The Barbara and Jim Zimmerman Story



The Barbara and Jim Zimmerman Story

As we launch our new website for the Miami Valley Rose Society, it is a great time to introduce you to some of the people in our society of rose lovers. Many of these folks have been the strength, the foundation, and our leadership for many years. The MVRS is very fortunate to have several knowledgeable, accomplished growers, arrangers, educators, judges, and award-winning members. Frequently, these adjectives can be attributed to each person that is presented to you!

As Webmaster, I leave it for the historians to describe the roots of the MVRS, the activities, and its acknowledgments. In our Resource Section you will find a link to the society’s history, which was edited and mostly compiled by our member, Dr. Gary Barlow. LINK: resources

My intent is to introduce you to some of the leaders within the MVRS, beginning with Barbara and Jim Zimmerman.

Several years ago the Dayton Daily News ran an article in its ‘Features Section’ about Jim Zimmerman and his 400+ roses. Briefly, Jim described how he got started with raising roses. There was a beautiful photo of one of his prize rose beds in the article, and an invitation to come visit him. Having recently moved to a property that was crying out for more flowerbeds, my husband and I began learning about growing roses (after significant failures in previous attempts while living in TX).

I recognized the value (the shortcut) of learning from an experienced successful gardener, and made a trip to see Barbara and Jim’s roses. Jim showed me around, then sat down with a fresh cutting from one of their miniature rose bushes, and showed me how to get a cutting started in a zip lock bag. As he showed me, he reassured me ‘roses were easy’. They were just perennials, they liked things certain ways, were always hungry, but easy to grow, and if anyone was willing to give them what they needed, then anyone could grow beautiful roses. He also invited us to join the Miami Valley Rose Society.

As we started obtaining roses (bare root and established rose bushes from garden centers), Barbara and Jim became one of our primary teachers. The Zimmerman's do things on a big scale; just imagine using a backhoe and digging beds for 600+ roses. A project like this really wasn’t daunting for them. There would be some basic things they would teach us: choose a place where the rose can get at least 6 hours of bright sunlight, and good drainage. Dig a hole (with the graft buds from each rose bush about 3' apart), approximately 20" deep and at least 18-20" wide. They also suggested putting some food in the form of alfalfa pellets (rabbit food) in the bottom of the hole (or a little triple phosphate). Then spread the roots out over a mound of dirt after pruning off any broken roots, and then start filling in the hole around the roots with really good soil.

I learned to set the rose bush so the graft bud is approximately an inch or so below the soil level. Water the rose in as you are filling it with dirt so you can see where the rose bush is going to wind up after it’s watered in and the soil settles. Then, for the first growing season, feed it about once a week with readily soluble liquid rose fertilizer or something like ‘alfalfa manure tea’ (we can get you the recipe), water the ground rather than the rose bush, and learn how to prevent black spot. Jim advised how to treat pests, how to prune, how to cut a bloom to enjoy in the house, and the proper place to cut the stem so the bush will be ready to produce another rose for you.

This was my first introduction to Barbara and Jim. They are educators above all else. They have spent years of intense learning with experts, applying rigorous techniques, eliminating potential problems so they cannot get started. For instance, when I sat down with Barbara and Jim recently, one of the additional tips they shared was that Jim spreads an insecticide all around his rose beds, even the perimeters of his gardens so he doesn’t have to deal with the larvae of pests! The other thing Jim did before we even sat down for this recent interview was to hand me a copy of the handouts he uses to teach Master Gardener classes. “It’s all there,” he said, and eagerly showed me sections on Hybridizing, Propagation, Insect and Fungus Control, etc.

As we graduated into learning more about Barbara and Jim's techniques (I had seen them in action at many rose shows, earning a trophy in some category at every show), I learned so much more about these two outstanding rosarians. The very precise manner Jim used in explaining things to me led to the observation that “whatever you do, Jim, you seem to go at it so thoroughly.” He agreed he has always been a hard worker and demanded a lot out of himself, and he tackles problems with the intention of solving them. He enjoys a challenge.

Barbara and Jim shared some wonderful stories with me, and perhaps many of the people that are judges, and have been in competition with Jim and Barbara over the years have witnessed these events. They are too good not to share. One in particular is how Barbara and Jim got their first 600 roses bushes.

Jim cultivated a friendship with a fellow rosarian in the Buckeye District who really mentored him in the early years… you might find it interesting that this gentleman was his barber. This gentleman taught them how to groom a cut rose bloom for showing, and some techniques about the art of growing and showing roses. This association convinced Jim he still needed to learn more about roses before he ventured any further. This is a distinct difference from what most of us do: we go buy a rose bush, plant it, sometimes feed and water it, and later find it appears sick and dies.

They had about 25 rose bushes to begin with. Then, they joined the MVRS, and started showing roses. At the time they started actively growing roses, the American Rose Society and test garden for roses was located in Columbus, Ohio. They attended the Buckeye District Rose Show in Akron one year, and Barbara and Jim spoke to the head of the ARS about “how many roses bushes does one need to successfully compete in rose shows?” Although this is not a truly accurate statement, that person said, “You will need at least 500 rose bushes.” Barbara replied, “Then we will have 501!” She knew her husband well enough to know he liked to do things on a grand scale, and he liked to compete, and why do that unless you want to win! With the help of his wife Barbara, they had a dream, a passion for roses. And you better have a lot more than just passion if you have over 600 roses.

What Jim did was go to the library and check out all 73 of the books on roses. He read sections from each of them, and then he started formulating the plans for his rose beds. He had a friend with access to heavy equipment. They brought their backhoe in and dug out beds that were 4' wide, 20' long and 3' deep. He had gravel brought in and put down 6-8" of gravel in the bottom for drainage. He had dump truck loads of river bottom dirt hauled in to fill up the beds. He later added the watering system that was connected to irrigate each bed. Then, he placed an order with a grower in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada for 600+ bare root roses of various kinds. The following spring, he took the back seat out of his sedan, and drove up to Canada to get his roses. The trip into Canada was the easy part.

The problem occurred when he tried to cross back into the USA with 600+ bare root roses and no grower’s license, and no wholesaler’s license. When he mentioned he was going to put these all in his gardens, the going became really tough. They pulled him aside for questioning. Jim has a way of solving problems, though, and after all he had come this far to get them. So to prove he wasn’t in the business of horticulture, he pulled out a sales manual from his company, asked the border inspectors to open it to any page and he would tell them the content of that page. That was enough proof for the security inspectors to let him cross the border.

We didn’t talk about what it took to get 600+ roses planted, but Jim was a young man with lots of energy, looking for something to do after work (to relax and unwind…) and went at it. Most of the rose bushes survived and Barbara and Jim were off and running in the rose world.

For nearly fifty years Barbara has been instrumental in helping maintain the roses: pruning, removing dead blooms (this is called deadheading), preparing the roses for exhibiting in shows where they have been fortunate in winning many first place awards. Barbara excels in growing miniature roses and her peers recognize her for her expertise.

One of the really fine achievements any rosarian could accomplish is to hybridize a rose that makes it to market. First you have to collect a lot of pollen, hand apply to a lot of roses that have been prepped to receive this pollen, then wait for the fertilization to take, let the rose bush produce hips, save the seeds in these hips, pot these seeds after proper refrigeration and wait for signs of germination. If and when these seeds develop into a new rose, then wait to see if any resulting blooms show potential for becoming an interesting variety.

If potential is noted it has to be submitted to twelve designated test gardens where it has to survive a variety of growing conditions for two years. Making it through all this before it would ever be shown in rose catalogs as a new variety. Then large national growers have to believe a new rose would be popular enough to warrant them growing thousands per year in order to have that rose ready for the public to purchase. This whole process is costly and takes years to complete, but if you make it, very rewarding in terms of finances and prestige.

Barbara has hybridized a rose that is named 'Chessie’s Favorite.' In 2015, Barbara's rose ('Chessie's Favorite') received the 'Award of Excellence' for the best new miniature rose at the ARS National Rose Convention held in Columbus, Ohio. Commercial growers from Europe and the United States were in competition for this award.

Jim has hybridized many roses and now has a red rose, and an orange rose with a white reverse. Both show a lot of promise but aren’t registered yet.

Barbara and Jim spoke about the ‘Hay Day’ of rose shows. There was a time when the Dayton (Miami Valley Rose Society) rose shows would have nearly 2000 rose blooms. At the Buckeye District Fall Rose Shows people would dress in formal wear for the presentation of awards at their dinners. The trophies were silver! (Our MVRS history book that you can go check out at the link mentioned earlier will show some photos of some of these very dressy affairs and stunning trophies. There you will also see that Barbara and Jim have won numerous trophies over the years.)

There is one trophy that Jim may well be one of only a small number of people to have earned. It is called the Hershey Trophy. This is a National ARS Award. Each year, the trophy is awarded to one person in a rose society district. There are 18 districts in the USA. The Buckeye District is one of the 18 across the nation. This award can be earned once every 18 years in Ohio. Jim has been fortunate to garner this prestigious trophy 3 times: this speaks not only to his competitive spirit but also to his length of membership in the American Rose Society.

Barbara and Jim have won first place trophies in national rose shows and are very well known and highly regarded both for their ability to grow and show beautiful roses and for their arrangement talents. They are also recognized for their commitment to sharing their knowledge, their community outreach and support locally and in Bradenton, FL area where they now spend the winters.

Locally, Barbara and Jim took care of the Dayton Hospice Rose Gardens by themselves for a number of years. At one time, the rose beds there had about 70 roses. Later on, more were added, but this diligent couple (who had their own rose gardens to tend) opened up the garden in the spring, fed, tended the roses almost every week, and then winterized them in for the winter. Finally, Jim asked a fellow rosarian to help out, and that wonderful person recruited several people to help (including me). Now, Hospice of Dayton is a regular outreach project for the MVRS in our Dayton community. At one time the Good Samaritan Hospital on Salem Avenue had a rose garden tended by the nuns. He became acquainted with several of the nuns who noticed his meticulous work with roses, and Jim invited them to join the MVRS! And they did join!

An astounding community service project Jim was involved with resulted in the refurbishing of the Ringling Rose Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. Under the guidance of the curator, Ron Mallory, Jim helped restore the beds, built the rose test garden, and planted the new roses. With some unique problem solving, they tore out the entranceway plantings and replaced them with 40 Knock Out roses to line the entryway. Barbara Zimmerman donated these 40 rose bushes.

There are many more stories to tell about these two outstanding rosarians. They are national judges for Horticulture and for Arrangements, and of course, Consulting Rosarians. Jim is a Master Rosarian and both he and Barbara have received the coveted ARS Silver Medal Award. They embody the goals of the American Rose Society so fully.

They are eager to share their knowledge, to help others get started and to help expand the pleasure other folks have when growing roses. Having these gifts of nature growing in one’s own garden has been a great blessing to so many people over the years.

I said at the beginning when sitting down with Barbara and Jim that a book could easily be written about their adventures and achievements with growing roses and hopefully their son may decide to do that!

We are fortunate beyond words to have them with us in the MVRS, and therefor to some extent, available to you! They make it look easy. It’s only a lot of work if you don’t set it up properly in the beginning and learn how to do it correctly. Then, it’s mostly joyful. They now have 125+ roses but they purchased new ones this year. Frankly, rosarians cannot help themselves from acquiring a new rose or two, perhaps even three or more each spring.

The purpose of sharing Barbara and Jim's story with you is to demonstrate the enduring love some of us have for roses, and to encourage you to grow roses in your garden. Happily, our rose society is eager to teach others to plant, prune, feed, treat for health problems like fungal disease, cut for showing or sharing, arranging, and cultivating!

Check out our meeting schedule. If you live locally, we would enjoy meeting you and welcoming you into the MVRS. Our membership dues are very reasonable with many benefits that far exceed the meager membership dues!

With great appreciation in knowing and sharing the Zimmerman’s with you, it’s time to close.

Teresa Ramsey

Webmaster

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