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.
