The Sad State Of Amarillo’s Memorial Park Roses: Is There Hope?

The summer months in Amarillo are a perfect time to get outside. That is exactly what we have been doing. We head over to Memorial Park so that the granddaughter can enjoy the splash pad. That is our main reason for going.

We also love to take a walk around the park to get our steps in. We stop and pet the dogs we encounter. We watch the games going on at the volleyball, tennis, and pickleball courts.

Laila loves to just take it all in. She talks about not being able to wait to play volleyball like her mom did when she was younger. We enjoy our walks. Every once in a while, when the wind hits just right, we might even get a little hint of the water from the splash pad. It is refreshing.

We will walk to the gazebo, and Laila will ride her scooter up the ramp and onto the floor of the gazebo. That is when we noticed the sad state of the rose bushes. The ones that used to line all of the flower beds outside the gazebo.

We ended up talking about the photos I took of my daughter's cheerleading team nearly twenty years ago, where we used those roses as the perfect backdrop. It was a shame to see them all gone. We wondered what had happened.

Understanding Rose Rosette Disease

We stumbled across the answer recently on social media. According to a post on a neighborhood page. It wasn't a lack of maintenance or neglect that took those roses; it was something entirely out of anyone’s control.

Unfortunately, the roses had fallen victim to Rose Rosette Disease, a terrible virus that spreads quickly and leads to having to pull the plants and soil. Roses cannot be replanted in the area for a few years!!

Working with the Master Gardeners

UPDATE: The city has removed all roses and vegetation from the beds at Memorial Park. In a previous post we shared that the roses had succumbed to Rose Rosette Disease, a disease that stays in the soil for years so no roses can be replanted there at this time. Amarillo Parks and Recreation met with Randall County Master Gardeners to see what could be done. Unfortunately, the only thing to be done is to remove all plant matter and replant something besides roses. Now we wait to see what Amarillo Parks and Recreation is going to plant. Feel free to contact them for updates on their plans! What do you think they should plant in there?

The Future of the Memorial Park Gazebo

Community Ideas: What Should We Plant Next?