I first met Ralph in 1992 when Ralph was a young 85 years old. At this age, when most are retired, he was actively working in his nursery developing new rose varieties.

In 1992 I was a novice rose breeder from Texas A&M University and I was visiting a few prominent commercial rose breeders to see how rose breeding was done and what the major problems were so I could focus my own research.

Thus, about mid morning I showed up at the Sequoia Nursery and met Carolyn in the office, Burling budding in the nursery, and soon afterward I met Ralph for the first time. Over the next hour or so, he took me on a tour of the nursery like no other. He showed me his best varieties and various breeding lines, new seedlings, and the seedling beds where he makes the first selections, all the time explaining the how and why for everything, and suggesting which parents I should try and then he would invariably give me a potted plant or a few cuttings of the indicated rose.

After that we sat down at the picnic table near the trellis that supports Renae one of his rose creations and talked some more. This scene would repeat itself periodically through the years as I visited.

Here was a rose breeder with over 50 years of experience mentoring the new kid on the block, someone he had not met nor heard of before, as if his life depended on it. He gave everything he could. That was his nature. Later he would tell me, as I am sure he told others, that the only thing he has ever saved was that which he gave away.

In October of 2007, just 2 years ago, my relationship with Ralph changed completely as he had decided to donate his varieties and breeding stock to Texas A&M University. It was not anything that I had expected.

By December of that year, I was visiting with the Ralph and the "kids", Eleanor and Keith, to discuss how we could preserve his life's work – his legacy so others could benefit and learn from it. The plan to support this project has two parts. First is to take his roses, both varieties and unreleased selections, and find a commercial partner to continue offering them. The Licensing and Commercialization Office of Texas A&M University is working on this. The second goal is to raise funds to establish the Ralph Moore Excellence Fund, an endowment to support the preservation and use of his Legacy. This endowment would also support programs to develop students into people with the curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for life and learning that Ralph had with an emphasis on plant breeding and being responsible stewards of our environment. This process is just beginning and will require much help from those who admire Ralph and his work. Although progress has been made, I do regret that in the 2 years I have worked intensively on this project, that Ralph did not see these goals accomplished.

Only when I began cataloging the roses at Sequoia Nursery (~150 cultivars and ~500 selections and breeding lines) and began to absorb over 60 years of rose breeding experience, did I understand how much he had done.

We all know Ralph as the Father of the miniature rose. A well deserved title as he has released about 250 of these beauties. But he has also named about the same number of other roses. He has pioneered the development of many other rose types such as rugosa hybrids, crested roses, halo roses, bracteata hybrids, striped roses, Hulthemia hybrids, and moss roses .Each of these projects lasting a minimum of 30 years! And some of these projects were started when most are retiring! He continued breeding until this past year. I had the sad task of packing up his 2009 seedlings yesterday and will take them to Texas for evaluation.

These last two years of working with and getting to know Ralph and his family and friends has been inspiring. I will miss Ralph as a friend and mentor. I will fondly remember all those long walks through the nursery talking about roses and life. He was an incredible person who brought the best out of people with his generosity, curiosity, and enthusiasm for life.

I will work hard, and invite others to join me, to ensure that his Legacy gets preserved.

Donations can be made payable to Ralph S. Moore Miniature Rose Excellence Fund (57808). This account is managed by the Texas A&M Foundation for the benefit of Texas A&M University. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization. Checks should be mailed to Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840-2811. Please include a note indicating that the gift is in memory of Mr. Ralph Moore.


David H. Byrne
Professor
Prunus and Rosa Breeding and Genetics
Basye Chair of Rose Genetics
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University