November 9, 2024

Brownell Roses: Made in RI The Little Compton-East Providence Connection

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Discover the history of the development of winter hardy and disease resistant roses that were hybridized here in RI by Josephine and Walter Brownell beginning in the early 1900’s. East Providence residents and garden speakers Mike and Angelina Chute will present a PowerPoint Program at the RI Rose Society’s meeting at the Weaver Library on Saturday, November 9. The meeting runs from 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM and is free and open to the public.

In the Chute’s PowerPoint program, learn how a young attorney and his wife, and later their sons, introduced 100 varieties of roses over 35 years. These became known as Sub-Zero© roses and were sold throughout the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s from the Brownell Nurseries in both Little Compton and East Providence.

The Brownells successfully created varieties with a distinctly American character to satisfy the unmet needs of the colder regions of the country. A century later, Sub-Zero©roses, such as ‘Rhode Island Red’ and ‘White Cap’, remain popular and the Brownell legacy continues to influence contemporary rose breeders.
There will be time for questions on rose horticulture at the end of the program.
For more information visit www.rirs.org 

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