This March Ludwig’s Star Roses celebrates 50 years in the roses business, we thought it would be a grand idea to learn more about Ludwigs, so we asked Magda to tell us more about this long established favorite in the 1000 Hills area.
You are celebrating the golden anniversary of Ludwig’s Star Roses, tell us a bit about how you started. Is it just you or are there partners?
Ludwig’s Roses main branch started in March 1971 on 10 ha of land at Wallmansthall north of Pretoria. On 24 Sep 2008 we took over Star Rose Nursery that was well know at the Heritage Market run by Lynn Kepler.
There are so many rose varieties out there, do you have a favorite and why?
All roses are special each have their own show off in the garden.
For potential rose growers in the Highway area, what would be the easiest rose variety to start with?
It depend on what the customer needs are, a Hybrid Tea that make one stem one flower for the vase or a Floribunda that give you 1 stem 5 flowers (clusters). The hardy rose is marked in our catalogue with Eco-Chic™ symbol and is easy to grow.
Apart from roses, what else does Ludwigs offer? For example, are visitors able to purchase gardening implements, fertilizers and such?
We stock Fertilizer, sprays, secateurs, Planting Mix, Peanut Shell for Mulching and will assist you in growing good roses in KZN
Your golden anniversary is coming soon and you are offering an amazing special, can you tell us more?
For being 50 year in the rose business we want to thank all our supports by giving a 25% discount on all roses except the once that’s on promotion for R85.00.
I believe Ludwig’s breed their own roses, the “sundowner” and the “my darling”, can you tell us a bit more about the roses? Are there other varieties bred by Ludwigs?
We have a lovely Catalogue free of charge were you will find all the roses bred by Ludwig’s Roses and many more as for the Sundowner and My Darling it’s the Roses of this Months at R85.00 each.
Where are you based and are you open everyday? What are your business hours?
We are in 6 Fraser Road, Assagay, KZN. Trading Hours is 8h00 to 6h00 open 7 days a week. Phone no 081 380 8496.
Many aspiring rose growers will probably be bursting with questions, are you and your staff able to assist?
Our staff is well trained and if we don’t have the answer we will call Ludwig for advice, please bear with us as we do have a few new staff training on the moment.
Is there a rose growing club in the Highway area?
There is only a Midlands Rose Society in KZN.
Thanks to Magda for being patient with us and answering all our questions. Ludwig’s Star Roses can be found on Facebook or you can visit their website for more information.