Texas A&M Roses

Last Friday our team had the opportunity to visit the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas to expand our knowledge about roses and take a tour of their facilites. We all learned something new, that's for sure! Thank you ARE for having us!

The Antique Rose Emporium Nursery & Display Gardens is a great place to visit if you're in town. They have a fantastic garden with something for everyone for enjoy and lots of roses, ornamentals, trees, vegetables, etc. to choose from. We greatly enjoyed the experience ☺️🌹

Go check them out: https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com

It's "What We're Working on Wednesday"!
After around 2 weeks to a month our cuttings are ready to be potted up🌱🌹

Shoutout to Mr. Mason Marshall for inspecting our work and keeping us entertained 😄

It's MEET UP MONDAY! Today you will be meeting our newest student worker!

1. What's your name?
Harper Lee

2. Why did you choose to attend Texas A&M University?
I’ve wanted to go to TAMU for as long as I can remember. I love College Station! 🤸🤸🤸

3. What is your undergrad degree in?
Horticulture 🍎🥦

4. Why did you choose that field to study?
Originally I was an education major but I took Vegetable Crop Production and realized I would love a job where I get to work outside for the rest of my life.

5. When do you hope to graduate?
2029

6. What's the most challenging thing you've faced in college?
Chem 119 1000%

7. What's the most rewarding thing you've done in college?
Taking a hort class as my life science!!

8. What do you think you will do once you graduate?
My dream is to own land and work in horticultural production.

9. What do you do to balance your academic and personal life?
I study outside of my living space, whether it be Sweet Eugene’s or the Century Square lawn, but I also love my degree so a lot of my personal life overlaps through my hobbies like gardening on my tiny apartment patio and visiting the baby chicks at Tractor Supply! 🐣🐥

10. What do you love most about working for the Rose Program?
Mowing! I could drive the Kubota till my arms fell off.

Bonus: What's your favorite sweet treat?
Cherry Pie 🍒

It's "What We're Working on Wednesday"! 🌹
With summer right around the corner, we have been working hard at propagation. Look at all these cuttings! Let's hope they root 🌿

A gentle reminder to pause, breathe, and smell the roses🌹

It's "What We're Working on Wednesday"!🌹
Now that we have collected our pollen, it's time to pollinate! The first step is to select flowers that haven't fully opened yet and take off the petals, then remove the anthers (emasculate them), and brush the stigma with pollen. We then flag the flower we pollinated and continue this process until there are no more flowers left. How exciting!

It's MEET UP MONDAY! Today you will be meeting one of our student workers!

1. What's your name? Emily Cox
2. Why did you choose to attend Texas A&M University?
I chose Texas A&M because of the variety of majors and minors available in the College of Agriculture
3. What is your undergrad degree in?
I am pursuing a double degree in Plant and Environmental Soil Science with a crops emphasis and then Horticulture
4. Why did you choose that field to study?
I chose Soil Science because I was interested in understanding the foundation of all plant growth—the soil itself. As my interests developed, I wanted to expand my knowledge beyond the soil to the plants growing in it and how to manage them on a larger scale. This led me to pursue Horticulture, where I could study a wide range of plants, including ornamentals, vegetables, and nut crops, while building on the row crop concepts I was introduced to in Soil Science.
5. When do you hope to graduate?
May 2026
6. What's the most challenging thing you've faced in college?
Balancing work, life, and school activities. It was hard to prioritize my mental health and build relationships while also maintaining good grades and being efficient and reliable in the workplace.
7. What's the most rewarding thing you've done in college?
I am especially proud of the connections and relationships I have built throughout my schooling. Along with that, I take pride in the person I have become—both personally and professionally.
8. What do you think you will do once you graduate?
I will either pursue a career in Turfgrass Management or Nursery/Greenhouse Production.
9. What do you do to balance your academic and personal life?
I make sure to spread my time as evenly as I can across both academics and personal life. Like one day I will prioritize studying or working on projects a little more on one day, so that I can have fun with friends or do activities/hobbies without worrying about falling behind academically.
10. What do you love most about working for the Rose Program?
An easy answer would be the roses themselves, but it's more than just seeing their vibrant colors that make it my favorite part of working in the program. Seeing the blooms is a reflection of all the hard work everyone in the program does behind the scenes. From planting to pollinating to tirelessly pulling weeds and finagling irrigation systems, all are important factors that create the beautiful flowers we see come spring! The flowers are a representation of all the hard work we do, and that's my favorite part!
Bonus: What's your favorite sweet treat?
My favorite sweet treat is boba!

It's "What We're Working on Wednesday"!🌹
Now that our seedlings have gotten bigger, it's time to pot them up. Look at how much they have grown!

It's "What We're Working on Wednesday"!🌹
Do you ever wonder how rose breeders create new varieties of roses? Well right now we are preparing for spring pollinations and the first step is to collect pollen. We do this by collecting fresh flowers, removing the anthers, letting the pollen dehisce overnight, bottling it, and storing it in the freezer until it is ready to use. This process can be tedious, but it will be worth it!

Happy first day of spring! 🌹🌿🌱
Our roses are waking up beautifully—fresh new growth is emerging, buds are forming, and we’re even spotting a few early blooms. First flush is just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see the field come to life!