Ludwig’s Rose Farm just celebrated its 38^th anniversary on the 21st of March 2009.

The farm is run by a father and son team and currently employ more than 130 people.

Ludwig Taschner after whom the farm is named was born in Germany during the second world war.

He trained as a nurseryman in East Germany. He subsequently escaped form East Germany in 1960.

He gained invaluable experience by working in Nurseries in West Germany, Switzerland and in England where he started to specialise in rose growing.

Ludwig arrived in Pretoria in 1962 and worked for Buss Nurseries which under his management developed into the largest rose growers in South Africa.

He founded Ludwig’s Roses north of Pretoria in March 1971. From small beginnings it has now become world renowned and the premier rose nursery in South Africa with the largest selection of rose varieties available in the world.

Ludwig’s pioneered the propagation of roses in containers. Previously roses could only be purchased in winter as pruned, bare-rooted plants. The effect containerised rose plants had on South Africa is that roses could now be purchased all year round, which meant that gardeners could select roses by their flowers, fragrance and growth habit for most of the year. This obviously facilitated popularising roses in every South African garden even more…

Ludwig’s has built up a trustful and fruitful relationship with over 25 breeders from all over the world and annually tests thousands of new varieties according to their performance in the South African climate. From these a selection of 10 to 20 new varieties are named and released annually. Ludwig’s Roses is proud to have released countless top garden roses since they first opened their doors to the public 34 years ago. Varieties like Just Joey, Burning Sky, Casanova, Esther Geldenhuys, Germiston Gold, Rainbow Nation, Madiba and South Africa are to name but a few of the “rose celebrities”.

In 1978 Ludwig Taschner married Pamela, they have three children, one son and two daughters.

His son Halmar has become an integral part of the nursery and introduced more modern and innovative methods, which have ensured that Ludwig’s Roses stay on the forefront of the nursery industry.

Ludwig’s children's fluency in Sotho has greatly advantaged a superb almost family-like relationship with the more than 130 strong labour force.

After graduating as an Interior architect, Heike, Ludwig’s eldest daughter, revamped the nursery’s coffee shop and has brought a sense of style and planning to the farms new additions.

Anja, Ludwig’s youngest daughter has translated her love for roses in her various art forms ranging from paintings to children’s books. Anja is now part of the team at the farm and is presently running the miniature pot rose production department.

Ludwig is the mastermind behind enthusing gardeners to get “hooked” on growing roses. He has been writing about, giving talks about and has travelled throughout South Africa and the world to convey the love of the rose. He released his first colour catalogue in 1975 with only 180 varieties listed, today the catalogue contains over 1 000 varieties in a myriad of colours, fragrances, growth habits – something to fulfil anyone’s desire. Over the years the catalogue has become “a must have” collectors item and is posted free of charge to over 50 000 gardeners around the country.

By sending out a free monthly “talking roses” e-mail newsletter to over 13 000 “rose friends”, Ludwig stays in close contact with anyone who enjoys the beauty of the rose. The website also has ample information on the growing of roses plus descriptions and photographs of all the different roses.

Visiting the mother nursery north of Pretoria is a sight to behold. A million rose bushes in full bloom come across like an ocean of colour with an overwhelming fragrance.

In 1996 Ludwig opened a 4.5ha cut rose farm SOLEIL CUT ROSES in Pretoria East. Here more than 30 000 cut rose stems are picked each and every day.

In 2004 LUDWIG’S ROSES EGOLI an outlet in Johannesburg was opened. This branch boasts over 1000 varieties amounting to over 40 000 rose plants for sale. Walking through the isles of named roses is an experience in itself.

In 2006 LUDWIG’S ROSES WINELANDS an outlet near Stellenbosch was opened. This branch boasts over 1000 varieties amounting to over 30 000 rose plants for sale. Just paying this rose nursery set in the beautiful surroundings of the Cape Winelands a visit is a must.

In 2008 LUDWIG"S STAR ROSES an outlet in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal was opened. This branch also boasts all of our famous varieties. Magda van Zyl who has been with the company for 20 years, is the manageress of this newest addition to the group. We have taken over the nursery from Lyn Keppler's sister and brother in law and are very proud to be able to carry on with Lyn's legacy of growing roses successfully in KZN.

Ludwig plays an active role in the Federation of Rose Societies of South Africa. He has been the editor of all their publications for the past 25 years.

He was also chairman of the Rose Growers Association for 25 years and was honoured with the “Gold Medal” by his colleagues of the South African Nurseryman’ Association.

Halmar, his son, is currently chairman of the the Rose Growers Association – affiliated to SANA – the SA Nursery Association.

Ludwig Taschner wrote and published “LIVING WITH ROSES” A handbook for the commercial production of Cut Roses in 1991. In 2001 he was commissioned to write a book called ‘ROSES’ which has become a best seller.

Ludwig’s deep love for working with roses has encouraged him to see no boundaries when it comes to promoting roses. This has led to him becoming a household name in South Africa. He is happiest whilst and is always found walking through his roses… and most important of all, his children are more than happy to follow in his footsteps…

http://www.ludwigsroses.co.za/

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