VALE - Peter Cox.

22 March, 1926 - 16 June, 2018
Honorary Life Member of the Heritage Roses in Australia and recipient of the Deane Ross Memorial Award for his contribution to roses.

You were an inspiration to many who knew you.

Peter Cox writes on 1 March 2015:
"Our nursery in Thirlmere was sold early 2000, the purchaser was infatuated with the rose garden and we moved to Mittagong in March of that year; I have never returned so my memories are dated.
I should tell you about our nursery, which we operated for 15 years from the end of 1979 after we sold out on the dairy farm near Camden. The 5-acre nursery we established on the hills to the west of the small town of Thirlmere. The soil was sandstone clay overlaying sandstone, requiring regular watering and fertilising (typical of the whole region). The stock plants and multiflora understock plants were all field grown and trickle irrigated. The roses were all bench budded onto fresh cut understock, then rooted in "growood" black with 63 plants to a tray and in a small glasshouse with overhead misting controlled by a tilting leaf. When water roots appeared after 3 or 4 weeks, the plants were potted up in 100mm pots and moved to a larger fibreglass clad house under mist sprays that were timer controlled. After some 6 to 8 weeks the roses were repotted into 150mm and lined out in a shade-house watered once a day automatically. They were eventually potted into 200mm and lined out in an outdoor area automatically watered around sunrise. This whole system was in operation each year, starting in December and completed July/August by Kate (my wife) and me with around 10,000 propagated and 6,000 selling, and we also did retail and wholesale from the nursery. By the way, the understock tops were cut off in August and the bud growth cut back once winter was past. The plants had only fibrous roots, unlike present day pot roses, which have been field grown and are oft times sold before they have a fibrous soil ball. Out roses were ready for sale from late November.
Out nursery was sheltered by trees and frost free at an elevation of 300m and 400mm average rainfall; and it faced NE."
On page viii of Australian Roses, Peter says, "Most of the roses were photographed at Golden Vale [in Benalla] or in my garden at Thirlmere."