Poulsen Roser A/S " The success of our roses is the foundation for everything else we would like to do in our lives!" say Pernille Olesen og Mogens Nyegaard Olesen.

I would like to start with the oldest, the greatest and a breeding company in grand style. Poulsen Roser is a dynasti now in the fourth generation and a continously growing breeding company. The company managed through the crisis's, which can hit a generation in a world known company, and today they are on track and sharp on the rose's x-factor, one of the world's largest rose companies. Wisely all production of the yearly novelties is transferred to growers arround the world, so the breeders of the company can concentrate about hybridizing and marketing the rose beauties arround the world.. Over the years many of the breedings from the company have been wolrld-roses, for example 'Nina Weibull®', 'ChinatownT' og 'Ingrid Bergmann®'.

Ill. Ingrid Bergmann®. Photo text: This world-rose has won "the Golden Rose of the Haque". In the nursery of the author nine out of ten requests from people are for the dark red, perfumed hybrid tea rose 'Ingrid Bergmann®'.

Mogens Nyegaard Olesen writes himself about 'Ingrid Bergmann®': "The parents are on one side 'Troika®' and 'GisselfeldtT' and on the other side 'Precious Platinum' which contains genes from 'Heidelberg' in fourth generation. Hereunder also other climbing, shrubroses with directly origination in the species. The result has been, that 'Ingrid Bergmann®' is freeflowering with flower potential greater than most hybrid tea's. From USA it is said that the flowering rate is more than 2,5 times the variety 'Peace'. The cultivar was honored with several awards, including the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal horticulturel Society 1993, Golden Rose of The Hague 1987. Gold medals at rose trials in Belfast 1985, Copenhagen 1986 and Madrid 1986. In 2000 it was selected as "World Favourite Rose" by the World Federation of Rose Societies and is listed in their Rose Hall of Fame."

'Ingrid Bergmann®'. Yes, I might as well tell right away. This dark red, devine rose Ingrid Bergman®' is no doubt one of the best roses ever bred. This rose has throughout the years been produced in millions, and it is still one of worlds best selling red hybrid tea. - just think to have created with such a great rose aesthetic sense such an attractive rose - it is "one in a million" - so thank you Pernille and Mogens and . Ingrid Bergman!

Poulsen roser. - has for decades been a concept all over the world. Hundreds of many new roses are marketed from this company, and just as many awards and prizes have the breeders received for their important work. And it does not stop. Let us look into the history!.

In 1878 Dorus Theus Poulsen [1850 - 1925] founded the nursery. In the beginning with asparagus and strawberries, but along the way the nursery expanded with varieties of fruittrees and herbacious plants and later on also with a large production of roses. In the beginning of the 1900's about 140 different varieties of roses were to be found in their catalogue. These were however not their own breedings. But it did not take long.

D. T. Poulsen, uncle Dorus as he was called in the family, was a man of the trade with great knowledge and a high activity level.. He became a gardener apprentice on the best apprenticeships to be found in Denmark at that time. After this he was admitted as a student at 'the Royal Vetenary and Agricultural University' (known today as 'the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Life Sciences') from which he graduated as a horticultural graduate in 1872.

Ill.: Early picture of Fam. Poulsen in front of the house Marialyst Caption: From left: D.T. Poulsen, Johanne Poulsen, Svend Poulsen, Peter Poulsen, Dines Poulsen, Poul A. Poulsen, Mark Poulsen, Katrine Møller and Ellen Poulsen. D. T. Poulsen and Johanne Poulsen created a good and hospitable home here and at the same time they created a large model nursery with their joint skills.

D. T. Poulsen's Nursery was gradually expanded by purchasing production fields and in 1907 and in 1909 the property Kelleriis in Northern Zealand was bought, which was to become the nursery's headquarters. At this time, about a quarter of a million roses were cultivated annually.

D. T. Poulsen and his wife Johanne had three sons. Dines, Poul and Svend. All three got a place in the company in Kvistgaard. Dines managed the nursery, Poul arranged and Svend was the practical manager of the nursery.

D.T. Poulsen must have been a visionary man because he sent his son, Dines Poulsen (1979 - 1940) abroad, where he worked with the great rose breeder of the time, Peter Lambert, for several years in Trier germany. This turned out to be a wise move and crucial to the company's great success. From the years he spent in Trier, dines brought home his hybrids Ellen Poulsen® and RødhætteT , which had already received gold medals at a rose exhibition in Hamburg in 1911 and quickly became best sellers. And so began a long and exciting chapter inthe history of the rose in Denmark and the rest of the world, which lives on to this day

Ill.: From page 13 in the jubilee book Dines Poulsen in important discussions with a representative of the fairer sex (Kirsten Poulsen). There is no doubt that Dines Poulsen loved roses.

Dines Poulsen was, like all the other members of the Poulsen family, a skilled craftsman. But he did not have enough scope to breed roses, and perhaps for this reason, he entrusted the work to his younger brother, Svend poulsen (1884 - 1974). RødhætteT and Ellen Poulsen® made the company and the man behind these exceptional innovations, Dines Poulsen, famous. His brother Svend Poulsen became just as famous.

As tradition dictates, Svend Poulsen was also a man of his craft and received his education at the finest nurseries in Denmark and Germany. Svend was well travelled and had international flair. He held many positions of trust and received several honours, including the orders 'Knight of the Dannebrog' and 'La Croix de Chevalier du Mérite Agricole'.

Ill. Frederik the IX and Svend Poulsen His Majesty King Frederik the IX and Svend Poulsen When Svend Poulsen became Dr. honoris causa at the 100 years jubilee of the Royal Vetenary- and Agricultural University'. As the first in the nursery business.

Svend Poulsen made a groundbreaking contribution and conjured up many hybrids. It was as if he had a built-in drive when it came to his work, and he crossed and combined polyantha roses with hybrid teas, which with each of their characteristics created a whole new group of roses : Rosa floribunda. His hybrids Else Poulsen® and Kirsten Poulsen® were the first in this group in 1923.

The tireless and knowledgeable Finnish-Swedish horticultural writer Britta Tingdal wrote about Svend in her article about the Poulsens - a rose family : "At the national Rose Society's annual rose selection of rose innovations in 1924, Svend had hoped to receive a gold medal for the roses Else Poulsen® and Kirsten Poulsen®. Bud the medals did not materialise. The reason being that this new group - Rosa floribunda - was not included in the official papers. A small consolation was that the English Dowager Queen Mary chose Else Poulsen® as her favourite rose".

Many more followed in the years and dcades after and the floribunda hybrids becace synonymous with 'Poulsen Roses' across th world. The Karen Poulsen® rose was awarded a gold medal in 1933 and finally in 1937, after a new groundbreaking effort, Svend's first yellow floribunda 'Poulsens Yellow T' received a gold medal

Under the management of Svend poulsen the nursery received a lot of applications from young people who wanted to become gaardeners, and people from international nurseries came to visit. Plant breeding continued - also during World War II. In 1961, Svend Poulsen presented his last breed . Nina Weibull®. At the time of writing, I have just sold 10 of this hardy and vivid red rose - so you can definitely say that it is still popular. Some years later Svend Poulsen entrustd the breeding work to his son Niels Dines (1919 - 2003), and he started his carrier with the world rose ChinatownT , which received a gold edal in 1965, and later the international famous roses Troika®, Pernille Poulsen® and Western SunT.

Niels Dines had also completed his grdener training at the finest Danish nurseries. After finishing his apprenticeship, he was admitted to the Royal Veterinary and agricultural University from which he grduated as a horticultural graduate in 1943. Niels Dines Poulsen was one of the founders of 'Nord-Rose' and a member of the international plant breeding association. Generally speaking, he held many professional posts. He was well travelled and was a judge at international rose competitions over the years.

Ill. Niels Dines Poulsen and Svend Poulsen What is it thaat Niels Dines is holding in his hands - a hep?.

Time for change of guard. Poulsen Roser got new owners in 1976. The fourth generation was ready to take over. Niels dines Poulsen's daughter Lene pernille Olesen, born Poulsen (1949*), took over the company, which at that time consisted of rose breeding, production and a garden centre. Both were well equipped for the task at hand. Pernille qualified as a gardener and graduated from business school, and Mogens trained as a gardener, graduatd as a horticcultural graduate in 1973 and had a period of study at the Sam McGredy rose company in Northern Ireland.

But before everything began, the young couple decided in 1974, to travel all over Europe on a sort of 'compagnonnage' so they could find themselves among the plants and take time to reflect and study plant breeding and nursery operations. Theybought a used Volkswagen camper and drove through the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and in particular, France. It was during this educational 'rose journey' that their lifework found it way. They established a strong network of breeders and rose growers who greeted them with kindness everywhere. They amassed a lot of know-how, which in connection with the inventiveness and ability to innovate that the couple became famous for later on, became the foundation for their great success.

Ill.: Pernille Olesen andMogens Nyegaard Olesen in the breeding greenhouse. Pernille Olesen and Mogens Nyegaard Olesen among their breeds.

Ill. The leading Rosebreeders of Europe. In the year 1978 the rose company celebrated their 100 years anniversary, with a large garden-party in the rosarium that Niels Dines Poulsen had built in 1966. Many guests were present, and among those representatives from all the global leading rose breeders. It must have been quite an experience to meet all these rose celebrities all at the same time. At this point Poulsen Roser was the only company in Scandinavia working with the hybridisation of roses

Poulsen Roser The 'Poulsen Roser' brand is still going strong. The comæany is focused on one thing : Roses. However, this lasted until 1994 when Poulsen roser began creating hybrids of Clematis and put a range of amazing varieties, such as 'Arctic QueenT', 'AvantgardeT' and 'Victor HugoT' on the market. In the company's own words : "We are world leader in the breeding and development of new potted roses and clematis for indoor and outdoor use. Every year, 50 million Poulsen roses and two million Poulsen clematis is produced in licensed garden centres in more than 50 countries. More than 50% of the total sales of pottd roses on a global cale are Poulsen roses". Imagine producing such a large proportion of a wonderful consumer commodity to the delight of many people.

Poulsen Roser is located in a modern industrial district. From the outside, it looks like any other small industrial company. The head office is the centre for breeding and internal testing. Poulsen Roser is no longer a nursery in the old-fashioned sense with garden centre, shop and plant production. It is a 'laboratory' where beauty is created, which after a long process of 5-8 years, can be bought from a garden centre. It is offices and greenhouses. In onw area, employees sit and separate the achenes from the rose hips and isolate them in bags marked with internal codes, concealing the names of potential parents, information that is valuable to the continued breeding work. The seeds are then sown in small cylinders of soil in small sections on tables in greenhouse, where everything is again properly labelled. Internal testing takes place on a patch of land near the greenhouses. In addition, there is free-range testing on the island of Funen and in Jutland with prodution of a few hundred thousand roses, before they are redistributed to the 50+ manufactures of Poulsen roses all over the world.

Mogens and Pernille's work for Poulsen Roser began almost four decades ago. To start with, there was a bit of friction between the old leaders in the family and the new generation, who brought in new and different ideas to the picture. But they would not bend. They persisted. This turned out to be a smart move. Today, Poulsen Roser is one of the world's largest rose and clematis breeding companies, in sales and especially in the numer of awards and honours given to the rose innovations presented every year.

The market specifically covers the EU, russia, North America, greater Asia, China, Japan and korea. Answering the question of whether they are cultivating 'foreign trade partners', Mogens answers that, 'it is often potential partners who come to the mountain'. That is the result of many decades of work and persistence.

The contracts contain several demands. It can be in relation to water quality, methods of fertilisation or the wellbeing of the roses. Are they the same size and bulging with eagerness to display their beauty - or is there five metres between the good ones and where the others are perishing? Mogens is the head breeder. He decides what is put on the market. He is very clear : "If a new rose does not have the X factor, it will fall through and be rejected". Pernille talks about how she prioritises the qualities of a new rose that is to be introduced to the market : "First, I look at the growth as a whole, the general impression. Health is critical as is a nice profusion of flowers and a pleasant fragrance!".

Naming and sustainability In modern times, the rose is often sold in garden centres when it is in bloom. It is the visual experience that sells and in that moment, the name of the individual rose is not very important. But the name is important for history, for the naming ceremony and for fans and collectors.

You could say that sustainability has increased by 100%. This means that Poulsen Roser still work at a high pace to ensure that most of the company's breeds can be grown by propagating from cuttings. As a result, only half of the thousands of hectares necessary for rose production are seized every year, because propagated roses from cuttings only have a production time of one year. For the 'unfortunate' roseaphiles, this is sweet music to their ears. A rose propagated from cuttings does not produce suckers. One of the most frequently asked questions is how you differentiate a sucker from a shoot from the bred rose. How many roseaphiles have cut their roses and become infuriated by the phenomenon of the sucker only to dig up the rose and throw it away?.

At the same time you could say that with the breeding model used by Poulsen Roser, with the original wild roses's genes in the modern garden roses, it is hard to maintain the old rule of thumb that a modern bred rose should consist of five leaflets - if it has seven or nine leaflets, it is a wild flower. This does not apply to many of the newer Poulsen roses.

The company's strategy is to, so to speak, go 'back to the roots'. Use wild roses as a base for breeding former - and even present-day - breeding methods incorporate hybridising, double-crossing, quadruple-crossing - right through the entire family tree. The roses, first bred and selected by Poulsen Roser, started with a wild rose and a single crossing. Why? Well, because the transmission of the wild roses's genes provides better resistance against the worst rose diseases. Furthermore, there is the criteria that Pernille and Mogens have set for the rose, under which it should be marketed : a suitable parent variety, selection of seedlings, position of branches susceptibility to disease, the durability of the flower, and adaptation to indoor or outdoor cultivation are carefully observed. In addition, there is the concept of whether or not the rose has the X factor. The strange feeling that the rose, without any scientific evidence, conquers the heart and is present in a way that means that you have to own it and be with it. An alchemic transcendence.

More new collections. When the Poulsen Roser company gained more international success, it was decided that it would focus exclusively on breeding and developing new varieties. The production would hereafter be maintained by independent licensed manufacturers. Over time, as the hybridisation work using new technology took hold, the various selections were placed in corresponding collections with revolutionary characteristics. They are created in greenhuses with the help of cuttings in the first period; afterwards, they are matured outside and not grafted, as was the case previously. Among other things, there are new varieties in the collections of garden roses, such as PALACE® , RENAISSANCE® , TOWNE & COUNTRY®, CASTLE® , COURTYARD®, PARAMOUNT® and more recently, NATIONAL PARKS®. Many of these roses have rceived several awards for fragrance, hardiness and beauty. All collections can be studied on Poulsen Roser's website www.poulsenroser.dk.

The largest living collection of Poulsen roses can be found at Gerlev Park in hornsherred. Here, you can also find almost all the roses bred by the Poulsen family, from the Ellen Poulsen® rose from 1912 to the very latest ZumbaT from 2011 Naomi Renaissance®, Elaine pageT, FabulousT, GorgeousT and Grand AwardT .The last one definitely lives up to its name. The climbing rose has already won awards, with a gold medal in Baden-Baden, Germany and honours in an additional four countries as the best climbing rose in 2011.

Ill.: Anna Ancher Renaissance® Poulren035 (N) 'Anna Ancher' The latest novelty from Poulsen Roser, Named during the World Rose Convention 2018 in Copenhagen.

It has now been four decades since Pernille and Mogens nyegaard Olesen began modernising the old nursery of D.T. Poulsen. They founded poulsen Roser knowing full well that the breeding of roses can be a tantalising process and, in order to succeed, the breeding should be based on the emotional response to beauty, fragrance, colour, hardiness and durability. It can take up to eight years to breed a new garden rose including what follows in the form of rose classification and publicity. But most important is the roses X-factor. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen use all their senses and sensitivity to find it during the selection process. The rose is the prettiest of all flowers, and Pernille and Mogens have had a great success in cracking the code for breeding unique, healthy and fragrant roses, which has greatly contributed ensuring the roses credibility of existence and popularity in the future. Pernille and Mogens emphasise, and with good reason that their extensive work will be well-represented by future breeds : Isabel 2008 Hit® PatioHit® Poulpah053(N) White Cover® Towne & Country® Poulcov(N) PragueT Castle® Poulcas043(N) Astrid Lindgren® Floribunda Poulsen® Pouluf(N) Ingrid Bergman® HT Poulsen® Poulman Elaine PaigeT HT Poulsen® Poulht008(N) Ghita Renaissance® Poulren013(N) Grand AwardT Courtyard(N) Poulcy014(N)

Pot roses The dream becme a reality from smass beginning in the early 1980's and the following decades, where Pernille and mogens became fromtrunners in the development of potted roses. Today, the potted rose is the backbone of the company. As early as 1971, Mogens predicted its potential, and today, Poulsen Roser supplies more than 30 million potted roses world wide. This market is highly competitive. Mogens says :"It is our life's work to develop new beautiful, fragrant and robust roses for cultivation in all pot sizes. In this way, we get a hold of the flower boxes and the terraces, and thereby, many consumers begin to love the roses much earlier than their parents were able to in the 1970's and before then."

The Poulsen dynasty Understand the family tree in just 30 seconds : In 1978 the company celebrated their 100 years anniversary. The women behind the sucessful men are in brackets. In Pernille and Mogens's case, there is no woman behind the man. They are side by side. The couple own Poulsen Roser and each manage their part of the plant breeding company Poulsen Roser A/S.

1878 - D.T. Poulsen (Johanne Kirstine Møller - Dines Poulsen (Harriet Agnes Emilie - (Dines' brother) Svend Poulsen (Petra Thomine Marie Thomsen) - Niels Dines Poulsen (Inge Andersen) - Pernille Olesen (born Poulsen 1949* - daughter of Niels Dines Poulsen) and married to Mogens Nyegaard Olesen 1949*.

Literature about Poulsen Roser (in Danish) L. F. la Cour: Niels Poulsen og Dorte Dinesdatter til Rolsegård og deres efterkommere, 1929. A. Pedersen i Fra kvangård til humlekule IV, 1974 53f 58-72 (heri Stamtvl.). - Levnedsberetning i ordenskapitlet. Åge Nicolaisen: Svend Poulsen i Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, 3. udg., Gyldendal 1979-84. (Hentet 12. maj 2018 fra http://denstoredanske.dk/index.php?sideId=295910)

Literature from Poulsen Roser It is only natural that if you grow roses on a large scale, you also write about them. Svend Poulsen wrote a bestseller. 'Roser' in 1941. Svend was the oracle when it came to roses and he was especially popurar among women and Denmark's elite. His book, the only Danish rose book at the time, was translated into English 'Poulsen on the Rose'. Furthermore, Svend Poulsen has written a series of articles for scholarly journals as well as the 'Nordisk illustreret Havebrugsleksikon'. In the anniversary book celebrating 100 years of active work with these beauties, their fragrances and green backdrops, 'D.T. Poulsens Planteskole 1878 - 1978', Svend poulsen and Niels Dines Poulsen each wrote their story about their own lives and especially about life at the nursery. Naturally, Mogens N. Olesen followed with the book 'Roser i danske Haver' (1985) and 'Politikens bog om Roser' (1994), which is the only Danish book about roses to be translated into Finnish, 'Ruusuja Pohjolaan' (1999). There are many examples of the disappearance of third and fourth generation companies. That is not the case with Poulsen Roser. It has never been stronger and i believe that many roseaphiles would be delighted to hear the company's story from 1878 to the present day, where it i running as smoothly as ever.

It is more than roses.. ..with Poulsen Roser, I began the motto for Pernille and Mogens's life and activities : "The success of our roses is the foundation for everything else we would like to do in our lives". "Everything else ..!" This includes some quite significant activities, including a wine château, Château Lecusse in France, which produces close to half a million bottles of wine every year, and since 2007, with a sense of conservation and origin, the ownership and operation of POMO Estates Game Farm in the Limpopo province in South Africa, which produces wild animals for live sale : Rhinoceros, Buffalos, Livingstone Eland, Black Back Impala, Golden Wildebeest, Tsessebe, Giraffe, Yellow Blaes Buck and a lot more. I am looking forward to seeing the next instalment of what ..we would like to do in our lives" will be.

Kraks Blå Bog 2016-17 Lene Pernille Olesen, Director, horticultural technician, plant breeder. Born 1949, daughter of nursery owner, cand.hort Niels Dines Poulsen and office assistant Inge Poulsen. Business school graduate (Helsingør Handelsskole, HX) 1969; gardener student from 1968 - 1970, horticultural technician 1971. In honour of Pernille Olesen, a Gråsten Oak was planted in Gerlev Park's rose collection in 1999, the same year she received 'Den Grønne Pris' from the Foundation for Trees and the Environment. Mogens Nyegaard Olesen, CEO, chief plant breeder, cand.hort. Born 1949, son of garden architect Peter Ernst Richard Olesen and photographer Ragna Katrine Nyegaard Olesen; gardener student (D. T. Poulsens Planteskole, Kvistgård) 1967; period of study with rose breeder Sam McGredy's Nurseries, Northern Ireland in 1968; Graduated in 1973 as a horticulturalist from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University; Received the French agricultural order 'Ordre du Chevalier de Mérite Agricole' in 2000; Scientific work: 'Phlox plants from shoot tips' published by Acta Horticulturae 54, 1975. Pernille and Mogens were married in 1977. A few years later, they founded and managed Poulsen Roser A/S together to include plant breeding, product development and the sale of newly developed varieties licensed to manufacturers in more than 50 countries. Together, Pernille Olesen and Mogens Nygaard Olesen have invented, developed and marketed potted roses as a completely new horticultural product since 1984 - known across the world as Parade@ Potteroser (now includes more than 28 collections and makes up a large share of the world market). Through the years, the couple have invented and developed more than 1,000 new rose and clematis varieties, marketed by Poulsen Roser A/S. They have been awarded the 'Skandinaviska Tradgårdspriset, Substralfonden' in 1994; and inducted into the Hall of Fame, World Federation of Rose Societies (for the Ingrid Bergman variety) in 2000. (Some of this information is from 'Kraks Blå Bog 2016-17'.)