WEEKS WHOLESALE ROSE GROWER was founded in 1938 by O. L. and Verona Weeks in Ontario, California. When Charlie Huecker and Bob DeMayo assumed ownership of Weeks Roses in 1985, their primary commitment was to maintain the same high standards of quality and friendly service that were synonymous with the Weeks name. With Bob DeMayo’s retirement in June of 1998, Weeks Roses joined INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PRODUCTS, INC. (IGP). After a long career in horticulture, Charlie Huecker recently retired. Roger Thulin succeeded Charlie in 2006 and Charlie Anderson succeeded Roger in 2011.
Weeks offers a wide selection (over 300) popular & unusual varieties--whether it be new Hybrids, Own-Root Shrubs, Shrublets, Climbers, field-grown Miniatures or Tree Roses. In addition to our well-known hefty bare-root field-grown bushes, we offer ‘Tops in Pots’™ (dormant ready-to-plant packaged roses) ‘Leaf N’ Bud’® (flowering container plants), ‘Table to Garden’™ (blooming potted Miniature roses) and own-root rose liners. Our knowledgeable sales staff of 7, travel the country calling on nurseries and attending many of the local and regional trade shows. Weeks publishes a full-color full-reference catalog, which pictures each rose we grow with complete descriptive information.
Weeks’ customer service and sales office is now located in Wasco, California. Our research, marketing and licensing office is located on the Cal Poly Pomona Campus along with our hybridizing greenhouses and display/test gardens. Our brand-new state-of-the art processing, refrigeration and distribution center is located at our growing grounds in Wasco, California, in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley. Weeks has over 1,200 acres of production facilities in the same area as many of the other major rose producers. Wasco has a good deep loamy soil, plentiful clean well water and a natural climate that fits commercial rose production particularly well. In Wasco we can produce strong healthy bushes that ship easily and adapt well to most any climate in the United States.
For our bare-root field-grown plants, beginning in early December, Weeks ships over four million roses throughout the United States. Immediately following harvest, roses are carefully graded and packed in strong boxes and shipped in temperature-controlled trucks, directly to our customers.
Weeks’ Research Department, under the direction of Tom Carruth since 1988, is dedicated to bringing you the best in all types of proven older roses and new rose varieties—whether from our own hybridizing efforts or from international breeding firms or amateur stateside breeders. Each year, we hand-pollinate about 50,000 flowers to produce around 250,000 seeds. After a thorough 8 to 10 year evaluation period, culminating with the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) Trials, only about 3 or 4 varieties emerge from the group as truly superior and market-worthy.
Weeks has had 14 AARS Winners to emerge from our new hybridizing work. Tom Carruth’s AARS Winners include: DICK CLARK (2011); EASY DOES IT™ (2010); CINCO DE MAYO™ (2009); STRIKE IT RICH® (2007); JULIA CHILD and WILD BLUE YONDER™ (2006); ABOUT FACE™ (2005); MEMORIAL DAY™ (2004); HOT COCOA™ (2003); BETTY BOOP™ and FOURTH OF JULY™ (1999) and Tom’s first AARS winner in 1997 was SCENTIMENTAL™. Our 2008 Winner, DREAM COME TRUE™ from amateur Dr. John Pottschmidt from Cincinnati. 1998 Winner, SUNSET CELEBRATION™ was from Fryer’s Roses in England; ST. PATRICK™, from amateur Frank Strickland; and LIVIN’ EASY™, from the English firm of Harkness, won in 1996.
While we do no direct consumer selling yet, our roses are widely available at most nurseries and garden centers across the United States.
