Bayer Advanced™ Recreates The Legend of Camelot With Its 2011 Rose Parade® Float on January 1

PASADENA, Calif. and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Dec. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of volunteers will decorate the Bayer Advanced Camelot float with thousands of fresh roses and other flowers as they prepare for the 122nd Rose Parade® on Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 11 am ET (8 am PT).

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101224/AT21862-a )

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101224/AT21862-b )

The Bayer Advanced Camelot float celebrates the beauty of roses and the happiness they bring

The Bayer Advanced Camelot float features a large castle that represents Camelot and two Knights of the Round Table jousting on a bed of thousands of roses, orchids, daisies and carnations. The float also features 24 giant sculpted roses.

Camelot is the famous castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries. Over the years, Camelot has come to mean a place of beauty, goodness and happiness. The Bayer Advanced Camelot Rose Parade float celebrates the beauty, goodness and happiness you can find in your own rose garden.

Bayer Advanced rose care products are the exclusive rose care products of the Tournament of Roses®. They help you create a beautiful rose garden that will bring you years of happiness.

"There is nothing more beautiful than a rose," said Bayer Advanced Rose Care expert Lance Walheim, who wrote the best-selling book, Roses for Dummies. "The rose has been around for 35 million years and it's the official flower of the United States. We give roses for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and other special occasions and we grow them in our own backyards. While beginning gardeners are often intimidated by roses, they're actually much easier to grow than you might imagine."

The Bayer Advanced Camelot float features the world debut of 80 Dick Clark roses

Of course, thousands of roses are featured on the Bayer Advanced Camelot float, including one very special rose variety — it's the world debut of the 2011 All-America Rose Selection named after Dick Clark. There will be 80 Dick Clark roses on stems in the sculpted urns that are positioned around the perimeter of the Bayer Advanced Camelot float. Clark is the 81-year-old co-host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on ABC. Clark has ushered in the New Year for 38 years. He hosted the American Bandstand musical variety show for 32 years. Dick Clark Productions also produces the Golden Globe Awards on NBC, The Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS and So You Think You Can Dance on FOX.

Key facts about the Bayer Advanced Camelot float

Float Position: The Bayer Advanced Camelot float will be the 11th entry and the 5th float in the 2011 Rose Parade on January 1, 2011. This is the 11th year that Bayer Advanced has sponsored a float in the Rose Parade and it's been a Rose Parade trophy winner every year.

Floral Features: The Bayer Advanced Camelot float is 55 feet long, 18 feet wide and 30 feet tall. In addition to roses, carnations and daisies, the float also features ti leaf, strawflower, statice, white beans, coffee and walnut shell, uva and buffalo grass, kidney beans, lettuce seed, white rice, flax, sesame, ground onion and poppy seed. Eight golden urns placed around the float feature gladiolas, orchids, heliconia, mokaras and phalaenopis, as well as the Dick Clark roses.

Music: "IV. Contest and Victory of the Black Knight" by Anthony DiLorenzo. Album: Of Knights and Castles. Artist: Burning River Brass

Tournament of Roses Trophies: All Bayer Advanced Rose Parade floats have received Tournament of Roses trophies. Phoenix Decorating's Michelle Lofthouse designed each float.

• 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2002: Queen's Trophy for the best use of roses
• 2009, 2004 and 2001: Fantasy Trophy for the most outstanding display of fantasy and imagination
• 2005: President's Trophy for the most effective use and presentation of flowers
• 2003: Animation Trophy for the best animation and motion

About Bayer Advanced

Bayer Advanced rose care products have been helping backyard gardeners grow Rose Parade–quality roses for 11 years. Bayer Advanced's most popular product, Bayer Advanced All-In-One Rose and Flower Care, provides insect and disease control, as well as a fertilizer in one product. The product has been tested and endorsed by the American Rose Society. One of Bayer's newest products, Bayer Advanced Natria™ Multi-Insect Control, protects roses, fruits and vegetables from pests, with the key ingredient being canola oil.

Bayer Advanced rose care products are the Exclusive Rose Care Products of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. Bayer Advanced is the Presenting Sponsor of the Rose Parade float decorating centers and the Presenting Sponsor of the Post Parade Showcase of Floats in Pasadena. In addition, Bayer Advanced rose care products are used on the 2,000 rose bushes in the Wrigley Gardens near the Tournament of Roses Association headquarters.

Bayer Advanced is a business group of Bayer CropScience LP, one of the world's top research-based crop protection companies, with more than 100 years of experience. Bayer Advanced and Bayer CropScience LP are part of the Bayer AG family, a FORTUNE Global 500 company. You can learn more by visiting BayerAdvanced.com.

© 2010 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer (reg'd), the Bayer Cross (reg'd), Bayer Advanced™ and Natria™ are trademarks of Bayer. Rose Parade and Tournament of Roses are registered trademarks of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.

SOURCE Bayer Advanced