Sustainable Rose Gardening | Tyler Francis

Ever wanted to grow roses but thought they were too much work? This week our guest says "Make your roses work for  you, not you work for them"! He's America's Youngest Commerical Rose Grower and is on a quest to restore roses to America's gardens. Tune in to hear what he has to say.... BIO: Tyler Francis is the owner of Francis Roses and is currently the youngest commercial rose grower in the United States. In 1989, Michael Francis founded Francis Roses on a 10 acre plot in the West Valley of Phoenix, AZ yielding 200,000 plants in his first crop. Today, Francis Roses farms a 2,000 acre ranch and produces over 4.5 million bare root rose bushes annually in addition to alfalfa, cotton, barley, potatoes, sorghum.  Tyler earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arizona and a Masters of Applied Economics from Southern Methodist University.  In his fourth year as a grower, Tyler has utilized his business background to imprint major changes to the Arizona rose industry. He has designed the first ever underground drip irrigation system for roses in Arizona and has implemented more sustainable precision farming techniques in moves to make his farm "green".  Over the last two years, Tyler enthusiastically sought out breeders, curators and rose enthusiasts in a quest to find rose varieties that are no spray, disease resistant, beautiful, and easy to grow in order to achieve his goal of bringing the rose back to American gardens. Tyler lives in Phoenix with his wife, Meredith, and their two sons, Jake (2) and Andrew (3 months).   Subscribe to the Rose Chat Radio Newsletter