses since 1988 and producer of more All-American Rose Selection winners than any other hybridizer, is expected to offer insight into what makes a crowd-pleasing rose during his presentation scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 10:30 a.m.

Acting Botanic Garden manager Brenda Kanno said Carruth is considered a phenomenon in the world of rose hybridizers.

"His long list of successes, from the early ‘Scentimental,’ ‘Betty Boop’ and ‘Fourth of July,’ to the more recent ‘Strike It Rich’ and ‘Julia Child,’ is a testament to Tom’s keen sense of what pleases rose gardeners," she said, adding that class participants should be prepared to take notes as Carruth "discusses the ‘personalities’ of today’s favorite rose and gives us a peak at future crowd pleasers."

While the class is free, registration is required because seating is limited. To register, e-mail botanicgarden@csun.edu or call (818) 677-3496. Directions and parking information, as well as the classroom location, will be sent with the confirmation of registration.

The Cal State Northridge Botanic Garden is operated by the university’s Department of Biology and serves as a field site for botany, entomology, photography, painting and other classes. In addition to outdoor landscapes and natural botanic environments, the garden also features a greenhouse where rare and unusual plants are grown. The garden is open to the community.

For more information about the Botanic Garden, visit its Web site at www.csun.edu/botanicgarden.