User:MauraWen/sandbox Herbert C. Swim

'Heat Wave'

Herbert C. Swim (1907–1989) was an award-winning American rose hybridizer. He won All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award in xxx

Biography

"Swim grew up on a farm in north-central Oklahoma, and there were always roses growing in his mother's garden. After an education in agriculture and horticulture, he had several jobs before he was hired by Armstrong Nursery in 1934.

Swim "worked for Armstrong Nurseries for much of his professional life." John Armstrong was a Canadian from the Ontario Provinces, founded his nursery in Ontario, Riverside County, California. He initially grew and sold orchard trees. His doctors in Canada told him he needed to live in a warm climate to prevent his tuberculosis from getting worse. Armstrong and his son, John, were professional rose breeders. His nursery was known for its olive trees. When Olive trees became less popular with the public, he turned to breeding roses in the early 1920s."

"He had excellent rose breeders working for him. Dr. Walter Lammerts was in charge initially. He was followed by Swim, Jack Christensen and Tom Carruth. Each of these men introduced important roses for Armstrong Nursery. Lammert is best known for 'Charlotte Armstrong', his first successful rose and 'Queen Elizabeth', a cross between a Hybrid tea and a Floribunda. The American Rose Society set up a new class, Grandiflora, to accomodate the new variety. Lammerts was not a prolific breeder, but each rose he created was of extremely high quality."

"Swim insisted on several characteristics in a new rose. The petals had to cope with the hot sun; they had to drop off when they finished blooming, and the foliage had to tolerate heat. He crossed 'Charlotte Armstrong' with 'Contrast' and created two new cultivars that met those goals: 'Forty-Niner' and 'Applause'.

"In 1988 Swim published his memoir, Roses: from Dreams to Reality