Ralph S. Moore (January 14, 1907 – September 14, 2009) was an American

miniature rose Garden roses are predominantly hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. An enormous number ...

breeder. He is known by many as the “Father of the Modern Miniature Rose”. During his career, Moore developed over 500 new varieties of miniature roses, including the award-winning 'Rise n' Shine' and 'Anne Moore'.

Early life

Moore was born on January 14, 1907, in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

. He was the oldest child of Orlando and Muriel Witherell Moore. Moore's father was a commercial vegetable grower. Moore was first introduced to roses in his grandparents's garden in Visalia. He graduated from the local high school and enrolled in Visalia Junior College. He later attended the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

. Moore began experimenting with breeding roses during his holidays from school. His first successful rose cultivars were developed around 1928:

Polyantha Garden roses are predominantly Hybrid (biology), hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. A ...

'Baby Mine',

Rambler Rambler or Ramble may refer to: Places * Rambler, Wyoming * Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong * The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...

'Shelby Wallace', and Hybrid Multiflora 'Gypsy Queen'. He later started to breed Hybrid teas.

Career

Moore enjoyed working with small roses. He later decided to develop and sell miniature roses. In 1937 he opened the nursery Sequoia Nursery in Visalia where he bred and sold mostly roses and other plant varieties. He played an important role in the return to popularity of Miniature roses, which had been abandoned by rose breeders and gardeners in the 19th century. By 1957, Moore turned his business into a specialty nursery, Moore Miniature Roses. During his long career, Moore introduced over 500 new miniature

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

hybrids, including the award-winning "Ann Moore", named after his wife, Ann. Other cultivars introduced by Moore were the single-petalled Miniature 'Simplex' (1961), the first yellow-flowered modern Moss Rose, 'Goldmoss' (1972) or the orange-red Floribunda 'Playtime' (1989). Moore is known by many of his peers as the “Father of the Modern Miniature Rose”. On May 29, 2003, in downtown Visalia, the Ralph Moore Rose Garden was dedicated to Ralph to honor his achievements as a rose breeder. The rose garden contains 300 of his roses. On January 14, 2007, Moore celebrated his 100th birthday at the Visalia Convention Center. There he received an award from the

Royal National Rose Society The Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) (1876-2017) was a specialist horticultural organization in the United Kingdom dedicated to the cultivation and appreciation of roses. Founded in 1876 as the "National Rose Society", it was the world's olde ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and the

American Rose Society The American Rose Center is a rose garden in Shreveport, Louisiana owned and operated by The American Rose Society. There are over 20,000 rose bushes of 100 varieties in 65 separate rose gardens on 118 acres of pine forests and woodlands. Ame ...

. He also received a flag that was flown over the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

on January 8, 2007, in his honor. On April 30, 2008, his retail rose business, Sequoia Nursery, closed. Moore gave all his plants and breeding stock, 80 rose patents, and a cash donation to Texas A&M University's horticultural sciences department. The University already had an existing rose breeding program, and it maintains the Robert E. Basye Endowed Chair in Rose Breeding. Moore's donation enlarged the rose breeding program to include miniature roses. He died at the age of 102 of natural causes at the Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Visalia, California.

Rose gallery

Stars_And_Stripes_Rose_(199729593).jpg, 'Stars n' Stripes', (1976) Rosa_Millie_Walters_1.jpg, 'Millie Walters', (1983) Rose,Gelbe_Dagmar_Hastrup,_(8179221606).jpg, 'Yellow Dagmar Hastrup', (1987) Rosa_Playtime_1.jpg, 'Playtime', (1989) Rosa_%27Linda_Campbell%27_kz02.jpg, 'Linda Campbell', (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Ralph S. 1907 births 2009 deaths Rose breeders American gardeners American centenarians Men centenarians

Early life

Career

Rose gallery

See also

References