Paul Barden Roses

Back to Rugosa origins

2011-09-09T07:17:00.001-07:00

26-09-04, Parentage: 'Hansa' X "Magseed". Appearance-wise this is a completely unremarkable hybrid, but I value what it represents genetically. The pollen parent was given to me by it's creator Ralph Moore years ago; a cross of 'Anytime' and 'Rugosa Magnifica'. By crossing it back to an older "purebred" Rugosa I hoped to regain some of the Rugosa strength, character and, hopefully, health while infusing some of the modern miniature traits like generosity of bloom.

Clearly this seedling is not just a selfing of 'Hansa' since it has that odd "antler" pubescence often seen in Rugosa/modern hybrids. It has yet to be seen if this cultivar has merit as a garden shrub, but I plan on working it forward with other diploid breeding lines. I see a marriage with 'Therese Bugnet' in it's future.

Dear Mr. Google, you and I need to have a little chat.

2011-08-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

How tedious. Yesterday I discovered that Apuldram Roses in the UK was using my photo of Austin's 'Teasing Georgia' to flog the rose on their web site. (This happens dozens of times every year, and more and more often, the offending party is a nursery using the images to sell their product! The same image was also found on the web site of Bay State Perennial Farm, who has likely by now deleted the photo, after I contacted them by phone. The attitude I got from them was five different flavors of pass-the-buck)
I sent a message to Apuldram Roses requesting the removal of the photo, as it was copyrighted work and I did not authorize their use of it. Here is the response I got from an Apuldram rep:

"Dear Paul When in need of an image (if we don't have one of our own) we regularly go to Google images. This is where we got the image and there is no mention of copyright. Perhaps you should review the uploading of your images to the internet. Apologies for the obvious distress this has caused you and we will remove the image straight away." (emphasis mine)

Did you catch that, the part about me reviewing how and what I upload to the Web??! In no uncertain terms this suggests that I am to blame for the misuse of my photo! Outrageous. Note also the remark about the apparent lack of a copyright statement in connection with the photo as presented in the Google images browser.

Google has a clear policy about the terms of use of the Google Images feature:

"Image use permissions

The images displayed in a Google Image Search may be protected by copyright, so we can't grant you the right to use them for any purpose other than viewing them on the web. If you'd like to use images from our image search, we suggest contacting the site's webmaster to obtain permission. To learn how to find the webmaster of a site, please visit http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=910"

From the URL: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?&&answer=9299

Prior to the Internet, it would have been inconceivable for a company to assemble a catalog using content that was not acquired legally and by paying for the rights to use it for marketing. Sadly, it appears that ethics are no longer regarded as an obstacle to acquiring advertising content. Here's the long and short of it: If you did not create the content, or if you did not obtain permission to use it and/or pay a fee for that usage, then its not yours to take. If you want to use it, ask. If you can't be bothered to ask, then hands off my work.

Period.

Sabbatical

2011-06-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am announcing my decision to take a sabbatical from rose hybridizing. This may in fact lead to "retirement" from the work in time; I am open to that possibility. Right now, I have ceased generating new seedlings will and spend the next two seasons evaluating what I already have. After that, who knows.

This "hobby" (for surely that is what I must call it since it doesn't pay for itself; it is a drain on my resources, both monetary and emotional) has reached a scale that is unmanageable and so I have to look very hard at what there is here and be ruthless in removing anything that does not approach perfection. (and since perfection is so very conspicuous by its absence from most roses, that ought to be easy enough) With any luck, this approach will reduce the volume of plants, and the associated work load, to a fraction of its current state. Then, and only then, will I consider resuming the making of new crosses and raising more seedlings. I may not resume at all. Only time will tell.

As regards this blog; I make no promises that I will continue to post information. I will if the mood hits me, but for the most part I will focus my energy on the work at hand: reducing my work load and hard culling of materials. Wish me luck. And thanks for reading and contributing to this blog for the past two years. It has been a pleasure engaging my readers.

Paul Barden
June 27, 2011.

Grapey surprise.

2011-06-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

27-09-02: 'Midnight Blue' X "MORsoul". The latter is an unreleased Moore hybrid from 'Anytime' X R. soulieana. It was one parent of Ralph's lovely little 'Baby Austin'.

This was a huge surprise, color wise. I selected 'Midnight Blue' knowing that if anything could add color to a cross that might bleach out to pale pinks or peaches using most any other parent, 'Midnight Blue' could. I guess I wasn't wrong! This is the second selection that has bloomed in a very dark color. Much darker than anything I imagined possible. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that R. soulieana is represented on both sides of the parentage equation? Hmmm.

Bloom form is a bit disorganized, but that might right itself in time. It is already forming the next blooms just as the first is opening, and lots of new growth is appearing from the base, indicating a potentially shrubby, compact habit. Oh, and yes....it has a fragrance too. Fun, eh wot?

Moore's 'My Stars' as pollen parent

2011-06-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

My Stars passes on thornlessness to most of it's offspring, apparently. Good color too!

107-09-03

2011-06-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

Parentage: 42-03-02 X R. foliolosa.

This is a strikingly pretty red single, presumably a diploid, selected for further breeding. It appears very eager to set seed and hopefully I will start to see repeaters in the next gen. Very healthy plant! This is making me very pleased to have started over at the species level.

R. wichurana variegata seedlings

2011-06-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

2010 was the first time I had seen seeds form on R. wichurana variegata, aka 'Curiosity'. Needless to say, I gathered these promptly and set them in the fridge to stratify. What you see here is the result: green. No variegation of any kind; not even a hint. While disappointed, I can't exactly feign surprise, since the odds were good that the variegation, although genetic in origin, would not be inheritable. This suggests the factor is a sport/mutation that does not extend into the reproductive tissue layer, and so it won't get passed on to offspring.

Anyone interested in R. wichurana seedlings?! ;-)

87-09-01, an update

2011-06-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Pictured here is 87-09-01, a seedling from the 2009 cross of two species; R. soulieana and R. foliolosa. Both of my specimens are, I presume, diploids, and so I expect my seedlings are also. The cross was made with the idea of combining two very hardy, very healthy species while remaining strictly within the diploid realm.

The foliage, as I have noted in a post last year, is fragrant: somewhat like Raspberry and Pine combined. The plant has been immune to mildew and I would expect it to be similarly resistant to blackspot. (I won't know till later this year) The blooms, while unremarkable, are already being borne in large clusters on this 2 foot tall arching plant. Some panicles have over a dozen buds. Not surprising, given the parentage, the color is a soft "apple blossom pink" hue, and there is a modest scent.

For me, this is far from being a "finished" rose, but represents an avenue to make new hybrids that might escape many of the pitfalls all too easily inheritable from the standard Hybrid Tea/Floribunda class that currently dominate the marketplace. I think that the new garden shrub roses are going to have to be nearly indestructible compared to their predecessors; easy shrubs that provide four season interest. (interesting canes and architecture in winter, lots of bloom in the spring/summer, and colorful fall foliage, perhaps with bright hips as well) This seedling has already shown itself capable of providing colorful fall foliage, as have many of my R. foliolosa hybrids. Perhaps integration with Rugosa hybrids like 'Will Alderman' or 'Therese Bugnet' and repeat bloom will be reintroduced as well. I will also make crosses with David Zlesak's lovely red diploid 'Candy Oh Vivid Red', which has shown itself capable of breeding good rich reds when crossed with other diploids. (David's rose is also remarkably winter hardy and disease free in most climates. Well done David!)

Once there are more blooms of 87-09-01 open I might offer pollen to my colleagues, if interested. R. soulieana imparts great health, vigor and beauty to its offspring and this could be of value to other hybridizers.

Seedling 87-09-02, while seemingly as healthy and vigorous as 01 last year, has not been as nonchalant about our long, cold spring; its foliage has been "troubled" and the first round yellowed and dropped off. A sign of something I don't want to bring into a breeding line? Perhaps. I will watch it as the season develops. Many roses I grow here struggle to produce normal foliage until the weather settles into a warming trend.

106-09-01, looking for a way to breed useful Rugosas.

2011-06-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Once in a while you happen upon a seedling that is willing to do some neat tricks for you. Serendipity plays a huge role in choosing which seedlings I save for evaluation. I don't dare think about all the thousands of seedlings I have discarded that may have harbored secret capabilities. Alas, we work with the ones we feel have potential and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.

I've often pondered Ralph Moore's work with the Rugosas. 'Rugosa Magnifica' (van Fleet) was once Ralph used often, as well as 'Belle Poitvine' and various selections of R. rugosa rubra. I am aware that Ralph often disregarded ploidy when choosing what crosses to make and I have come to feel that there are definitely occasions when matching ploidy is potentially beneficial. For instance, this year I am flowering out a group of diploid hybrids made with 'Therese Bugnet', most of which involve R. foliolosa or one of its hybrids. These were created with attention to matching diploid-to-diploid. More on these in a coming update.

One of the lucky choices I made was in selecting a self-pollinated seedling from 0-47-19 (Moore, 1947: R. wichurana X 'Floradora'), code number 42-03-02. I am presuming (and undoubtedly correctly so) that it is a diploid, like its parent. So, making the same assumption about 'Rugosa Magnifica', I put the latter's pollen on 42-03-02 in 2009. I got only two seedlings, both growing like dwarf Rugosas, with Rugosa character in every way. Neither flowered in 2010, both are in bloom right now. The second seedling, 106-09-02, isn't quite "right"; the blooms are like miniatures of the Rugosa pollen parent, but very muddled in form, not opening correctly at times. The one I do like is 106-09-01 pictured here. The photo barely conveys its luminous purple-magenta coloring and the shimmery texture of the petals. The blooms are not large; about 1.5 to 2.0" across. Every one has been a simple five-petaled bloom and there is plenty of pollen available. (Needless to say I am using the pollen on a wide variety of other diploids and more)

I hope this little shrub (it is still only 15" by 15") will grow up to be something pretty, because I think a 3 by 3 foot mature specimen loaded with flushes of these richly colored blooms would be remarkable. With its parentage, I would expect superior disease resistance as well. We'll see!

155-10-01: Roxburghii, are you in there??

2011-05-31T08:04:00.001-07:00

For years there has been much discussion about the pedigree of a number of roses that list the species R. roxburghii as a parent. The Tantau Floribunda 'Floradora' (1944, Germany), for example, lists 'Baby Château' as the seed parent and R. roxburghii as the pollen parent.

Now, at a glance, there isn't the slightest hint of the species parent in the look of 'Floradora', which has led many to doubt its listed parentage. I myself doubted Tantau's pedigree for the longest time, at least unbtil I had some experience in using certain species and near-species hybrids in breeding, especially when they were employed as pollen parents. Let me elaborate.

I frequently use certain seed parents in making crosses that might be impossible on many other parents. After a while, you start to recognize which of your seed parents are likely to be "door openers" when planning iffy crosses. Introducing certain species can be especially difficult; sometimes the chromosome counts don't match, or the two varieties are simply too distant from one another in the family. I believe there are other unknown factors that play a role in fertility. Whatever the case, I found that even when using very willing seed parents, certain pollens would result in seed that, once germinated, turned out to be the result of apomixis*.

Apomixis is what happens when pollen initiates the fertilization response in a plant, but once the pollen tubes grow into the ovary, the genes prove unusable. So, in an effort to salvage the seed making process, the plant instead duplicates its own genes, in effect cloning itself. In roses, I suspect there is some recombinant action occurring as well, since some of the individuals arising from such crosses are not identical to the parent plant, but appear to be highly similar. In some cases undoubtedly some selfing may also occur, perhaps the result of insect activity, or simply incomplete emasculation.

The seedling you see pictured here was an experiment designed to see what happens when a (supposed) second generation R. roxburghii hybrid (in this instance, Moore's 0-47-19 was used) was crossed once again with the species R. roxburghii. And so, what we have here is:

[R. wichurana X ('Baby Château' X R. roxburghii)] X R. roxburghii normalis. Clearly, assuming the Tantau parentage is correct, we have a lot of species genes in this plant. Now, when I made this cross I expected one of three possible scenarios: total rejection of the pollen, apomixis, or self-pollination by insect vectors. As it happens, I got only a few hips from the 40 plus pollinations, leading me to believe they were likely the result if insect fiddling. From the approximately 20 seeds I sowed I got two seedlings. The one illustrated here is the healthier of the two; the other is far less vigorous, but it is trying to build up steam. (Maybe our cold, prolonged spring isn't to its liking; I know its not making me feel great!)

Until this individual reached a certain size I was unwilling to make many assumptions about its pedigree. But now, I look at it and I come to the conclusion that this is actually, for real, a R. roxburghii hybrid. Look closely: the most recent leaves are now composed of nine leaflets, surely a sign that roxburghii is influencing its development. I don't expect to see flowers this year, which is fine. Right now I am just fascinated to see its vegetative development. I doubt this is any kind of proof of the presence of R. roxburghii in its ancestor, 'Floradora', but it does show that when using the species, the resulting seedlings can show clear evidence of roxburghii traits. Fascinating.

*For more on apomixis, see the Wikipedia article here.

170-09-02

2011-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

17-09-02 = R. arkansana X 'Carlin's Rhythm'.

I'm determined to obtain a seedling from the delicate-looking-but-unbelievably-tough R. arkansana, a North American native. The species has richly scented single candy pink blooms, and certain select clones sometimes have subtle stripes or streaks of darker color on the petals. Mine doesn't, but mine does do something I hope to capitalize on; it blooms at least three times in the growing season: late May, again in July or early Augustm then again in late September or October.

My specimen of R. arkansana is a reluctant seed setter, rarely accepting pollen from anything but itself. However, I did manage to get two seedlings from a cross using Kim Rupert's beautiful 'Carlin's Rhythm'. This is the second of the two (the first was paler and not as nice) and displays large-ish blooms (about 2.5") in a deeper than average rose pink. The scent is rich and pure "old rose". Now, the trick is to try it in breeding to see if I can make the next step. It will have one copy of the modern hybrid remontancy gene, and at least once copy of the gene that makes my arkansana repeat, which may or may not be distinct from other forms of remontancy. As both parents are (at least in principle) tetraploids, I would expect this seedling to be a tetraploid also.

220-09-02

2011-05-18T09:49:00.001-07:00

Apparently the striping is a fixed trait; the next bloom to open is identical. Excellent.

220-09-02

2011-05-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

220-09-02: "A supposed tetraploid form of R. rugosa" X Basye's Blueberry.

The seed parent is a rose shared with me by Joan Monteith about a decade ago. Joan did an experiment in which she treated a select form of R. rugosa with the chemical Colchicine with the hopes of doubling the plant's gene count from 2X to 4X, making it more compatible with most modern tetraploid hybrids. It has not been determined with any certainty that this Rugosa is in fact a Colchicine-induced tetraploid; measurements of pollen diameter has been inconclusive. However, I have pursued breeding concepts that presume it a tetraploid and I will simply evaluate the results as I proceed.

Case in point; today's seedling. 220-09-02 is the first seedling from this "presumed tetra Rugosa" X 'Basye's Blueberry' cross. Of the dozen or so seedlings I got from the cross, remarkably not a one has the classic Rugosa foliage. In fact, most all lean heavily towards the look of the Basye parent, which comes as a huge surprise. (Most R. rugosa hybrids in the first generation show strong Rugosa influence, often obliterating all of the other parent's qualities)

The flower is small, at just under 2", quite heavily Clove-scented, thick of petal and most remarkably, each petal has a strong white streak down the middle. Don't ask me where this trait came from. I do know that Ralph Moore once showed me a Rugosa hybrid with about 15 petals that showed the same petal streak, and it was striking. Pollen has been gathered from this seedling and will be placed on a number of tetraploid seed parents I have assigned for the purpose of testing pollen fertility. In the meantime, I look forward to evaluating this plant for sturdiness and disease resistance. I am hopeful, given its pedigree, that Blackspot resistance might be superb.

165-09-03

2011-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

165-09-03: another approach to working with R. foliolosa. Click on the photo to view a larger version.

A few days ago I mentioned 44-09-13, one of my Foliolosa/Therese Bugnet hybrids. In the case of 44-09-13, the seed parent was a second generation R. foliolosa hybrid, whereas with today's seedling, 165-09-03, R. foliolosa itself plays that role. Both crosses utilize Therese Bugnet as the pollen donor. The idea was simply to make some Therese Bugnet crosses using any/all diploids I had on hand and which I knew to be decent seed bearers. The R. foliolosa approach was, to me, particularly appealing since it was such a healthy, Winter hardy individual. R. foliolosa also imparts on its progeny Fall foliage coloring to make the most dramatic of Maples and Sumacs envious; fiery oranges, yellows overlaid with flame red. I have come to think that modern roses ought to have some degree of "four season appeal".

I consider the seedling pictured here to be pretty much intermediate between its parents, although the flower itself leans more towards Therese Bugnet in size and petal count. The bloom has a moderately intense Rugosa scent; a welcome trait, to be sure. (The weather has been abysmally cold this Spring, so maybe when/if it warms up, the fragrance will be more intense.) The foliage could easily be said to resemble either parent, since both have fern-like feathery foliage that is narrow of leaflet and pleasantly matte in texture.

Pollen has been collected from both this seedling and its relative, 44-09-13, to be tested for fertility this year. I will try to limit myself to working it on other diploids and maybe a triploid or two, but I might just dust a few blooms of Midnight Blue while I'm at it. I won't let the creation of triploids (and their potential for sterility) stop me from making a cross once I have a few foundation plants established in the confines of a given ploidy. As Ralph so often said, "The rose will find a way."

44-09-13

2011-05-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

44-09-13 = (R. foliolosa X 'Little Chief') X 'Therese Bugnet'

This is the first of this group of seedlings to bloom. Hardly an exciting flower, really, but not a surprising result, really, considering how significant a role R. rugosa plays in its pedigree. The fragrance, in fact, is pure Rugosa: richly Clove-like. The foliage is pure 'Therese Bugnet'; ferny, with narrow leaflets, and that odd matte texture. The foliage has been impermeable to the standard diseases so far, but testing in earnest for Blackspot won't happen till the selections are planted out in the open garden.

For now, I am collecting pollen from some of these selections to test as breeders. I don't consider these individuals as "finished" works, but as potential stepping stones towards improved cold climate-friendly plants.

You can view info about the seed parent here.

121-06-14: impressions in year five.

2011-05-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Breeding roses is not a game for the "instant gratification" crowd. Patience, for us, is not a virtue, it is a requirement.

Cross #121-06 was created in Spring 2006; that is when I selected pollen from Austin's 'Tradescant' and placed it on blooms of my own seedling, 174-02-17 ('Sheri Anne' X 'Out of Yesteryear'). The foloowing year, probably April 2007, this seedling first appeared in a tray of seed mix topped with a generous layer of Perlite (for Damping Off suppression, did you know?) Although I do not have any notes to indicate when I first saw it flower, chances are it bloomed for the first time in June or July of 2007. The first bloom probably did little more than hint at bloom color and form, but apparently it was enough to make me select it for potting on for further observation.

In later Winter 2008, however, this seedling was almost destroyed by a week's worth of hard freezes that went down into the low teens every night. It was still in a 5 gallon container and rose roots don't like freezing solid while in pots. Long story short, it did survive, although it took more than a year to recover its vigor. 2010 showed me what a potential jewel this seedling was, with its deep garnet/purple swirls of petals, reminding me sometimes of 'Charles de Mills' or some such anachronistic creature. But unlike its Gallic brethren, this lad blooms in flushes through the growing season; pretty much a requirement for modern hybrids. (Although I am often found arguing for the merits of the elegant once bloomers)

I'm not done passing judgement on this seedling; it has yet to tell me much about ease of propagation, or its ultimate disease resistance out in the open test bed. It isn't yet as big as it will get when fully matured, and so I need to be quite sure this dark Swan doesn't turn rabid in year 6 or 7 and produce all manner of rank growth, breaking from its compact grace and going all "Audrey" on me. Time, as they say, will tell.

Midnight Blue, just because.

2011-05-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

I was documenting seedlings in "number four" yesterday and took the opportunity to photograph one of my favorite moderns, 'Midnight Blue', by Tom Carruth. Echoing a recent comment by Jim Sproul, it is one of the few named varieties I still use in breeding. (I mostly use my own proprietary hybrids nowadays)

'Midnight Blue' is a truly amazing shrub. What color! It is also a very willing and capable seed/pollen parent; it is one of the few roses I can expect consistently good numbers of fertile seeds from, regardless of what the pollen parent placed on it.

Busy day, off to work!

Proving fertility of the R. fedtschenkoana hybrids.

2011-05-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

A few years back, Kim Rupert graciously shared with me one of his experimental hybrids, 'Orangeade' X R. fedtschenkoana, a white flowered species-like hybrid designed to be used as a breeder plant. It took a while for my plant to settle into its invironment, but settle in it did! It is now a thicket (ever-spreading, I might add) about 8 feet across and 10 feet high. Contrary to expectations for such a cross, it does rebloom, although only modestly. Mine does not set seed, but offers potently fertile pollen.

The cross 54-08, made in 2008, combined this fedtschenkoana hybrid with 'Midnight Blue', a marvelous Carruth hybrid with a deliciously mixed pedigree. (I look at hybrids with widely varied genetic backgrounds as an indicator of potential health and vigor; stirring the same old pot of genes is deadly)

54-08-03 was one of the first of about ten seedlings to bloom, and one of about four that I have selected for further breeding. Blooms are actually more lavender than they appear in photos. I recently germinated the first seedlings of crosses using this seedling, and some of its siblings. I don't know where this breeding line is going to end up taking me, but the R. fedtschenkoana genes are proving to be capable of imparting unique foliage, architecture and vigor traits to offspring. Seedlings also tend to hold on to the unusual "linseed oil" scent of the species parent. Not everyone is going to appreciate this fragrance, but I like its uniqueness. The foliage also tends to have a Pine-Cedar scent to it.

Busy day ahead; breeding has begun in earnest in the past 24 hours, as the main stud house explodes into bloom. I must go attend!

L83 in bloom

2011-05-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

L83, the AgCan Kordesii breeder is in bloom now. Pollen available upon request, for the hybridizers reading this.

Consistently beautiful; 25-07-07

2011-04-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

You must be getting bored of photos of this one. *laughs* I just wish you could see it in person. The photo barely does it justice, especially since you have to inhale the perfectly suitable fragrance that it possesses. (It smells purple!) Parentage: 'Midnight Blue' X 'Pinstripe'. Here is an older post about it.

This seedling is in line for commercial release in the next year or two, pending propagation of sufficient quantities.

Another busy morning; I need to get out and start potting up the hundreds of new seedlings into 3" pots. I am pleasantly surprised by the number of 'Belle Poitvine' hybrids I got from a cross with one of my old R. foliolosa hybrids. I need to use that thing more often, I think.

Textures everywhere I look.

2011-04-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Busy morning, collecting pollen, cleaning up last year's selections, etc, etc., so I will be brief.

A great photo of Ralph Moore's experimental seedling "C-04", bred from 'Crested Jewel'. It was hoped to be a useful link to creating better crested Floribunda-style roses, but it was a flop as a breeder: the offspring were duds. But it remains in my collection of curious novelties where it is appreciated regularly for its unique parsley-like sepals.

A Ralph Moore gem

2011-04-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's the last week in April, and like clockwork, Ralph's old moss hybrid "Orange Moss" is in bloom once again. (Ralph often referred to it as simply "OM") It is one of the first roses to bloom in the stud house and it never fails to enthuse me when it opens that first half dozen intensely pigmented blooms. It seems so perfectly right to me that the richly fragrant blooms have a scent much like the "orange juice" fragrance of 'Soleil d'Or'. Undoubtedly this is not a coincidence, as the latter can be found in the pedigree of Orange Moss. Parentage is 'Mark Sullivan' X 'Golden Moss'. The moss pollen parent is a Pedro Dot hybrid. Dot, in many ways, shared a great deal with Moore, creatively, pursuing all manner of offbeat breeding lines, daring to invent what no-one else had imagined possible.

Although this is an awkward grower with wiry long canes that leap out ten feet in all the wrong directions, it is a noteworthy footnote in Moore's development of the yellow and orange toned mini-mosses that followed in the subsequent forty years.

When used in breeding, Orange Moss is a difficult plant at best; it won't set seed with foreign pollen, and the offspring are often uniformly dreadful. (Ralph insisted that he never got viable seed of any kind from it, although in 2010 I germinated three open pollinated seeds from it) Indeed, it must have been that one lucky seedling in 500 that showed any promise. It is a testament to Moore that he was able to coerce this unruly once-bloomer to sire anything of value at all.

By the way, pollen will be available upon request, for those brave enough to make use of it.

Mislabeled seedling.

2011-04-22T07:17:00.001-07:00

130-06-21

It happens: seedlings get mislabeled. This one was from a batch identified as 'Old Blush' x self, which it clearly is not. Sometimes a few seeds stray into the adjacent row of another cross during sowing, and sometimes a seedling drops onto the work bench during repotting and loses its identity that way. There are numerous ways for an individual to become misidentified. Myriad are the tribulations for the hybridizer attempting to document (accurately?) his work. Alas.

Since I did a lot of work with 'Midnight Blue' in 2006, I am assuming this is one of its progeny. What the other parent might have been is up for debate. Could have been 'Tradescant', 'Dragon's Blood', 'Arthur Bell', or 'Brown Velvet'; all four were used in 2006. I could guess, but that would be pointless, since I have seen similar seedlings result from a wide variety of crosses. Ah well, its a decent individual, and has earned a spot out in the final test garden. Its all fun and games, ain't it? *laughs*

26-09-14, a few days later.

2011-04-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

For a rose hybridizer, that sudden rush of seedlings flowering for the first time is a lot like Christmas: each one a gift that nobody has ever seen before, the product of much patience and tender cultivation. Such anticipation. Except its a kind if alternate reality Christmas where Tim Burton has made the rules: most of the presents are lumps of coal, with the occasional utilitarian pair of socks in grey or white. Nothing offensive, nothing exciting......and so many lumps of coal. We all aim, us hybridizers, to create diamonds. Lots of 'em. But the reality is that most of what we get is dull chunks of carbon by the bushel. So be it. The diamonds do appear, if only rarely.

A couple of days ago I posted a photo of a bud of a 'Hansa' hybrid I had been anticipating. This is what I got:

A throwback to its species origin. Ah well. Perhaps it has a trick or two up its sleeve yet. After all, genetically it has an infusion on both sides of its ancestry of non-Rugosa genes. It might look like an ordinary R. rugosa, but what about its genotype? Maybe it will breed something more interesting. Maybe its not a lump of coal at all, maybe it is a sock after all: a sock with a purpose.

0-47-19 poised to bloom

2011-04-19T06:57:00.001-07:00

Remember this earlier photo?

26-09-14

2011-04-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

26-09-14: Hansa X "Magseed"
I have owned Hansa for nearly thirty-five years, and this is the first time I have used it in breeding. (Although I used a twelve year old propagation of the original plant as the seed parent) It took fifteen years of meddling with rose genetics for me to realize how much I needed to be working with the Rugosas, although I occasionally used one or other of the Hybrid Rugosas in combination with various other moderns, usually with dreadful results. (I believe the Rugosas are especially incompatible with roses descended from the China section of the family, often resulting in severe health problems. If you have ever grown Rose a Parfum de l'Hay, you will know what I mean)

So in 2009 I rethought what I was doing with Rugosas and decided to take a rather different route: I combined strongly related Hybrid Rugosas with each other, and with various diploid species. This cross was inspired by David Austin's Rugosa, Mrs. Doreen Pike, a cross of Martin Frobisher and Roseraie de l'Hay. (Don't confuse the latter with aforementioned Hybrid Rugosa I spoke of disparagingly: these two are very different animals.) essentially Austin was crossing two roses of Strong Rugosa pedigree and recovered most of the Rugosa character, while introducing a more double, elaborate bloom form. The plant has also recovered much of the Rugosa health, which is a very welcome thing.

Back to this seedling, 26-09-14: it is now about 13 months old and about to open it's first bloom. The plant itself is indistinguishable from it's species ancestors, with the same bright green, rugosa foliage and stocky, thorny growth. This seedling, and all of it's 15 siblings, are completely disease free so far, but it's early to make any long term predictions about health until the selections have spend a couple years out in the garden. Still, I sense that these are promising. The exposed petals so far indicate a typical deep Rugosa magenta hue, which isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. I am hopeful some will be more of a red color, something inheritable from Magseed. (by the way, Magseed is a sibling of Linda Campbell, from a cross of the miniature Anytime X Rugosa Magnifica, with blooms that start out a bright Cherry red and fade to more of a magenta.) I am hoping that this seedling picks up some of Anytime's fast and generous rebloom habit. At this point, I can only guess. And hope!

First pollination 2011

2011-04-07T12:29:00.001-07:00

Pteragonis X Suzanne
Curiouser and curiouser.

The main breeding house is really leafing out.

2011-03-28T19:52:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afR7ecYM_MM&sns=em

Cross #155-10

2011-03-27T09:55:00.001-07:00

0-47-19 X R. roxburghii normalis

Cross #16-10

2011-03-27T09:52:00.001-07:00

Westerland X Marianne
Rather excited to see the first of these.

Cross #150-10

2011-03-27T09:48:00.001-07:00

Anytime X Suzanne

Shrub shape

2011-03-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

With every passing year, am more and more concerned with the shrub habit of the roses I breed. The rose shown here illustrates why: the plant has rounded, compact form, is foliated right to the base of the plant, and the bloom is well distributed over the entire canopy. I consider the effect to be extremely pleasing and much more attractive than the majority of Hybrid Teas that have dominated commerce for more than a century.
This is 'Treasure Trail' one of my relatively recent Moss Shrubs introduced by Rogue Valley Roses. It resulted from a cross of 'Condoleezza' and 'Scarlet Moss', both Ralph Moore Moss hybrids, and both descended from Moore's first miniature Moss, 'Fairy Moss'. I expect 'Treasure Trail' has inherited it's compact nature and bloom distribution habit from both sides of it's ancestry; both are small/smallish plants with lots of branching and tend to flower on short laterals.
I expect that compact, free-blooming shrubs like this are going to be easier to market in the years to come, with few people caring to invest a lot of energy into caring for a garden; folks are going to pick one or two roses for patio pots or to integrate into a modest mixed border, and they will want a plant that doesn't require chronic manicuring in order to make a presentable plant. The specimen you see below has, in fact, not been pruned or shaped in any way in two seasons, and yet it maintains an attractive outline and continues to perform well.
What do YOU think? Is this the kind of plant that appeals to you, and if so, what do you like about it?

From the photo library: Ralph Moore's quest for the crest.

2011-03-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

I found this great photo of buds of Ralph's crested breeder, C-04. It is a back-cross of Crested Jewel onto Little Darling, its momma. This is a very dwarf plant, to two feet, and lacking vigor. It does, however, bloom like as mad thing, and passes the cresting on to offspring. But the offspring are invariably weak plants with very poor vigor and zero disease resistance. I keep it as a novelty and a reminder of the good old days with Ralph and Carolyn at the nursery.

The first seeds are up already.

2011-03-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

Curiously, it's a cross of R. arkansana and Lilac Charm!

Its official: brown rose up for auction!

2011-03-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

"Brown" mini seedling naming auction at Rogue Valley Roses.

192-09-04: revisiting the Hybrid Bracteatas?

2011-03-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Years ago Ralph Moore urged me to take home a plant of his 1999 Hybrid Bracteata 'Out of Yesteryear' for breeding purposes. He felt it offered the greatest potential for hybridizing what had been till that point a rather difficult species to work with. (You can obtain hybrids from R. bracteata but the offspring are often weak, infertile, or die before reaching flowering size, making further hybridizing difficult or impossible.) Ralph was right, of course; 'Out of Yesteryear' proved a valuable parent in the work I was doing in the early 2000s. However.....

'Out of Yesteryear' has its limitations. For me, the biggest obstacle was its tendency to wash most of the color out of its progeny. You could cross it with the darkest yellows, the richest oranges and reds and end up with pale buttery yellows, pinks and the occasional peachy "art shade". Oh, and white. Lots and lots of white. I quickly began to focus on working with the most strongly pigmented offspring, moving away from 'Out of Yesteryear' as quickly as possible. One such seedling was 174-02-17, which I have spoken of several times. (Click the link to see the posts mentioning it) Still, I wished there was a true RED Bracteata hybrid to work with. So, periodically I have gone back to 'Muriel', Moore's original hybrid, to poke around in its gene pool in search of better color.

Enter stage left: 192-09-04. The seedling pictured here is a cross of ('Penny Ante' X 'Tradescant') and 'Muriel'. The seedling used as seed parent is one I find I often go to to search for color in difficult situations. While the plant itself is very stiffly upright in the manner of many Hybrid Teas, it produces astonishing panicles of up to 40 blooms and does not exceed six feet in height. It will take pollen from absolutely anything and most all seeds germinate, so it has become a kind of "go to guy" in my arsenal of breeders.

So, in May of 2009 I dash a bit of 'Muriel' pollen on a few blooms of it and voila! We have the seedling pictured above. I can't provide a lot of data about the plant yet, as it made only minimal growth in year one: it is still only 14" tall and three branches. It bloomed twice in year one, which suggests it will be free blooming. It appears to have no pistils/stigmas, so it is likely to function as a pollen parent only, assuming there is any fertility there at all. (I have seen little evidence of stamens yet either, but won't rule out the possibility until it is older) Only time and trial will tell. Still, I am hopeful. It has remarkably good coloring for a 'Muriel' hybrid; perhaps I tapped in to the 'Guinee' red in its background when mating it with my "Penny-trad".

Side note: sowing the 2010 crop of seed today, hoping to finish up the task. (I started two days ago) I can't believe its THAT time already! Yikes. Have a good weekend, all.

Unseasonable weather = unwelcome weather.

2011-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've spent the past 48 hours moving far too many container roses into two of the six greenhouses so they can be protected in a propane-heated space during this cold snap. (Last night was not as cold as the anticipated 22F; tonight is expected to be as low as 15F!!! New foliage doesn't appreciate that kind of cold, ugh.)

The photo isn't particularly relevant to the discussion, it just illustrates that a bit of snow here, rare as it is, can render a pretty landscape. (panoramic image courtesy of my iPhone 4. Our technology is truly remarkable, ain't it?!)

It only took a year.

2011-02-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

R. glauca X ('Orangeade' R. fedtschenkoana)

This cross was planted in late February of 2010, and this is one of two seedlings that germinated in the tray.....a full year later! I had a feeling that these R. glauca seeds might take quite a while to germinate, so I kept the flat for a year. Good thing I did!

I'm not at all sure what to expect from a cross like this, but I am quite certain there will be no reblooming seedlings here. Like many hybridizers, I am interested in R. glauca because of its exceptionally graceful shrub architecture, and its unique bluish/pink tinted foliage. (Not to mention its excellent Winter hardiness, something most modern remontants lack entirely) The Rupert-bred R. fedtschenkoana hybrid that played pollen donor also has some unique traits, including its shrubby bush form and matte foliage that, while a bright grass green itself, tends to pass on bluish tones to its offspring. If I'm very lucky, I might find this is a match that emphasizes blue-tinted foliage so valued in R. glauca. It is a difficult species to work with, apparently, and even germinating the seeds, as I have seen, can be a challenge.

Further reading: Louis Riel is one of the more interesting R. glauca hybrids in commerce, and has been proven fertile in breeding. Very interesting indeed.

An in depth look at Moore's yellow breeder, 1-72-1

2011-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

“1-72-1” (1972):
Breeding: ‘Little Darling’ X ‘Yellow Magic’

1-72-1 is a sibling to Moore's most famous yellow, 'Rise 'N' Shine'. It is in many ways a nearly identical rose except in stature; where 'Rise 'N' Shine' is a compact plant rarely exceeding 15 inches, 1-72-1 is much larger, with somewhat arching canes to three feet or more. Both roses have a beautifully clear yellow coloring that even forty years later is hard to improve upon, but of the two I think 'Rise 'N' Shine' has the more elegant flower form.
At the time of their creation Moore was referring to shrubs like 1-72-1 as "climbing miniatures" in order to improve their marketability. It would have been very difficult in the 1970's and 1980's to sell a "miniature" rose that grew to 4 X 4 feet!

Most people don't realize that 1-72-1 almost made it into commerce in the '70s, as a kind of larger version of 'Rise 'N' Shine'; Moore submitted the rose for the American Rose Society's Award of Excellence program, and Ralph said that if it won the award, he'd put it on the market. Unfortunately it didn't win, and so it remained at Sequoia Nursery where it was put to work as a breeder. Maybe it was better that way, as it turns out to have been one of the most important miniature breeders of Moore's career, and he made good use of it. Over the years it became clear to Moore that 1-72-1 was much more able to breed strongly colored offspring than its sibling 'Rise 'N' Shine', which tended to breed a lot of whites and very pale hues. Kim Rupert has more to say about this outstanding breeding plant:

“The final unsung hero of this tale is a relative new comer. Her sister got all the glory, while she was the wallflower. I guess it’s kind of hard to be noticed when your sister is the legendary ‘Rise N Shine’. “1-72-1” came from the same cross of ‘Little Darling’ X ‘Yellow Magic’ that produced ‘Rise N Shine’, and was selected in 1972. She was chosen as a parent because she consistently produces yellow seedlings, while ‘Rise N Shine’ gives mostly white ones. In the eighteen years of introductions of her offspring, thirteen outstanding roses have resulted. She has been mated to ‘Crested Jewel’ to produce ‘Chelsea’ (1986), the first mini to possess crested sepals from ‘Crested Moss’; ‘Old Blush’ to produce ‘Pink Poodle’(1992); and back to ‘Floradora’ to create the outstanding ‘Sequoia Ruby’ (1996). Mr. Moore has even bred her to new roses not yet on the market. Week’s ‘Shadow Dancer’, itself a Moore rose, when crossed with 1-72-1 gave the delightful ‘Twister’. It’s a short climber that can be grown as a neat little shrub. It has the cleanest, brightest red, pink and white stripes yet, on ‘Cecile Brunner’ style flowers.”
For the breeder and collector, ‘Softee’ represents one of the more interesting varieties to me. Pollen from “1-72-1” was placed on “0-47-19” producing a nearly thornless, heavily blooming, little shrub. The fragrant flowers are double, soft, creamy yellow aging off-white. There is really no telling what could come from using ‘Softee’ as a parent. When I asked why he had never tried it, Mr. Moore responded he had never thought of it. I believe it important because it brings his two most successful breeders together in one rose.”

From the article, Out Of China: “Another seedling produced by the same lot as 'Rise 'N Shine; became #1-72-1, a repeat flowering miniature climber. This sister seedling of 'Rise 'N Shine' was never introduced but we have used it extensively in our breeding. From crosses of 1-72-1 X 'Gold Badge' (Floribunda) have come 'Cal Poly', (also an Award of Excellence winner), 'Work of Art', an orange blend mini climber and others.”

Known first generation offspring includes:

1979: ‘Orange Cascade’: 1-72-1 X ‘Magic Wand’, Climbing Miniature, orange Blend.
1983: ‘High Stepper’: 1-72-1 X ‘Magic Wand’, Climbing Miniature, yellow blend.
1983: ‘Softee’: 0-47-19 X 1-72-1, Miniature, white.
1986: ‘Chelsea’: 1-72-1 X ‘Crested Jewel’, medium pink, some cresting on sepals.
1987: ‘Joycie’: 1-72-1 X ‘Gold Badge’, Miniature, orange blend.
1987: ‘Snow Twinkle’: 1-72-1 X ‘Magic Carousel’, Miniature, white.
1988: ‘Golden Gardens’: 1-72-1 X ‘Gold Badge’, Miniature, medium yellow.
1989: ‘Work of Art’: 1-72-1 X ‘Gold Badge’, Climbing Miniature, orange blend.
1991: ‘Vi’s Violet’: 1-72-1 X ‘Angel Face’, Miniature, mauve.
1992: ‘Cal Poly’: 1-72-1 X ‘Gold Badge’, Miniature, medium yellow.
1992: ‘Pink Poodle’: 1-72-1 X ‘Old Blush’, Miniature, pink blend.
1993: ‘Tag-a-Long’: 1-72-1 X ‘Make Believe’, Miniature, red blend.
1993: ‘Orchid Jubilee’: 1-72-1 X ‘Make Believe’, Climbing miniature, mauve.
1996: ‘Sequoia Ruby’: 1-72-1 X ‘Floradora’, Climbing miniature, medium red.
1997: ‘Twister’: 1-72-1 X ‘Shadow Dancer’, Climbing Miniature, red blend.
1998: ‘Woodstock’: 1-72-1 X ‘Clytemnestra’, Climbing miniature, yellow blend.
2002: 'Star Dust': 1-72-1 X ‘Out of Yesteryear’, Miniflora, white blend.
2003: 'Lemon Pearls': 1-72-1 X 'Out of Yesteryear'.
2005: ‘Keith’s Delight’: 1-72-1 X ‘Rugelda’.

There have been a number of other hybrids created by Kim Rupert in recent years, marrying 1-72-1 with R. fedtschenkoana hybrids and R. hugonis, to name just two. Kim's hybrids tend to be highly unconventional shrubs that are highly experimental yet attractive, aiming to improve the shrub architecture, while exploring new aesthetic paradigms.

I too have employed 1-72-1 in my work in recent years, with various goals in mind. Most recently, I made a number of crosses using yellow breeders in combination with the AgCan breeder L83 (A. Kordesii hybrid) including 1-72-1 as one parent. I was surprised at how many seedlings displayed medium to strong yellow or orange tones from this cross. Of these, I have selected three seedlings which have superior disease resistance and have demonstrated the ability to form seeds. These will be used in breeding to pursue the creation of a modest-sized yellow shrub rose that will withstand cold winters and have improved disease resistance.

Relatively recent additions to my 1-72-1 family includes 58-06-05 and 58-06-03
two beautifully pigmented "brown" miniatures. (although at between three and five feet tall, they can hardly be called true miniatures, even though they meet the ARS guidelines for such shrubs. Its hard to know what to call these odd-sized plants) Here is 58-06-03:

How I'm spending my mornings lately.

2011-02-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Cleaning rose seeds, thousands and thousands of 'em, till my fingertips are stained black!

"Horizontal trellising"

2011-02-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

This is something you should probably file under "Don't Do This At Home". *laughs*

When you manage a large collection of roses, especially one in which new seedlings are generated by the thousands every year (for 13 years!), you are inclined to let certain housekeeping chores slip. Case in point is what you see happening in the photo here. Years ago, I shoved a seedling flat under a bench after I had potted up the seedlings in it. (The red arrow in the lower left points at the outline of the flat) Every year a small percentage of seeds germinate much later than their flat-mates, often not until the Fall or the following Spring. Such was the case here: the flat lay under the bench, undisturbed, and here we are 6 or 7 years later with late germinating seedlings well rooted into the soil below the flat, and sending up vigorous canes through the metal grid bench tops! Three times now I have hacked these seedlings down to stumps, and this is how they look this weekend: happy and rarin' to go. As it happens, one of these is a seedling that hasn't yet flowered: a cross of ("Lemon D" X 'Scarlet Moss') X 'Fakir's Delight', all of which are complex Moss hybrids from Ralph Moore's library of inventive crosses. So, I don't dig these out because I am waiting to see this last, late seedling bloom.

At the far left side of the frame you see a hint of another seedling that escaped its flat entirely. It reaches to the roof of the house now and is wickedly thorny, although as is often the case with roses of modern Moss pedigree, the thorns are not particularly sharp and it would take some effort to actually injure yourself on them. I have documented the left-most seedling in previous posts, labeling it as simply "Floor Moss". Click the link to see a photo. I'm using "Floor Moss" in breeding now, since it tends to be very clean and has great vigor. Oh yeah, and the blooms ain't bad either.

One of my 2011 registrations

2011-02-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

Its official: one of my 2011 introductions has had its registration completed. Meet 'Etienne', a Hybrid Gallica bred in 2004. It will be available through Rogue Valley Roses in the very near future!

I told ya so

2011-02-02T20:33:00.001-08:00

Always one of the first to leaf out in the breeding house: Ralph's 'Joycie'.

Greenhouse cleanup continues

2011-02-02T20:31:00.001-08:00

This is the main "stud house" where the majority of the breeding plants are concentrated. Every year a few plants get retired from service and a few new cultivars are brought into service. Right now I am finishing up the removal of last year's foliage and getting weeds pulled. (damned Oxalis!) this week I am seeing new foliage on a few things in this house. It's barely February!!!

My assistant

2011-01-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

"These flats are ready for dumping, boss!!!"

0-47-19 tidied up and ready to go.

2011-01-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

This is the Moore Rambler 0-47-19, a typical Wichurana Rambler in most every way. I keep several plants of it on the farm, because you never know when a Gopher or other force of nature might decide to destroy a plant. Backups are as meaningful in an archive of plants as they are with your hard drive!
Twas a pleasant afternoon yesterday and so I spent a pleasant hour in greenhouse 3 tidying up this 0-47-19, getting the canes all wound together into orderly fashion, so they'd be accessible for pollination in May.

A public service announcement.

2011-01-25T11:35:00.001-08:00

Downy Mildew. If you have ever had to deal with it in your greenhouse (or worse, your garden) you will be clenching your teeth in dread right now. If you are not familiar with it, count your blessings. It would be wise to do a bit of reading, though, just so you know what you are dealing with should you ever have it happen to you.

Read on.

Thanks to the Marin Rose Society for publishing this resource.

Un-named Gallica seedling, circa 1999.

2011-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

This has been sitting in my archive of seedlings from over a decade ago, loved but not shared. Every once in a while I look at it long and hard and think "This thing is so beautiful....but totally redundant; an anachronism."

And so, it remains in my garden, undistributed. As any hybridizer will tell you, you end up accumulating an array of seedlings that fall into the redundant category; lovely but commercially irrelevant. I'm never really sure what to do with these creatures. Do I just propagate a few and share them with the few "collectors" who would appreciate them, letting them out un-named? I still don't know the answer to that one. What to do, what to do....

Penny-trad: my "Little Darling"

2011-01-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned this plant in previous posts (See: 77-07-12) but haven't written about it specifically in a post of its own, so.....

Years ago I was given an un-named seedling by my friend Duane Coyier, a retired plant pathologist. It was a self-seedling of 'Poker Chip' that Duane liked and he was of the opinion that it might have merit as a breeder. (It was eventually registered officially as 'Penny Ante', see: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.38197) Needless to say, I put it to work in my breeding program, not so much because I thought it had particular merit, but because I had it, and I was willing to give any rose that made seed readily a chance. (You tend to use whatever you have available to you at any given time)

'Penny Ante' presents nicely shaped HT style miniature blooms in a rich yellow tinted with red. Blooms open very fast and do fade, but otherwise are quite pretty for the type. The plant is very upright and stiff and rather lacking in balance of architecture, in my opinion, a characteristic it tends to pass on a bit too easily. Still, it has turned out to be a very useful breeding plant and has some very useful traits: it blooms in truly massive clusters, up to 40 blooms on a spike, which it often passes on to offspring. It also has excellent vigor and reblooms much better than its English parent.

Ralph Moore often told me he thought the miniatures had the ability to pass on some valuable properties to future generations, including abundance/frequency of bloom. I can see now just how right he was. Although it doesn't have stellar disease resistance, "Penny-Trad" has a track record of breeding some highly disease-free seedlings, when mated with the right thing.

You just never know where your best breeders are going to come from.

The little stuff: 81-02-01

2011-01-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

81-02-01: 'Oakington Ruby' X 'Little Chief', 2002. Nicknamed "Priscilla Plumbbob".

It is undeniable that Ralph Moore's work heavily influenced my own vision of rose breeding in the early 2000s. At times I even sought to mirror some of his own efforts, if for no other reason than to simply see first hand what kind of variations could be had with such crosses. It is worth remembering that when a hybridizer releases a selection into commerce, that we, the consumers, are seeing only one plant the breeder considered to be the best of the lot. The rest of the seedlings tell a much bigger story: perhaps the selected one was the only seedling of merit in a sea of junk. Or perhaps there were dozens of runners up that were so, so close to ideal that many were considered for commerce. Or maybe germination was terrible and there were only five seedlings to evaluate at all! You never know. I've seen all of these scenarios in my own work.

Back to the rose in the photo. I shared Ralph's fascination for tiny roses, and was especially fond of one of the key contributors to modern miniature breeding: 'Oakington Ruby'. It can be a great little shrub, and is totally China-like in all its aspects, except its small stature and tiny plant parts. I played with it a bit years ago, crossing it with other minis mostly, just to see what I would get. 81-02-01 was one such cross: 'Oakington Ruby' X 'Little Chief', the latter being born out of a curious pedigree involving a R. multibracteata hybrid, R. wichurana, 'Slater's Crimson China', and "Rouletii". As a breeder, 'Little Chief' has a reputation for being finicky as a seed parent but very generous as a pollen parent. I've used it on things like R. foliolosa and gotten some striking results. In the case of 81-02-01, seedlings were a lot more typical of this kind of breeding: lots of very small plants in pinks and reddish hues, well-branched, largely unremarkable. (I did release one as a kind of "collectors item" rose, named 'Oui'. Click here to view it on HMF)

This cute little pink number is one of my favorites of the lot, but has not been introduced into commerce, as I regard it as a bit of an anachronism and hardly something a lot of people are going to be interested in. It is 8 years old now and still happily occupies a 5 gallon pot, and has not exceeded 15" tall and about as wide. It is intermediate in style between the two parents and fairly thorny. I presents its bloom in clusters spread attractively across its canopy of dense, bright green growth and is in bloom on and off all season. The candy pink blooms are about an inch across, very double and have an unusual sweet candy-like fragrance, similar to the scent of certain China cultivars. It sets seed on occasion, although I have never tried to germinate them. Maybe I will sow a few this year, just out of curiosity.

Listing on HMF

118-09-14

2011-01-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

My apologies for posting an article about this same seedling twice; I wrote this last night, assuming I hadn't spoken about it before, but I did, last August. Still, its a different photo and I said some things here that I didn't the first time, so here we go....

118-09-14
Breeding: 42-03-02 X R. pisocarpa

The seed parent I used is one I am using more often as time goes by; a self seedling of Ralph Moore's Wichurana Rambler 0-47-19. (0-47-19 is a cross between R. wichurana and 'Floradora') My seedling 42-03-02 has been described in my blog before, but briefly, it is a dwarf-ish shrub to about 3 X 3 feet, with glossy small foliage and a constant supply of one inch deep pink to purple blooms in clusters of up to 30. It is extremely healthy and sets seed readily. It also happens to be a diploid.

In this case, the pollen parent I used is a particularly dark selection of R. pisocarpa that is growing near my home. At least 20 seedlings were selected from this cross in Summer 2010 and now reside in gallon cans. These were all extremely vigorous and quite healthy, but as expected, they have not flowered yet.....except the one shown here. This seedling, #14 began flowering sparingly in July, and bloomed twice more before cold weather shut it down for the year.

This is completely unexpected behavior, as none of these should be repeat blooming. Clearly this seedling shows R. pisocarpa influence, and in fact more closely resembles the species parent than it does the seed parent. Although rose genetics are, for the most part, quite straightforward, there are plenty of surprises to be found, especially when unconventional breeding lines are involved. (Yes, in this era I regard work with native species as "unconventional", although many of my peers - amateur hybridizers like myself - are often heavily invested in species work)

Ralph Moore and the Rugosa hybrids: 'Peach Candy'

2011-01-17T12:38:00.000-08:00

'Peach Candy', bred by Moore, introduced by Sequoia Nursery in 1995. Parentage: 'Sheri Anne' X 'Topaz Jewel'.

Ralph Moore did considerable work in the past 20 years with various Rugosa hybrids. There wasn't a breeding line at Sequoia Nursery that didn't get some Rugosa genes injected into it at some stage. The results, of course, varied wildly; some were spectacularly unique, some were monsters with a renegade persona, some were tragic mutants that signaled a mismatch of genetics from widely divergent branches of the family tree. My recollection when discussing these breeding lines with Ralph is that many seedlings were troubled in some way and very, very few were noteworthy.

One of the most successful of the Hybrid Rugosas Ralph bred was 'Topaz Jewel', a stunning soft medium yellow hybrid from a cross of 'Golden Angel' X 'Belle Poitvine'. Many breeders, Ralph included, have sought to take 'Topaz Jewel' a step further in the hopes of generating a true yellow Rugosa hybrid that has the toughness of the Rugosas and the generous rebloom of more modern hybrids. Unfortunately that hasn't been easy. I know that some people continue to try to work with it, and in spite of the fact that it apparently is a diploid, (no aneuploidy as far as we know) it almost never sets any seed and its pollen rarely, if ever, results in seed set on other hybrids. Ralph himself produced but one hybrids from 'Topaz Jewel', the lovely 'Peach Candy' pictured here. It has none of the characteristics of its Rugosa pedigree (unless you count its reluctance to propagate from cuttings), looking like a rather ordinary peachy-hued Miniature.

Some goals, no matter how persistent the breeder, just aren't going to get you where you hoped to go. Still, it doesn't hurt to try.

58-06-07/05: the "Brown Sisters"

2011-01-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

Breeding: 1-72-1 (Moore, 1972, sister seedling to 'Rise 'N' Shine') X 'Hot Cocoa'.

The seedling at top is 58-06-05, the lower photo is of its sister, 58-06-07. There were other selections from this cross back in '07, but they were discarded for various reasons. (I seem to recall the others were rather ordinary oranges and soft yellows; nothing remarkable) These two were kept for their remarkable coloring, the first one being the most dramatic of the two, as you can see. It is very difficult to capture the color of either with a camera, but these photos come close to being accurate. If you are familiar with the old Floribunda 'Jocelyn', or Sam McGredy's 'Brown Velvet', then you have some idea how these two look.

58-06-07 (the second one) has very shapely flowers very reminiscent of its seed parent. 1-72-1 often breeds bloom form like this, which is why Moore liked working with it so much. (That and the fact that it often breeds good, strong colors) I'm not sure about the future of 58-06-07 though, since it doesn't produce quite enough volume of bloom, tending to produce one or two blooms at the end of a shoot. That ain't a trait I like to see in my work, so I may try it as a breeder and just leave it on the bench for a while.

The other one, the richly colored 58-06-05, is a much more generous bloomer, producing most of its bloom in clusters of three or more, and quite a lot of them too. Like its sister, it is a tallish, upright grower, although it is well branched, eventually forming a pillar-shaped bush to about 4 or 5 feet tall. No doubt it could be trained into a bushier form, if you wanted to.

This year, I have decided to submit this variety to Rogue Valley Roses to auction off the naming rights. If it works out, I will likely select a new seedling every year to auction off. Rogue Valley doesn't yet have any information on their site to announce the details of this offer, but I expect it will be coming quite soon. I'll let you know more about it when it happens.

One more thing......

2011-01-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

I found a Sequoia Nursery catalog from 1959, the year I was born, featuring many of the best of the Moore roses to that point. Available here as a PDF file. Enjoy!

From the Ralph Moore archives, on Ralph's 104th birthday

2011-01-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

Another memento from the Ralph Moore archive, on his 104th birthday: a flyer advertising the introduction of 'Bit 'O' Sunshine', probably mailed out in 1956, the year of its introduction.

Interesting story about 'Bit 'O' Sunshine': back in the early 2000's, Carolyn Supinger, Sequoia's general manager sent me a list of Ralph's roses that she was trying to find plants of, so Sequoia could "bring home" as many of the Moore roses as were still around. Of course, many of the pre-1960 varieties remain lost and in all likelihood are extinct now. However, many "lost" cultivars did find their way back to Sequoia Nursery.

Shortly after Jerry Justice died, I was visiting with his nursery manager, Santos, who was sorting the inventory and dispatching it as responsibly as she could. I was sorting through a tray of 'Rise 'N' Shine's I was buying and in the tray was a half dozen plants that were clearly not 'Rise 'N' Shine'. I pointed this out to Santos who didn't know what they were. So, I took them home with me, knowing that Carolyn was looking for some of Ralph's older roses. Who knows, right?

I sent three plants to Carolyn at Sequoia, and she gave them to Ralph for identification. Well, guess what? Ralph said they were 'Bit 'O' Sunshine', one of his varieties from the mid-fifties. One other "lost" variety was found growing at Justice Miniatures that year as well: 'Strawberry Swirl', one of the early Mini Mosses Moore bred.

Many of the early Moore roses remain lost at this time, with little hope of recovery. After fifty years or more, there is slim chance that any of them are still alive in private gardens around the country. Still, it is a testament to Ralph that well over 3/4 of his 500+ hybrids are still grown and many are in commerce to this day. (In spite of the serious decline in people's interest in roses, especially the miniatures. )

As it happens, I have living specimens of all three of the roses listed in this flyer!

Ralph Moore's 104th Birthday

2011-01-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

Today would have been Ralph Moore's 104th birthday. This is to say thanks, Ralph, for all of the knowledge you have shared with many of us, and a personal thank you for sharing with me a number of your most valued breeding plants. They are getting a workout here, I assure you!

I believe the photos shown here are all by Carolyn Supinger, Moore's general manager for many years at Sequoia Nursery. It would be at about this time of the year that Ralph would have been sowing the previous year's seed crop, as he is doing in the upper two images. In the third image it is late Spring and Ralph is weeding out unwanted seedlings to make room for the better ones. In the last two images, Ralph and I are talking about thornlessness in roses. If I am not mistaken, the plant I am looking at ended up being named 'Gina's Rose', one of the thornless shrubs bred from 'Basye's Legacy'.

Thank you Ralph, for all the glorious roses, and for showing the rest of us how to approach rose breeding with creative abandon.

72-08-11

2011-01-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

I finally located a photo of an open bloom of 72-08-11 (Condoleezza X William III), mentioned last Spring in a blog post. Not much of a photo (low res from my iPhone) but you get the idea. This reminds me of 'Great Maiden's Blush' in color and form, and it has a decent fragrance as well. See the spiky mossing on the bud in the upper left?

I plan on working a few of this group of 72-08s into breeding this coming spring, assuming any of them have fertility. Who knows, maybe the Spinisissima genes will be a new resource for winter hardiness and disease resistance.

From the archive, #3

2011-01-04T10:51:00.001-08:00

121-06-14 = 174-02-17 (Sheri Anne X Out of Yesteryear) X Tradescant.

Once again, I am indoors by the wood stove on a cold and foggy morning, sorting through my photo archives as part of a dual effort: catalog the photos, and locate pics appropriate to use in the new database I am building to document my breeding program. The seedling pictured here is currently under evaluation for its garden-worthiness, and it has great potential so far.

Speaking of databases, any of you hybridizers working with plants of any kind, looking for a great way to document your breeding plants and seedlings, I would like to recommend Tap Forms for the iOS platform. (iOS is the operating system that runs the Apple devices: iPhones, iPad, etc) Tap Forms has turned out to be the ideal tool for documenting in great detail every seedling I am using, and includes a way to include full sized photos, Web URLs for external reference, and all the stuff you'd expect to want to record, like growth habit, fertility, parentage, etc. etc. It also provides multiple ways to back up data, including an easy-as-pie sync to DropBox, where you can export the database as a CSV file. There is a free "lite" version available for the iPhone if you want to try before you buy. Check out Tap Forms in the iTunes App Store.

Winter beauty in the rose garden.

2011-01-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

I cannot be said that the garden....any garden, has nothing to offer in the Winter months. Roses, with their thorns and architecture, and even the occasional withered bloom or bud, are often a visual treat on a frosty morning.

Pictured here is a seed grown plant of R. sericea ptericantha, the Wingthorn Rose.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2011 be kind to you and your gardens.

Bulbophyllum echinolabium

2010-12-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

Contrary to popular perceptions, I do grow more than just roses. Behold: Bulbophyllum echinloabium, an Orchid native to Sulawesi and Celebes. My friend Helene owns Briggs Hill Orchids in Eugene, OR, and that is where my plant came from. I believe this was seed grown, and this is the first time it has bloomed in the two-plus years I have been culturing it. The bloom you see here is about 12" tall from tip to tip, but this species can produce blooms twice that size as it matures. Its "fragrance" is not unlike that of some deceased sea creature decaying on a warm beach. Lovely. (It looks better than it smells, if that wasn't clear)

"Undisclosed"

2010-12-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

"Undisclosed"

If you attempt to look up the pedigree of the David Austin roses of the past decade or so, that is what you'll see. As a "fellow explorer" in rose genetics, (No, I am not drawing any comparisons between myself and Mr. Austin) I find that rather annoying and disappointing. I'd like to know what went into the making of some of his current roses. Perhaps he is just protecting what he regards as "proprietary information", or maybe he just doesn't want us to know that he is using the likes of 'Fragrant Cloud' or (gawd forbid) 'Tropicana' to achieve his results. Who knows.

I gravitate much more towards Ralph Moore's way of thinking about such matters. Allow me to paraphrase him: What have I got to lose by sharing information about parentage of my roses? You can see my "recipe" for a rose, but without my personal "ingredients", you can't make the same "cake". And besides, by the time a rose makes it to market, I've already moved ahead by six or eight years or more, and so why would I care if someone tried to duplicate my results?

Makes sense to me. I'd rather describe in a fair bit of detail what I am working on and how I am getting there. Half the fun is getting pleasing results, the other half is sharing what I've learned in the process.

And just because it doesn't feel right to write a blog post without a picture, we have today: 19-02-03 from a cross of 'Joycie' X 'Crepuscule'.

Better version of recent slideshow

2010-12-23T12:17:00.001-08:00

Of course, I should have posted this video version of my rose photo book on YouTube in the first place, for its improved quality. It can be viewed full screen at 720HD if you wish, and you can pause the video if you want to read the text. I hope you like it. Happy Holidays!

Touring the photo library, Part II

2010-12-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

53-03-08: ('Tuscany Superb' X 'Othello') X 'The Yeoman'.

As you can probably decipher from the code number of this one (cross #53, year 2003, seedling #8 of that cross) I have had this for several years now and I've been watching its performance in the garden. I made the cross hoping for a percentage of repeaters, and yet none of the dozen or so I kept for testing have been repeaters. However, this one has other merits: it is totally Blackspot free (that is remarkable in this climate, where Blackspot rules) and is an aesthetic winner. It also bears a delicious fragrance, influenced by (but not a carbon copy replica of) its pollen parent, 'The Yeoman', whose Anise-scented blooms are anathema to some, and heaven-on-earth to others.

I have started propagating 53-03-08 and have sent a few plants out for testing on other regions. I don't exactly plan on releasing this commercially; I mean, do we really need more once-blooming pink roses? (Obviously rhetorical: my answer is no) Still, it is a lovely, easy to care for shrub. It appears to max out at about 7 feet tall and a bit wider, with an arching outline and no inclination to sucker widely.

December treat.

2010-12-18T14:57:00.001-08:00

43-09-02: 'Golden Glow' X 'Morden Sunrise'.

The idea here is improved winter hardiness in the yellow color range. Both parents are renowned for their ability to thrive in harsh, wintry climates, and so I hope to see some of that persist in this cross. At this point only two seedlings remain, and this is the nicer one of the two. Curiously, it has inherited the peculiar Cinnamon-like fragrance of its Canadian parent, 'Morden Sunrise'.
Its rather nice to have a late December bloom as pretty as this, just before Christmas. One might almost think spring was just around the corner. (HAH!)

Sorting through my photo library.

2010-12-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

I have so many photos I have to organize, its not funny. Most of it is documentation of the rose garden; seedlings and named varieties. I found this image from '08, illustrating my oldest specimen of 'Joyce Barden' my first commercial introduction from 1999.

Revisiting old work

2010-12-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

A seedling from around 2000: 'Charles de Mills' X 'La Belle Sultane'. It has been nicknamed "Farside deMills", a name that distinguishes it from its neighbors, by proximity.

This is a once-blooming hybrid, suckering growth habit, making an ever-widening thicket of 3 foot tall canes. You can see the influence of 'La Belle Sultane' in its Damask-like sepals, while the bloom form is clearly that of its seed parent. A lovely thing, although it has languished in test bed #1 for many years, having been disqualified for commercial purposes. (too hasty, perhaps?) Maybe I ought to auction off naming rights....hmmm.

Rosy slideshow

2010-12-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

With Spring seemingly so far away, I thought it would be nice to share a slideshow of garden photos. Enjoy!

This is a movie made using the content from a self-published book of my rose photos, entitled The Uncommon Rose Collection, published December 2010. There is a high resolution version available on YouTube here as well.

Beautiful Losers

2010-11-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

Seedling # 03-06-07: 'Hot Cocoa' X 'Dragon's Blood'. Few seeds from this cross germinated, and this is the sole survivor of the lot.

I can't quite make the photograph reflect the subtleties of hue that the bloom actually possesses; its not just a red, its that odd shade of Chinese red with an overlay of "smoke bush" purple that several of the "brown" roses has. Not even Photoshop can tweak it to accuracy. Oh well.

So, why the title of this post? Because I have been watching this seedling for three years now (pollinated in 2006, germinated in April of 2007) and I've been hoping it might eventually show some vigor and enthusiasm. It hasn't. It has never exceeded 18" tall and prefers to flower rather than build infrastructure. It also tends to die back rather badly even in our mild winters. I can just hear what you're thinking: maybe it just needs to be budded onto stronger roots? Well, yes....odds are that would improve its performance, but Since the rose industry is in such trouble now, I am insisting that any of my selections have to prosper on their own roots. Bud grafting just isn't an option anymore. Distribution of new cultivars may soon be the job of the many small "boutique" and home-grown nurseries, and few (if any) of those nurseries are going to have the ability or the willpower to propagate by bud grafting; it will all fall to propagation by cuttings. I need to pay attention to that, and assume that is where the future of commercial roses lies.

Anyway, it is a remarkable flower when it is doing well, with its 'Pat Austin' shaped cupped blooms and its muted cinnabar hued petals. Its just a shame the damn thing doesn't grow worth a hoot. Maybe it has something to offer as a pollen parent, maybe I'll give that a try next Spring.

Great Fall color

2010-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

This year I germinated two seeds from a cross of R. arkansana X 'Carlin's Rhythm', a tetraploid species X a modern tetraploid shrub descended from the Basye thornless breeding line. Neither of these two seedlings has flowered yet, but both are very attractive compact plants (so far) with the promise of a good growth habit. Although I've not seen the blooms yet, I know one thing for sure: I like the Fall foliage color! WOW!

Click for a full-sized image.

Pedro Dot

2010-10-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is a folio of photos and correspondence sent by Pedro Dot to Ralph Moore decades ago. I will be scanning these documents and formatting them into an article soon. These photos are unique and of great historical importance. I look forward to making them available to my readers.

44-09-13: Therese Bugnet hybrid

2010-10-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Another seedling showing great Fall color. This is a cross of (R. foliolosa X Little Chief) X Therese Bugnet. The foliolosa hybrids seem to have the best Fall color of all.

R. soulieana X R. foliolosa

2010-10-21T08:04:00.001-07:00

This is one of many various crosses using R. foliolosa that is starting to show exceptional Fall foliage coloring. What a nice trait to include. People seem to be unaware of the fact that roses can provide seasonal features beyond bloom color.

An Oddity

2010-10-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

As the years go by, you encounter many aficionados of The Rose who introduce you to some very curious things along the way. Certainly Ralph Moore has shown me, by far, the greatest number of rose oddities and today I want to introduce you to one of these.

This is the Reversion Sport of The Green Rose, R. chinensis viridiflora. It was discovered by Moore at Sequoia Nursery many years ago, growing as a lone branch on his mother plant of viridiflora, bearing semi-normal pink blooms. It doesn't always make such "regular" looking flowers as you see here; often they are halfway between normal and the odd green sepal formation of viridiflora. When they appear as ordinary pink China blooms, they are at their best.

As you can see, the Reversion Sport does produce normal reproductive parts, and in fact the plant will set seed if allowed to. (I don't recall whether these germinate or not, but I'm sure I have sown the seeds years ago) The appearance of this sport lends credibility to the supposition that viridiflora sported from 'Old Blush' at one time. Perhaps that's true! Curious, eh?

Having difficulty propagating a particular variety?

2010-10-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Got a rose that refuses to be propagated by cuttings or other means? You may want to try this approach.

I have a number of plants that have proven very difficult, if not impossible, to propagate by softwood cuttings during the growing season. A number of roses either lose their leaves immediately when cuttings are placed in the misting bed, or the stem turns black the moment it comes in contact with the rooting media. I've played around with alternative methods and found one very effective for most any rose: layering.

Well, its a kind of layering. I take any cane of a rose that can be bent to reach the soil surface (plants in pots or in the ground, either works) and bury a section of the cane under the soil, leaving a few inches of the growing tip exposed. I do not injure the cane in any way, nor do I use rooting hormones of any kind. In fact, the whole procedure is a rather lazy one; I just grab a cane when I happen to be near a plant I want to propagate, paddle out a bit of a hole in the soil surface and shove the cane in and pat it down. Nothing could be easier. In most cases, I found that these cane were rooted enough to remove the shoot and pot it up in four to six weeks.

Shown here is a shoot of the Spinosissima 'Suzanne', five weeks after pushing the cane into the soil. In the top photo, note the red arrow in the photo which is pointing at the original cane that was pushed under the surface, at just about the point that it enters the soil. Click on any of the photos to view a larger image.

You can see that it has not only produced a significant root system of its own, it has pushed up new shoots from below the soil surface to start forming a brand new mini-thicket of its own. The shoot was cut from its parent cane and potted up in a gallon can, as you can see here. It did not suffer any transplant shock at all (bear in mind I dug it on a cool, cloudy day) and appears ready to make a go of it. What could be easier?!

Moore's "Orange Moss", aka "OM".

2010-09-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note this morning before I get busy with chores.

I've grown Ralph Moore's "Orange Moss" ('Mark Sullivan' X 'Golden Moss') for quite a few years and I have come to love it for the many things it is, and lament it for the many things it is not. It is a remarkable leap forward in the breeding of the modern moss roses, something Ralph pioneered in the fifties. It is also deeply flawed, with its awkward, sprawling growth habit, sparse blooming habit, and insistence on producing an expert crop of mildewed growth from August onwards. And yet, when it does flower, the buds with their rich orange hues splashed with a smoldering red are remarkable. The open blooms are pure joy; glowing pure color and striking anthers beautifully displayed, plus it bears the richest fragrance, reminiscent of Orange Tang drink mix from my childhood!

Ralph told me personally, and documented it in writing also, that Orange Moss, while enthusiastically fertile as a pollen parent, did not set seeds. Perhaps it is a climate difference, but one of my greenhouse-kept specimens of it produced three hips in 2009. I did indeed save them and prepared the seeds along with all the rest of the 2009 crop, sowing them in March of this year. Three seedlings resulted, one of which you see here.

Two of the three were dreadfully mildewy creatures, barely holding on to life all Summer. One appears to be declining, while the second is holding on, even while consumed by Mildew. The third one, as you can see, is clean as can be, with deep green glossy foliage. I am potting this one up into a gallon can this AM, and with any luck I will see a flower next Spring. I hope that it might contain the genes for both mossing and the rich coloring of its parent. Remontancy is unlikely, I'm guessing, but who knows.

Doesn't that foliage just scream "I'm a goer!"?

Now that's the kind of thing I like to see.

2010-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

The seedling pictured here is one selection from a group of about twenty of this cross, germinated in March 2010. What isn't immediately apparent from the photo is the size of the plant; the container it is in is a five gallon "egg can" style nursery pot, with a lip diameter of about 14". The seedling itself is over 2.5 feet tall and has branched numerous times from the base. Already it is building an attractive architecture and displays a full compliment of foliage that persists to the base. Most of its siblings are also showing signs of vigor, health and attractive architecture.

Parentage:
79-02-PFC X 'Therese Bugnet'. The seed parent is R. foliolosa X 'Little Chief' and strongly resembles 'Basye's Purple'. See: 79-02-PFC

This is the kind of thing I like to see in my work nowadays, and this is much more the direction my work is taking; a lot of native species involvement and heavy use of plants like 'Therese Bugnet'. (which I am beginning to regard as a superb shrub. Now all we need is to improve in the rate of rebloom) No, I haven't seen bloom on any of these hybrids yet, but I didn't expect to till 2011 anyway. Many of these near-species crosses take at least a full year to start blooming anyway.

I also have a group of about 20 selections of R. foliolosa X 'Therese Bugnet' that are very similar in habit, but with even greater vigor, and in general, larger spaces between internodes. The R. foliolosa X 'Therese Bugnet' seedlings are also very sparingly thorned, some nearly thornless, in fact. I am looking forward to seeing first bloom on these in the Spring!

Disease resistance survey

2010-09-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Since 2007 I have pretty much quit applying fungicide sprays to my collection to prevent disease.* I have gathered data about the results with emphasis on identifying cultivars that prospered with little or no Blackspot infection. (I regard Blackspot as the single most destructive of the three major fungal diseases, as it has the ability to significantly weaken the plant, rendering it much more susceptible to freeze damage during Winter dormancy.)

I recognize, and wish to emphasize, that any list of highly disease resistant varieties compiled by one person in a specific region may be meaningful only to that particular site and/or geographic region. A cultivar that performed outstandingly in my garden may be a disaster in the South or the East, and vice versa. Keeping that in mind, the first group is a list of roses that I designate "Little or no infection". This group includes anything that kept at least 90% of its foliage even if it did suffer some Blackspot infection. Some cultivars had an infection rate of zero and these are marked with a +

William Baffin+
Mermaid+
Dortmund
Lady Hillingdon
Kathleen
Trier
Sidonie
Indian Love Call
Duchesse de Rohan
Cecile Brunner+
Marie Pavie
Salet
Clothilde Soupert
Pinkie, Cl.
Crested Damask
My Stars+
Basye's Blueberry+
News
Rosy Purple+
Westerland+
The Yeoman
Red Radiance
Blush Noisette+
Maria Leonidas+
James Mason+
Marie vanHoutte
Lilian Austin
The Green Rose (R. chinensis viridiflora)
Soupert et Notting
Tiffany+ (now there's a surprise!)
Penelope+
New Dawn
Mme. de LaRoche-Lambert
Konigin von Danemark
Great Maiden's Blush (some years it gets some infection and as such, would be placed in the second category.)
Tour de Malakof+
Ville de Bruxelles
William III+
Marianne
Ellen Tofflemire+
Nightmoss+
Souvenir de Claudius Denoyel
Marbree
Darlow's Enigma+
Wedding Cake (some years it fits in category 2 rather than here)
Pompon de Bourgogne+
William Shakespeare 2000 (NOT the original William Shakespeare, which has very poor disease resistance)
Renae+
Indigo+
Capitaine John Ingram+
Lamarque
Mrs. B. R. Cant
Precious Dream+
Little Mermaid+
Golden Wings (some years it fits in category 2 rather than here)
Star Magic+
Alberic Barbier+
Vineyard Song (some years this gets a + for complete immunity to Blackspot, 2010 included)
Basye's Purple
Russeliana
Dorothy Perkins+ (although, as most are aware, it Mildews quite readily from Mid-Summer on)
Banshee+
Errinerung an Brod (some years it fits in category 2 rather than here)
Gallicandy+
Blanc de Vibert (a very poor plant in most other ways, however)
Armide+
Buff Beauty
Excelsa+
American Pillar+
Joyce Barden
Mary Rose
R. centifolia cristata
Belle Amour+
Hebe's Lip+
Mutabilis (some years it fits in category 2 rather than here)
Veilchenblau
Hettie
Yellow Lady Banks (although none of the Banksieas are reliably Winter hardy here and have been removed from the collection)
Montecito
R. soulieana

Plus all of the Gallicas, with the exception of those that show conspicuous China or Hybrid Perpetual influence: these get some disease, often Mildew as well.

I include all of the North American species I grow as well. My R. clinophylla, two plants seed grown, from India, both suffer some Blackspot infection, although minimal.

List 2: Varieties that kept at least 75% of their foliage in spite of infection, and which outgrew disease quickly, with little impact on overall plant health.

Roundelay
Jeri Jennings
Distant Drums
Barbara Oliva
Incantation (some years it fits in category 1 rather than here)
Jayne Austin
Robert Leopold
Dick Koster
Reine des Violettes
Alice Hamilton
Rose de Rescht
R. damascena bifera
Charles Lawson
Souvenir de la Malmaison (although often plagued by terrible Mildew)
Sally Holmes
Mrs. William Paul
Constance Spry
Mme. Caroline Testout (some years it belongs in the 90% clean category)
Chianti (some years it doesn't belong in either group, as it does occasionally defoliate almost completely)
Sombreuil
Variegata di Bologna (sometimes it doesn't fare well enough to be on this list)
Marechal Niel
Yolande de Aragon (some years yes, some years no)
Violette
Portland from Glendora
Oshun
Sharifa Asma
Ghislaine de Felighonde
"Champagne Arches"
Smoky
Marchionesse of Londonderry
Pie IX
Verschuren
Kazanlik
Closer to Heaven
Belle Poitvine (and all of the "purebred" Rugosas)
Out of Yesteryear
Fakir's Delight
Linda Campbell
Sutter's Gold (some years not so good)
Golden Ophelia
Tradescent
Dragon's Blood
Violet Hood
Reveil Dijonnais
European Touch
Cuthbert Grant (This season it is one of the 90% and up varieties)
Floradora
Carlin's Rhythm
Soeur Therese
Hot Cocoa
Serendipity
Pelison
Fa's Marbled Moss
Savoy Hotel
Marchesa Bocella
Botzaris
Awakening
Mme. Alfred Carriere
Paul Ricault

The third list I have compiled is one assessing the many Miniatures I have in my archive, the vast majority of which are Ralph Moore hybrids. The following group indicates those which maintained at least 85% of their foliage at all times, whether infected with Blackspot or not. Some cultivars were totally immune to Blackspot in my garden and are marked with a +

Sweet Fairy +
Golden Century (near 100% immunity some years)
Blue Mist +
Hall of Flowers
Frostfire
Nurse Donna
Ora Kelly
Red Cascade
Red Wand, climber +
Tom Thumb
Magic Carousel
Cinderella (near 100% clean)
Magic Dragon
Apricot Twist + (reliably immune to all disease in all years tested)
Cal Poly +
Playgold
My Valentine
Rose Gilardi (near 100% immunity some seasons)
Glowing Amber
Magic Wand +
Sweet Chariot
Popcorn +
Little Meagan
Sequoia Gold
Red Alert
Red Germain
Little Buckaroo
Pinstripe
Stacey Sue
Star Dust
Splish Splash
Unconditional Love (near 100% clean some years)

I'm sure I have missed a few plants in compiling this list, which is easy to do when surveying a collection of over 2500 varieties. I'll remind readers that this list in no way in meant to indicate that all of these roses will perform similarly in all climates and in all sites/soil conditions. I know for a fact that some of the historic (OGR) varieties I list as highly disease free fare quite poorly in other regions. Still, it should at least provide some insight as to general health of the varieties listed.

*One exception to this is the Ralph Moore collection, which is one of only two or three complete collections of commercially released Moore roses to be seen anywhere. As the curator of such a collection I feel the need to continue spraying these to keep them in good health, as I have only one specimen each of the majority of these.

281-91-04: Ralph Moore's legacy of stripes.

2010-09-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

One of the most important contributions Ralph Moore made to modern roses is striping. Before Ralph took on the task, there were really no striped roses of note aside from a few OGRs that displayed the characteristic. 'Ferdinand Pichard' (bred by Tanne, France, 1921) was about the most modern striped rose available to growers, and it was in fact 'Ferdinand Pichard' that Ralph turned to in order to mine its genetic secrets for striping. Moore's first successful cross used the Floribunda 'Little Darling' as the seed parent, as it so often turned out to be the rose that would repeatedly serve as a "door opener" for Moore, paving a way forward where other roses failed to deliver. (Note that by today's standards, 'Little Darling' is an imperfect rose with many flaws, and has largely been abandoned as a breeder. However, at the time Ralph was working with it, it offered unique opportunities: fertility, pliability and the ability to breed fertile offspring even when crossed with the most difficult cultivars.)

The seedling pictured above, a cross of 'Anytime' X 'Shadow Dancer', was gifted to me about 6 years ago by Ralph personally, as he was considering it as a commercial introduction and was seeking more feedback about its performance. (In Visalia, apparently, it grows as a climber, but here in my climate it has not exceeded four feet.) You can see the 'Anytime' coloring it its blooms, right down to the curious lavender cast often seen in the center of the aging blooms. It is generous with blooms and often flowers in clusters of 7 or more, making for quite a display. It has no fragrance (not surprising, considering its pedigree) but has decent foliage health and good vigor.

Unfortunately this seedling never did make it into commerce while Ralph was alive, but with Texas A&M now managing the vast Moore collection of un-introduced seedlings, it might yet have its day in commerce. For now, I will experiment with it as a breeding plant. My first tests indicate that it is quite willing to pass on those striking 'Ferdinand Pichard' stripes that Ralph worked so hard to distill.

Mary's River Park practice burn.

2010-09-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite select from yesterday's shoot of the field burn the Fire Dept. did in the Western field.
Whoops! Totally posted this in the wrong blog, but what the heck. ;-)

141-09-02: un-named diploid X 'Home Run'

2010-09-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

141-09-02: un-named diploid Polyantha X 'Home Run'.

The rose used as a seed parent in this instance is a diploid Polyantha developed by David Zlesak and shared with me for breeding purposes. I don't have any record of its exact parentage, so I best not quote what I remember in case I'm wrong! The Zlesak Poly is a cluster flowering dwarf plant halfway between a Polyantha and a modern miniature in style, with clusters of 2" double, cupped crimson blooms bearing a pale, near-white reverse. To my nose, it offers a very respectable "fresh" scent. It is a very attractive little shrub and I hope David might consider it as a legitimate garden shrub of commercial value.

I used the "Z Poly" last year in conjunction with a number of other diploids with the goal of maintaining a strongly pigmented diploid line. I also included Carruth's 'Home Run' in the list of pollen parents, as it is a triploid and will presumably give both haploid and diploid pollen grains, and so this cross, 141-09, should include a mix of diploid and triploid offspring.

Many of the 141-09's were very good in terms of color, vigor and foliage. I selected about 15 seedlings for evaluation. Most are in shades of deep red or crimson, and most are singles or nearly single. All appear to be cluster blooming and many seem to have inherited much of the growth habit of 'Home Run', which I'm not altogether pleased with. (I find 'Home Run' to be a rather homely shrub as regards its architecture)

Next year the best of the 141-09's will go outside into the open garden to establish for disease resistance evaluation. This is a high priority matter with this group of seedlings, as I am determined to develop my own line of shrubs that carries near 100% immunity to "the big three" fungal diseases. We can hope, anyway.....

Little Treasures

2010-09-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while you get a pleasant surprise exactly when you don't expect it. Last year, in an effort to concentrate more on developing a diploid breeding line with disease resistance, I collected a number of open pollinated seeds from 'Magic Wand' one of the well documented Moore breeders. It is one of the first generation of "Zee" hybrids; a "climbing" shrub with very small foliage and large panicles of tiny, deep pink blooms. Although 'Magic Wand' is a tall growing cultivar, it frequently breeds very dwarf offspring, regardless of the stature of the other parent. For me, it has potential value as a breeder because it is virtually indestructible in my climate, thriving with minimal care and resisting all three of the major fungal diseases without chemical assistance.

And so, I grew a population of open pollinated seed to see what traits it had to offer. Mostly, I expected to see a range of characteristics, both dominants and recessives, but I didn't expect to keep any of the seedlings. The one pictured here was most noteworthy, with its well-formed blooms, spotless foliage, dense, bushy growth habit and balanced scale of all plant parts (tiny). It didn't hurt that the blooms are remarkably sweet-scented for such tiny flowers. (Blooms do not exceed 0.5" in diameter) So, I'm keeping this feller. I've struck a few cuttings already and it roots in a matter of days (+- 8 days), which is even better.

Funny, isn't it, how these little gifts turn up in a body of work in the places you don't expect them. The surprise factor is probably what I enjoy most about the work I do. I imagine a lot of hybridizers feel the same way. :-) Oh, and one more thing: I have given it a nickname for now; a reference to a rose it resembles: 'Si', by Pedro Dot. I'm calling it "Si Plus Plus". I wonder how many people will get that pun?

"R. souliolosa": 87-09-01

2010-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

I put that name in double quotes because its not a species, but a hybrid between two species: R. soulieana and R. foliolosa. The idea here is to create something entirely new and distinct, using two diploid species with excellent hardiness and vigor. With luck, these seedlings will not suffer from the typical fungal disease either; the elimination of disease is a major goal for me now. Not disease tolerance, something the plants can live with and still survive, but something closer to true immunity. I have spent the Summer digging out and discarding numerous "collectible" Hybrid Teas and Shrubs that simply will not thrive without chemical intervention. My patience has run out: I don't want to grow any more "life support roses". (Today, 'Dame Edith Helen's head is on the chopping block. It is likely that 'Papageno' is next: off with their heads!)

The seedling's foliage is fragrant when touched, giving off a combined scent of Frankincense and Raspberries! It is pretty clear that this one is going to be vigorous and a semi-climbing plant, whereas its sibling more closely resembles its R. foliolosa parent, remaining more shrubby. No flowers yet, but then I don't expect to see any till next Spring. There is always the possibility that this cross (I have two seedlings, this is just one) will not have fertility to breed another generation, but I have a hunch it will be. I have another hybrid that is a diploid breeder (42-03-02) out of Moore's 0-47-19 (R. wichurana X 'Floradora'), crossed with an R. rugosa hybrid, which will have the ability to pass on remontancy while remaining a diploid. I'm trying to avoid getting into triploid territory for now, just to make things easier to deal with.

I will post photos of the 42-03-02 X R. rugosa seedling soon. It shows considerable Rugosa influence in its foliage.

53-08-09 revisited.

2010-08-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

I should be writing something substantial, meaningful, educational, but today I'm not in that frame of mind. However, I will share with you today's new photo of my current favorite seedling: 53-08-09 ('Midnight Blue' X L83).

Click on the image for a much larger view.

This is a Kordesii hybrid and as such, it may exhibit both superior Winter hardiness and disease resistance. It's still very young, and only recently transitioned out into the garden, so these aspects of its nature are yet to be determined. In the meantime, I am going to admire its wonderful color (no photo I take does its hue justice: it is a much richer, more vibrant purple/magenta than it appears here) I have learned that it is remarkably easy to propagate as well, something many modern roses sorely lack.

118-09-14: from R. pisocarpa

2010-08-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

In June of 2009 I selected one of the local plants of R. pisocarpa to act as a pollen parent in a few crosses. R. pisocarpa is supposedly a diploid (14 chromosomes) which made it more attractive as a mate to some of my other diploid hybrids. This particular clone was a particularly dark pink form, with a compact habit. This pollen served as the male parent of the seedling shown here.

The seed parent, 42-03-02, is a selfing of Ralph Moore's Wichurana breeder 0-47-19, presumably also a diploid. I have used this plant in breeding a few times in years past with mixed results, but I was most often crossing it with tetraploids. Now I limit myself to pairing it with other diploids. (I have seedlings from it using 'Therese Bugnet' as a pollen parent, to name just one)

So, what is remarkable about this seedling? The fact that it is a repeat bloomer, flowering in its first year. Normally you would not obtain any repeat bloomers from a first generation cross with a native species, but it appears this R. pisocarpa has some secrets up its sleeve! Whether the plant has any merit as a garden shrub or as a stepping stone to better hybrids is yet to be determined, but this seedling makes me hopeful.

Click on thumbnails for a larger image.

118-09-14 is still a fairly small plant in a gallon can, with canes no more than 14" long. The foliage, architecture and overall "feel" is intermediate between the two parents, but leaning a bit more towards R. pisocarpa in my opinion. The foliage has been very clean so far, but I reserve judgment until it has lived out in the test garden for a while. (With R. wichurana strongly represented in its pedigree, plus 1/2 R. pisocarpa, I'm hoping for good disease resistance) The blooms have a fairly strong powdery scent, not unlike 'Marie Pavie'.

99-08-01: Scarlet Moss X William Baffin

2010-08-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Having used both 'William Baffin' and 'Scarlet Moss' for several years in breeding, I have recognized that both have the ability to sire offspring with superior Blackspot (and Mildew) resistance. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, that the two should meet. This is one of three seedlings I have saved from this 2008 cross, and it is by far the better one. (the other two, although have promise as plants, are rather dull, deep pinks)

This shrub is an arching, large plant that appears to have much of 'William Baffin's habit, but possibly more lax. It isn't mature enough to know for sure how it will grow, but the clues are there. It is quite thorny, although the thorns are bent at the tips and not at all inclined to rip flesh, as some do. Blooms are 3" across, in clusters of five or more, about ten petals each and a clean, medium red as you can see. It is also obvious that the buds are decently mossy, a trait I expected to lose in this cross!

Now the thing is to determine how good its Blackspot resistance is. Its the first Summer out in the garden, so until it has seen a Spring, its premature to say anything about disease resistance. (Although it has been remarkably Mildew free so far, unlike most Mosses grown here)

If nothing else, this will find its way into the 2011 breeding schedule, to see what traits it passes along. It has set open pollinated seed freely and those will be germinated next Spring to evaluate the plant's potential.

Fedtschenkoana hybrids: 20-09

2010-08-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

20-09: L83 X (Orangeade X R. fedtschenkoana)

I was genuinely surprised to see these seeds germinate this Spring, and even as they grew I expected them to turn out to be selfs of L83. Now that they are a couple months old, its quite clear these are R. fedtschenkoana hybrids, with the matte bluish foliage that smells of Pine when rubbed. All three of these are remarkably intermediate in look between their parents. I can see distinct L83 qualities, and clear R. fedtschenkoana traits in all three. Of course, none of these has bloomed yet and I don't expect to see flowers until next Spring, but in terms of their pedigree, these represent potentially remarkable hybrids, unlike anything else before them.

Its curious how, after 15 years of hybridizing, I am now paying so very little attention to the flower style and color, favoring instead the development of unique and sturdier shrubs with better hardiness than their predecessors. (Click on the thumbnails for a full-sized image)

Shown here are a few images of all three plants, their overall appearance, foliage and thorns.

54-08-08

2010-07-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

54-08-08 = 'Midnight Blue' X ('Orangeade' X R. fedtschenkoana) The pollen parent is a white semi-double rose bred by Kim Rupert, who generously donated a plant to my collection several years ago.

This is a mightily vigorous seedling, having produced new basal growths recently that have grown from zero to three feet in only three weeks. I am pleased to note two things: 1) this plant has set seed easily using a variety of pollen parents, and 2) it is repeating bloom in flushes, where in its first year it did not bloom at all. One of its siblings has proven extremely easy to propagate and I will be testing this cultivar for ease of propagation soon as well. I think this has promise as a potential link to new kinds of shrubs for the modern, low-maintenance garden.

Westerland X Marianne

2010-07-29T07:50:00.001-07:00

This is the first time I have managed to collect enough pollen from my hybrid Gallica 'Marianne' to use for breeding. I am very excited to discover that, on 'Westerland' at least, the pollen is quite fertile. Hooray!

Golden Glow X Morden Sunrise

2010-07-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I gave up on Golden Glow as a breeder; it kept giving me whites and pinks and the occasional sickly pale yellow. I'm 2009 I acquired Morden Sunrise for breeding and decided to make one last try with Golden Glow, and mated these two. The seedling pictured here (43-09-02) is one of three that I kept. The other two are medium yellows. Although these seedlings may not offer anything in terms of Blackspot resistance, they may have superior Winter hardiness in cold climates.

It is interesting to note that all of the remontant seedlings obtained from various Morden Sunrise crosses have that unusual Cinnamon/musk fragrance!

66-09-04

2010-06-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I was in conversation with David Zlesak and lamenting the fact that Ralph Moore's famous 0-47-19, although a good breeder for many purposes, tended to produce a vast majority of pink or white seedlings. (Out of the small percentage of repeat bloomers it bred: more than 2/3 are once blooming) David suggested that I try his Polyantha shrub 'Candy Oh Vivid Red' on 0-47-19, as he felt that it could impart better color. As a bonus, it was a confirmed diploid (as was 0-47-19) and so I could establish a remontant diploid line out of R. wichurana, hopefully in red. Well, clever fellow that he is, David's hunch was right; 66-09 has indeed produced a handful of good rich red seedlings. The selection displayed here is one of about 5 that have very rich coloring. All selections so far have been 5 petaled, which isn't surprising considering the parentage. All have glossy Wichurana style foliage and most have a distinct Musk scent. (No sweet component whatsoever)

At this point I am visualizing these selections as breeding specimens only, but who knows. Perhaps one or two of these will mature to have excellent garden-worthiness properties, in which case they may become candidates for release. I;ll post photos of some of the siblings as they mature.

This cross was made with the goals of creating a breeding stock plant that was 1) a diploid, 2) well pigmented in the red range, 3) exhibited many of the R. wichurana traits such as disease resistance, attractive foliage, abundance of bloom and ease of propagation. With any luck, some or all of these criteria will be found in this seedling, or one of its siblings.

I cannot comment on the mature growth habit of the shrub. That is to be determined in the next 24 months. I list this as a diploid seedling since both parents are confirmed diploids. It is unlikely that it is anything but a diploid.

Rosa soulieana

2010-06-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

What a rose this is. I can't think why more people don't use this diploid in breeding. I'm putting Belle Poitvine pollen on it this morning :-)

Praise for one of my favorite roses.

2010-06-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased when I read reports like this. 'Marianne' is one of my all time favorite once blooming roses, and I say that not because it came from my efforts as a breeder, but because it is truly such a fine rose and offers so much. This year, for the first time, I have found and collected sufficient anthers from my two mother plants to be able to pollinate a good fifty or sixty blooms on a few roses. I have no idea whether or not the pollinations will result in seed production, its too soon to tell. If I can obtain a rose as fine as 'Marianne' but with remontancy, I will be very pleased indeed.

'Marianne' = 'Duchesse de Montebello' X 'Abraham Darby'. Registered 2001. Available from Rogue Valley Roses.

Wretched

2010-06-11T06:44:00.001-07:00

By growing a population of self pollinated seedlings from a
prospective breeder, you discover that it has some serious genetic
flaws that disqualify it as a breeder. This would be one of those
times :-/

77-07-12: update.

2010-06-09T21:07:00.001-07:00

I have been so busy trying to keep up with the hundreds of tasks that all have to be done in May and June and regrettably, blog posts often get dropped from my "to do" list. Tonight, however, I will make an effort.

This is one of about six selections I have now culled down to from the cross made in 2007 of ('Penny Ante' X 'Tradescant') X L83. The seed parent is a proprietary hybrid of mine that I often use for breeding to get both good color and vigor into my work. It turns out to have been an excellent choice with which to mate L83, the AgCan Kordesii breeder.

Seedling #77-07-12 is my favorite of this group, with its heavy, dark glossy foliage and the 4" double red and purple blooms, reminiscent of a slightly less double 'Charles de Mills'. It has a modest "modern rose" fragrance that is neither strong nor remarkable, but pleasant just the same. The foliage has so far been completely immune to Blackspot, whereas other seedlings immediately next to it have lost 80% or more of their foliage to the disease. While I am considering this as a "finished" variety (IE: headed for market) I am also working on proceeding with it as a breeder, crossing it with its siblings and one of the yellow L83 hybrids, the idea being to improve further on the excellent disease resistance of these L83 seedlings.

Westerland shows promise as a breeder.

2010-05-31T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to wonder why Kordes' 'Westerland' hasn't been used much in breeding. I can say that my own experience demonstrates that it makes some very decent offspring, so maybe its just a style thing? It appears to be inclined to make large, climber-ish shrubs, and for the most part, large roses are not currently in vogue, so maybe that is part of it.

Anyway, lets look at this example. This is 'Westerland' X 'A Shropshire Lad', the latter being one of the more recent Austin roses, which, like 'Westerland' is a large shrub that can be trained as a "climber". (I put that in double quotes because, like so many similar modern shrubs of a certain stature, this rose is often referred to as a "climber" when in fact it is nothing at all like the true climbers: the Ramblers, Hybrid Multifloras and others bred from true climbing species. Of course, it can be argued that no rose is a climber in the true sense, as they have no tendrils or tools to grasp with. They are simply "opportunistic climbers", relying on chance that their prickles will latch onto something supporting as they grow towards the light.)

I saved this seedling at the last moment, only because it had such excellent foliage and a glimmer of pleasant color. I almost culled it because in the first two seasons the blooms were less full than I would have liked. This Spring, however, the blooms are reasonably full and quite attractive. (Certainly more petals than previously) It is showing excellent vigor as well, and appears to have excellent resistance to disease (so far). The fully expanded bloom shown here is about 4" in diameter. Larger canes are blooming in clusters of three to five, while laterals often have only one or two. Half open buds are yellow brushed heavily with flame, expanding to more of a "Peace yellow" with splashes of pink and red at the petal edges. Yes, it has a pleasant scent, though not intense. I'll be watching this one more closely now, I think ;-)

So, in case you were considering using 'Westerland' as a breeder, I would say yes, go ahead and see what it can do for you. It might not do exactly what you want, but I believe it is worth exploring.

74-07-01: Tuscany Superb X R. arkansana

2010-05-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

I made this cross in '07 with the idea of working the lovely native R. arkansana into my work, without resorting to using modern China-derivatives in order to preserve tetraploidy. And so, I turned to an old favorite: 'Tuscany Superb'. (FYI the Gallicanae are almost all tetraploids by nature) I am particularly interested in R. arkansana because of its exceptional Winter hardiness, its complete immunity to disease and the fact that my specimen (seed grown in 1999) blooms at least three times a growing season, with long rests between flushes. Could this be a remontancy trait that can be incorporated into new species derivatives? We'll see.

I obtained only four seedlings from this cross and unfortunately, all have been *ahem* a tad weak in the vigor department. Mind you, that isn't going to prevent me from using this selection in breeding. I can always abandon this avenue should the offspring turn out to be wusses: nothing ventured, etc, etc. It does, however, have a rich and complex "wild rose" fragrance that can undoubtedly be capitalized upon. I'd be interested in crossing this with 'Therese Bugnet' except that TB is a diploid, so I'll leave that out of the equation for now. I may, however, turn to the Hybrid Spinosissima 'Suzanne', which has been reported as being a tetraploid. For now, recovering remontancy without sacrificing disease immunity is paramount; color, my friends, will have to wait ;-)

04-07-05: making progress with L83

2010-05-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

In 2007, thanks to David Zlesak, I began working with the AgCan Kordesii breeding variety L83. My main interest in working with L83 was to improve Blackspot resistance in my work, but there was a likelihood that improvements in Winter hardiness might be had as well.

From the 2007 crosses I made, two groups stand out as having at least two or three selections that show both extremely good Blackspot resistance (near immunity) and apparent Winter hardiness (based on my limited experience). It should also be noted that several selections have good to excellent color and attractive bloom form. All have excellent vigor and attractive foliage. About 5 plants have been kept from the cross of ('Penny Ante' X 'Tradescant') X L83, including the fire engine red 77-07-23, which was used to a limited degree in 2009 breeding.

Illustrated here is the best yellow selection from 'Golden Angel' X L83, numbered 04-07-05. Some of you have probably noted that this is a cross of a triploid X a tetraploid, and so it is possible that the 04-07 selections are a mix of triploids and tetraploids. Some of these set open pollinated seeds last year (which I allowed to happen in order to determine fertility) and seeds were saved and a percentage have germinated. I am now starting to put select pollens on this yellow cultivar with the hope of moving forward with a Kordesii derived yellow breeding line. There is certainly a lot of room for improvements in both Winter hardiness and disease resistance in yellows! For now, I am limiting myself to using other first generation L83 hybrids to breed with this selection, and in fact will be crossing most of my best L83 selections with each other this year. Most are strong reds and medium yellows, so color results should be bright and rich with any luck.

MORsoul

2010-05-13T16:04:00.001-07:00

Second of the 'Magic Wand' OP seedlings to bloom

2010-05-12T20:53:00.001-07:00

This is a rather remarkably complex flower for something so tiny!

Followup on post from three days ago.

2010-05-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is that same 'Magic Wand' open pollinated seedling, its first bloom open. Yes, that is a penny. ;-)