CAPSULE STORY #8 - JOSIP ROGIN
20/12/2019
“Cappa Sancti Martini”, the beautiful rose dedicated to the town of Dugo Selo and its patron St. Martin
“I hope the project NPA will be successfully carried out. I also wish that the rose will follow into St. Martin’s footsteps and spread to as many places as St. Martin visited”, says Josip Rogin, the hybridizer of the rose Cappa Sancti Martini dedicated to the town of Dugo Selo and its patron St. Martin.
Josip Rogin is a peculiar person. He first introduces himself as a writer and a gardener and only later as a breeder and creator of new varieties of roses. He dedicated one of the roses to the town of Dugo Selo and its patron St. Martin.
"I have been visiting the town of Dugo Selo for years, the place where the memory of St. Martin still lives. I have been a long-time associate of the local newspaper Dugoselska kronika, which is published by the People’s Open University of Dugo Selo. When they celebrated their 50th anniversary, I had no other gift to offer but a rose", recalls Rogin.
Josip Rogin has been cultivating roses for almost half a century and has published two books about them: The Encyclopaedia on Roses and The Rose - the Queen of Flowers. Both of the books are now considered to be reference literature. About 300 varieties of roses from 11 time zones grow in his garden. Dugoselska or St.Martin's rose, as Mr. Rogin calls it, has been cultivated from the Grand Gala variety, a hybrid tea rose, resistant to diseases and pests. This rose abundantly blossoms with dark pink flowers with white strips and its scent is of medium intensity. Mr. Rogin adds that no new variety can emerge overnight. It takes time to see how it will develop and what qualities it will show.
"I mean, I have my fingers in its creation, but I always say it would not exist if God had not given it to me first. In 2010 with the help of POU, after the rose had finally passed all the tests, I decided to dedicate it to the Town of Dugo Selo. Its name is strongly linked to St. Martin because while I was searching for the appropriate name for it, I remembered that St. Martin did not die as a martyr. This rose has no thorns, and when it is in full bloom, its petals reveal the white stripes - just like Martin's mantle. Therefore its Latin name is Cappa Sancti Martini”, he clarified.
The rose is also part of the Croatian Collection of Roses, which even includes 20 more roses.
Four of them are patented in America, at Shavenport, the headquarters of the World Rose Association.
The Cappa Sancti Martini was planted in the centre of Dugo Selo, in front of the Social Welfare Centre. The intention is to plant this rose on as many locations as possible.
Mr. Rogin is particularly pleased that this rose became part of the NewPilgrimAge project. "This project is really great: connecting people, sharing positive thoughts – What could be better than that? When I was younger, I used to walk to Martin Hill and visit the old church, which is the best way to feel at peace and protected. The whole town is in the palm of your hand, surrounded by vineyards and wooden cottages. “I hope the project NPA will be successfully carried out. I also wish that the rose will follow into St. Martin’s footsteps and spread to as many places as St. Martin visited”, said Mr. Rogin.
