Category: Events

Come learn about the latest research on Rose Rosette Disease at our August 3 meeting at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. Our speaker will be Dr. Nar Ranabhat, Assistant Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Ranabhat received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University and his M.S. from Montana State University. His research and Extension program focuses on the diagnosis, biology, and management of diseases affecting ornamental nursery crops, landscape plants, and turfgrass.

With more than a decade of experience studying mite-transmitted viruses, Dr. Ranabhat is actively involved in a multi-state collaborative project focused on developing sustainable rose cultivars with resistance to Rose Rosette Disease.

His lab is currently investigating the mechanisms behind virus-rose and mite interactions, while also developing Extension and Outreach programs to increase public awareness of early symptoms of Rose Rosette Disease and strategies for prevention.

Please join us for our April 2026 meeting of the Nashville Rose Society in the Massey Auditorium of Botanic Hall / Visitor Services Building at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. The evening will begin with time to mix and mingle at 6:30 PM, followed by the program at 7:00 PM.

This will be an informative and timely program for anyone growing roses in the Mid-South. Guests are welcome! Simply tell the gate attendant that you are there for the Nashville Rose Society meeting.

Join us Sunday, July 13 from 2:00–4:00 PM in the Bradford Room at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens for an afternoon with fellow rose lovers and special guest speaker Howard Carman.

Howard has lived in Big Spring, Kentucky his entire life and began growing roses in 1997 after being inspired by the Kentucky State Fair. What started with a few roses quickly turned into a lifelong passion that led him to join both the Louisville Rose Society and the American Rose Society. Over the years, he expanded his garden to more than 200 roses, built a homemade greenhouse, became a horticulture judge in 2004, and today still grows around 125 roses including hybrid teas, floribundas, shrubs, miniatures, and minifloras.

Howard is a past president and current treasurer of the Louisville Rose Society and currently serves as the Tenarky District Director, beginning his term in 2024. His love of roses has also led him into propagation and hybridizing, with two roses now registered with the ARS — the miniature “Miss Paula,” a sport of Miss Flippins, and the miniflora “Anna Mae,” named in honor of his mother.

Howard will be sharing his experiences with propagating roses from cuttings, hybridizing, and the journey that turned a hobby into a lifelong passion for roses.

As always, we’ll have time to visit with fellow members and guests before the program begins. Guests are always welcome!

LOCATION NOTE: This meeting will be held in the Bradford Room at the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens Frist Center, a new meeting location on the Cheekwood campus (not the Massey Center used in previous years).

The meetings are free to guests, as is admission to Cheekwood for meetings. Simply tell the gate attendant that you are there for the Nashville Rose Society meeting.

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