It is not surprising to state that we owe the high standard of Czech rose growing to particular individuals. They are not only breeders (mentioned below on the page) but also other specialists and rose lovers, many of whom helped to establish the existing Rosa klub.
Most of them have participated in the managment, education and promotion – indiviually or within the societies concerned. Before World War II Josef Mikeš, namely, wrote a volumnious tome called "Dějiny zahradnictví" ("The History of horticulture"), which was unfortunately never published (a large chapter is devoted to roses). Besides, he wrote 14 monographs and about 1500 articles. Mikeš himself bred several roses.
When Rosa klub was estabilished, it attracted nearly all domestic experts and thus became the real center of Czechoslovak rosarian activities. Since then a new generation of horticulturists, breeders and scientists has arisen – e.g. docent Bohumil Kavka, rhodologist Ivan Klášterský, and his follower Dr. Václav Větvička. Club members surely remember Vladimír Mölzer, Josef Klimeš, Jaroslav Havlů, Vilém Walter and many, many others ... Let us mention the worthiness of the club´s former president, docent Bohumil Jaša and Rosa klub's present head, Dr. Josef Thomas.
The most notable breeders deserve to be mentioned individually, because of their contribution to national and international horticultural heritage.
Besides the personalities listed below, we should also mention Antonín Chalupecký, Josef Maliva, František Zeman, Adolf Novák, Karel Kumštýř, František Poustka and two Germans – Vincenz Berger and Adolf Bier.
Jan Böhm,
Dr. Gustav Brada,
Rudolf Geschwind,
Josef Havel,
Josef Strnad,
Josef Urban,
Ludvík Večeřa
Son of Jan Nepomuk Böhm, a renowned gardener and rosarian. He was born on November 25, 1885 in Prague and died in Blatná on April 4, 1959. He was expected to become a gardener by his family in his childhood already; after WWI he founded a nursery in Blatná where he also carried out his own breeding. His enterprise went well, each year his nursery produced about a million of plants. Meanwhile,he wrote a few books and a number of articles. Böhm's nursery introduced a variety of roses created by some other Czech breeders, it popularized many Geschwind's roses. The nursery was nationalized in 1952.
Böhm himself bred over seventy roses, many of which obtained international awards (i.e. fourteen gold medals) and up to the present day they are to be found in numerous European rose gardens.
Roses bred by Jan Böhm
He was born on September 26, 1883 in Hroubovice near Chrudim, he died suddently in Prague on March 8, 1937. He was neither a gardener, nor a botanist – but he was one of the few amateur rose lovers (even in global comparison) who managed to breed their very own varieties and he did so with oudstanding success. He probably studied in Vienna and then worked as a production engineer in several sugar refineries in today's Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Finally, he was appointed production manager of the sugar refinery in Zdice.
Brada participated in Verein deutcher Rosenfreunde and published some articles in its "Rozenzeitung". Most of his breedings were definitely finished in Bohemia, where he befriended with Josef Böhm, who helped to introduce his roses. His most famous breeding is 'Poéma', which was awarded a prize in Paris. Brada was sent some prize money but he donated it to a needy children's fund.
Roses bred by Dr. Gustav Brada
It is significant that Geschwind's legacy is being aproppriated by Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians and Germans alike, and each nation´s claim is in a way legitimate. It just illustrates how complicated common history can be.
He was born in 1829 in Hředlo and died in 1910 in Krupina, in today's Slovakia. He worked as a forester, but later got known as a prominent rose breeder. He created over 130 excellent varieties; and especially some of his winter-resistant shrub roses became real success. Some of them are planted in L'Hay and Sangerhausen. His 'Gruss an Teplitz' was newly awarded a prize in 2000.
Geschwind published a great number of expert articles and four monographs; the most popular of them, the one concerning artificial hybridization of seedlings, was published in 1864.
Roses bred by Rudolf Geschwind
Havel was born on March 10, 1930 in Hlavňov, he studied gardening in Tučapy and became a well known rose-producer there. After the year 1948 Havel and his family were continuously persecuted by goverment agents. Nevertheless, Havel founded a nursery in Budislav and then worked in nurseries in Tučapy and, later, in Hlavňov. He managed to detect and preserve several colour–mutations (see below). He has participated in several international rose contests, where he obtained numerous awards (gold medal in Rome for 'Nette Ingeborg').
Havel is a passionate collector of rose–memorabilia and is an experienced photographer of roses as well.
Roses bred by Josef Havel
Josef Strnad was born in April 1904 in Brno, and he died 1981 in Rosice, where he had been growing roses since 1926. He cooperated with many rosarians from abroad (Germany, Austria, France) and significantly helped foreign roses to be introduced in Czechoslovakia. He drew on the gardening experience of his own ancestors and obtained about 30 unique roses. His family, after his death, continues the horticultural tradition.
Roses bred by Josef Strnad
Josef Urban was born in Bošovice on January 7, he died on February 28 in Hajany. From 1954 he worked for the breeding centre in Želešice, which owes its prosperity to him. He bred 43 new varieties, most of which are still being sold in the majority of nurseries in The Czech Republic ('Koré', 'Bobravka', 'Pax', 'Světlana' ...). He was a member of Rosa Klub, where he participated widely in Club's activities.
His son, Josef Urban jr., has taken over the family tradition and has become a significant person in the national horticulture.
Roses bred by Josef Urban
Born in 1918 in Velké Meziříčí, Večeřa deceased suddenly in 1975. Although he studied pomology, he devoted himself to roses in the first place. Working in Research Institute of Horticulture in Průhonice, he explored the most recent methods of breeding nad growing (i.e. seedling mutations with the use of radiation). Večeřa conducted new–rose testing; and besides he also bred about twenty new roses, but his untimely death prevented him from finishing many promising hybridizations.
Večeřa was one of the founders of Rosa klub and one of its most active members .
Roses bred by Ludvík Večeřa