5 PEOPLE OF INTEREST
The
Rose
Guy
BY JANIE GOULD
PHOTOS BY MARK DOLAN
Anyone who thinks you can’t grow
13
roses in Florida ought to take a
look at Roy Schick’s yard in ero
each, and not just at the three sides that
usually get plenty of sun. The west side
of Schick’s home is shaded by oaks, but
three rose bushes are !ourishing
there, too.
In fact, roses of all hues and si#es
bloom year-round in Schick’s yard near
the ero each Country Club. Growing
roses and giving beautiful blooms away
has been Roy Schick’s hobby since he
retired from the citrus business seven
years ago.
Schick has () rose bushes, some of
which he planted to replace those
destroyed by the 2))4 hurricanes, and
that is his limit. “I can take care of () comfortably and still
do everything else I want to do,” he said.
On a tour of his garden recently, he pointed out specimens
such as “/nockout,” a hot pink, low-care beauty0 the
“Moonstone,” a white 2ybrid Tea0 the “3olly 4arton,”
described by a catalog as “voluptuous, with large blossoms,”
the gorgeous, bright red “Mr. 5incoln,” and the “Granada,”
which blooms in three shades of pink. Then there is the
“Iceberg,” a bushy rose with white blossoms that is said to
grow well in the North.
“I said, by golly, if they can grow it up North, I can grow it
here,” Schick said.
Schick’s favorite rose7 “Whatever’s in bloom.”
9very bush in Schick’s yard looked healthy and well tended,
with nary a sign of blackspot, yellowing or other af!ictions
that can torment ordinary rose gardeners. Wednesday is
Schick’s “spray day.” 9:cept when he’s planting or pruning,
he devotes no more than an hour a day to rose care.
“I tell everybody a rose is like a woman,” he said. “It doesn’t
re;uire much attention, but it likes regular attention.”
Schick’s roses delight people all over town. 9very Monday,
he presents a long-stemmed rose to each member of the staff
at his church, Trinity 9piscopal. 2e takes bou;uets to ailing
parishioners and other friends in hospitals and nursing
homes. 2e makes sure there is always a fresh bou;uet on the
front desk at Christi’s Family Fitness Center, where he and
his wife work out.
“It’s more fun to give than receive,” he said. “I’ll tell you
the truth. The more you cut them and give them away, the
better they bloom. I stress two things about roses< They are
easy to grow, and give =em away.”
Schick, a native of Oklahoma, had an uncle who trained
with the Navy in ero each during World War II. After the
war, Schick and his parents, Roy and lanche, and brother,
?erry, came for a visit. The family returned in 1947 to stay.
2e graduated from ero each 2igh School in 1951 and
from the Dniversity of Florida in 1955. 2e served three years
in the Army. 2e has been married to his high school sweetheart,
Mary Smith Schick, for 52 years. They have three
children< 5ori, 47, a stay-at-home mom0 3avid, 46, a surveyor0