The San Diego World Rose Symposium is now open for Registration!
The San Diego Rose Society is in a unique position to be able to host “The World” in the United States for the first time in over 20 years. We are so honored that the World Federation of Rose Societies selected San Diego and the American Rose Society to host their 2027 Regional Convention. We are grateful to be sharing our society’s successes, passions, and blessings in a time when some garden societies are having difficulty staying on course. Planning and hosting the Symposium feels like an important way to celebrate our 100th year.
Over our magical “long-weekend” at the beautiful, staycation-worthy Bahia Resort, the Symposium’s learning session categories will include Rose Hybridizers, the Rose Supply Chain, Propagation, Rose History, Heritage Roses, Garden Design, and numerous aspects of Rose Care.
Our more than 25 prominent speakers will include:
Tom Carruth and Ping Lim, who are among our society’s favorite hybridizers,
Ray Martin, who enhances our knowledge of roses and their history every time he visits from England,
Tyler Francis, President of Francis Roses,
Baldo Villegas, our favorite research entomologist,
Rita Perwich, our own San Diego Union Tribune Columnist and expert on chemical free gardening,
Mike Shoup, President of the Heritage Rose Foundation and former owner of Antique Rose Emporium,
Mark Mason Taylor, waterwise rose landscape expert,
Paul Zimmerman, noted garden designer and rose garden tour coordinator, and
Sushil Prakash, the current WFRS President from India where he has been a long-time rose exhibitor and
educator.
The Symposium, which runs from Friday, April 30 to Tuesday, May 4, 2027, will also include the spectacular Sunday night San Diego Rose Society 100th Anniversary Gala; Saturday’s National Rose Show will be one of the central activities; a Monday night cocktail hour on the hotel’s white sand beach will be featured, with a book-signing and historical rose memorabilia close at hand; and lunches on Friday and Saturday will be included, as well as a Grand Finale Brunch in conjunction with Tuesday’s WFRS Closing Ceremony.
The main Symposium Add-on, available to registrants only, is a Monday bus tour featuring a catered lunch and a European-style rose christening in Balboa Park after a tour of the park’s Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, which is a WFRS Garden of Excellence. Before and after the Balboa Park visit, there will be time for attendees to visit three of our local members’ gardens as well as some unique waterwise gardens in the Kensington neighborhood, where many of the houses, like SDRS, are celebrating their 100th anniversaries.
For the most up-to-date Symposium information and to register, check out the Symposium webpage at sandiegorosesociety.com/2027