99-08-01: Scarlet Moss X William Baffin

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.

Pursuing better foliage: the Canadian Explorers

In the past few years I have discovered that both good reds and glossy, Blackspot resistant foliage can be had when using 'Scarlet Moss' in breeding. The seedling shown here is 'Scarlet Moss' X 'William Baffin' from last year's seedlings. Working with 'William Baffin' is a bit more of a waiting game than usual, as its seedlings often don't start to flower until year two. (L83 seedlings behave this way also, which is not really much of a coincidence since the Explorers come from similar genetic backgrounds: heavy R. rugosa influence) I have loads of seedlings from last season that I hope to see flower for the first time in the next couple of months.

I am hoping that a few of the 'William Baffin' seedlings show excellent disease resistance, strong red coloring and very good Winter hardiness. This particular cross "feels right" to me, bringing together one of the best of the Explorers and one of the best Moore roses with heavy 'Dortmund' influence. Photos of the blooms will follow, when it happens.

Things slowing down

At this point in the season things are settling into a routine of maintenance more than anything, which becomes both monotonous, and yet allows me more time to relax, something I need. Most selections have been moved up into gallon cans and many seedlings have been culled and sent to compost. A lot of tidying up getting done.

It has become glaringly obvious to me, especially this year, that the most interesting plants (evaluated on foliage, architecture, vigor and health) are coming out of the species, the Canadian Explorers and L83. In comparison, the "cookie cutter" crosses, IE: modern shrub X modern shrub and that sort of thing (aka: stirring the same old pot 'o' genes) rarely results in something unique, vigorous or particularly healthy. This is an important reminder to me illustrating just how stale the modern rose gene pool has become, and how badly an injection of widely varied genetic material is needed. It has become very clear to me just how much roses like 'William Baffin' and 'John Davis', to name but two, really have to offer us in the search for improved garden roses. Crosses using Kim Rupert's 'Orangeade' X R. fedtschenkoana hybrid are even more remarkable, with their feathery, bluish matte foliage and exceptional vigor and beautiful growth architecture. This is a hybrid I will be using much more in the next few years. (/me makes a note to post a photo of one of these seedlings)

Speaking of which, I must go fetch more 'John Davis' pollen today for freezing, to be used in the greenhouse next April/May.

Suzanne/Spinosissima breeding

This year I have acquired the Spinosissima hybrid 'Suzanne' for breeding purposes. Bred by F. L. Skinner in 1950, this is generally considered to be an F2 hybrid of ('Stanwell Perpetual' X R. laxa). It is a tetraploid, which is what you would expect, given that both parents are tetraploids.

'Suzanne' has played a significant role in the breeding of the Canadian Explorer series of roses, contributing both disease resistance and Winter hardiness. The key hybrid in creating the Explorer roses was a seedling by Robert Simonet of 'Red Dawn' X 'Suzanne', with deep pink semi double blooms. Ian Ogilvie and Felicitas Svejda at Morden and AgCan took this hybrid on for breeding and in combination with R. kordesii' and others, created the Explorers. 'John Davis', 'William Baffin' and 'Champlain' all include 'Suzanne' in their pedigree.

All of these Explorers are fine roses, but the question is, what else can 'Suzanne' offer us? I have done some preliminary work in yellow using the fertile triploid 'Golden Angel' crossed with 'John Davis' and obtained some buffs and soft yellows that appear to be fertile (have set open pollinated seed). The next step is to cross the best of these yellows with each other to intensify the yellow (hopefully) and then start working 'Suzanne' into the mix. With this in mind, I have also a selection of Spinosissima hybrids this year that are 'Condoleezza' X 'William III', from which might come some non-pink hues if I'm lucky. I will select from these seedlings next year when they bloom and incorporate these with 'Suzanne' and the buff colored 'John Davis' hybrids. 'Condoleezza' has shown itself capable of producing clear yellows and peachy tints in breeding, so I am hopeful something of this sort might appear.

I think the Hybrid Spinosissimas are very beautiful and valuable landscape-friendly shrubs that should be explored in breeding to expand their color range while retaining their hardiness and disease resistance. In a decade or so, I just might have made some progress in this area, with repeat bloom thrown in as well!

'Suzanne' on HMF

William Baffin seedling

I made a cross circa 2002 (record of date of this cross was lost) of a yellow miniature called 'Penny Ante' X 'William Baffin'. The idea was to get some yellow into Winter hardy shrubs roses, and hopefully some of 'William Baffin's disease resistance as well. In retrospect I think I could have chosen a better yellow, but you use what you have at any given time. This is the only seedling I got that had the large, arching shrub habit I wanted and the yellow coloring. These fade to white in a few days, but when fresh these are a beautiful clear Canary yellow. I have not used this seedling to further my goals, since it has less than ideal Blackspot resistance, but it appears quite hardy, with no freeze damage ever.

If anyone reading this blog wants pollen from this to experiment with, just post a comment and I'll get some pollen ready to mail out.