Next time you are at an NCPN meeting and hear a friendly voice in a lilting French accent, it likely belongs to Jacques Ferare, an industry representative to the NCPN-Roses Tier 2 Committee. He is Vice President for Licensing and Rose Program Director at Star Roses and Plants in West Grove, Pa. A native of Nice, France, Jacques graduated from Colorado State University with a M.S. in Floriculture and has honed his rose expertise working around the globe for such enterprises as Meilland International, the French Rose breeder, The Conard-Pyle Co., based in Pennsylvania, and Star Roses and Plants in California. Jacques is a member of Pi Alpha Xi, the Honorary Society for Floriculture.
Jacques has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Clean Rose Collection maintained by the Foundation Plant Services. His leadership and vision has been integral to the success of adding Roses to the National Clean Plant Network. NCPN support for the rose clean plant collection is allowing the expansion of the collection, the renovation and retesting of the established collection, the reassessment of virus testing protocols, and the development of important networking and educational opportunities. With the efforts of Jacques and of all the other industry supporters, the rose industry now has a virus-tested source for rose propagation and breeding. The FPS clean rose collection is the largest such publically supported collection in the world.
Married with three grown daughters, Jacques enjoys gardening, which he does not limit to roses, as well as hiking and playing the guitar. One of his pet peeves is confining roses by themselves in a garden bed without any neighboring plants, creating what he has memorably coined a rose ghetto.
NCPN is lucky to have the energy and perspectives Jacques brings to NCPN-Roses.