Tyler Texas Rose Industry

Historic postcard ... "See 20 million roses in bloom, Tyler Texas, The Rose Garden of America

Welcome to Tyler ...
"The Rose Capital of America”!

In the late 1800s, cotton and corn were main crops in the Tyler area, and fruit orchards were becoming increasingly popular as well. In 1879 the first recorded sale of rose bushes took place.

By 1900 there were more than one million fruit trees, mainly peach, in Smith County.

When peach blight, drought and winter freezes wiped out much of the fruit industry, many farmers turned to growing roses, which proved ideally suited to the climate and soil of the Tyler area.

Historic marker of the Smith County Rose Industry and the Tyler Rose Garden (click image to enlarge)

By the 1920s the rose industry had developed into a major business, and by the 1940s more than half the U.S. supply of rose bushes was grown within ten miles of Tyler. A leading pioneer in field-grown rose research was Dr. Eldon Lyle, who moved to Tyler in 1937. The Texas Rose Research Foundation was established in 1946 by area rose growers, and Dr. Lyle became its leader for many years to follow.

By 1945, there were 200 nurserymen, with 1,500 employees, growing roses commercially in East Texas, with Smith County producing 80% of the total crop.

In the late 1950s almost 300 rose growers produced over twenty million plants. In addition to rose growing, the rose-processing industry developed during this time. With the use of cold storage and plastic for packaging, businesses in Northeast Texas processed both local plants and roses imported from Arizona and California.

In the early 1970s more than fifteen million rosebushes continued to be shipped annually from Texas throughout the United States.

By the 1990s the rose industry had diminished in Texas. Out-of-state competition, along with unpredictable weather and some lost crops during the 1980s, contributed to the decrease in production. In the early 1990s the industry centered almost entirely in Smith County around the Tyler area.

Today, major players in the national rose growing and processing industry have significant facilities in the Tyler area, such as Chamblee's Rose Nursery, Tate Rose Nursery, Lone Star Rose Nursery, Mea Nursery, Sexton Roses, and many others.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels in Tyler

For more information, we recommend a visit to the Tyler Rose Garden web site operated by the City of Tyler, the Tyler Economic Development Commission, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Where to Buy Cut Roses in Tyler

We love to buy cut roses in Tyler ... our favorite vendor is available most any day in the corner of the parking lot at Brookshire's on Broadway and Rice Road. She has many different roses to choose from, they are inexpensive, and they last for days!