A hard call but the National Rose Show moved to 2021

The Pride of Palmy rose.

The 2020 National Rose Show and 50th anniversary of Rose Trials has been moved to 2021.

The International Rose Trials were to be held in November in Palmerston North and the new dates will be Friday, November 26, to Sunday, November 28, at the Palmerston North Conference and Function Centre.

The presentation of awards from Trial 50 of the International Rose Trials will take place on Sunday, November 29, followed by a smaller celebration of the 50th anniversary as part of the awards presentation.

Further details will be released over the coming months.

President of Roses Manawatū and convenor of the organising committee Hayden Foulds said it was a hard call to make.

"With a challenging economic situation ahead, we felt it was very difficult to make the event the success it deserved to be.

"2021 also marks 150 years of the City of Palmerston North, so it has worked out well to celebrate the rose in an important year for the city that was once known as Rose City," Foulds said.

The 50th-anniversary book on the International Rose Trials will be published in 2021 and plants of the new rose, Pride of Palmy, will be sold at a later date.

This year's postponement has meant the Auckland and Franklin Rose Societies will now host the 2022 National Rose Show and Convention in Auckland in November 2022.

Foulds said the New Zealand Rose Society and Roses Manawatū thanked the two societies for their understanding and willingness to be pushed back a year in hosting their event.