My alternative name for this seedling is "Misery". *laughs* Yes, this is the first rose I raised from seed, in about 1997. I recall that 'Black Jade' was the seed parent and probably Austin's 'Wenlock' was the pollen parent. I've filed this under "what was I thinking???" This is a miserable little seedling, with mildew loving foliage and its 12" stumpy, awkward growth habit. It has nothing going for it at all, but I keep it because it was the very first seedling I germinated. I doubt many hybridizers still have their first seedling, which probably speaks more to their good sense than their sentimentality!
I do not have a single rose from my first two years of breeding. Mostly powdery mildew, winter weather and my neglect has taken them out. Only one was worth a second look at, but probably not a third look. I do have my first daylily. It was a case of beginners luck. Not a all star plant but one yo can fall in love with. It is a diploid yellow with a brownish orange eye from Stella de Ora x Frans Hall. It has gold dusting and the flowers are ruffled. Repeats it bloom three or four times a year. Mild fragrance only on first opening. Increases it fans well. Its major faults is that its diploid and not too different to whats out their. But it has been valuable to breed from. It can breed both full size and miniatures. Passes on ruffling, diamond dusting, repeat bloom and a number of eye patterns. But it passes on alot of yellow colors.
ReplyDeleteMildew loving, nothing going for it, awkward growth habits.. and yet it refuses to die! Later on, when you write your memoires, it will be a good addition to include your first seedling... not so much out of sentiment but more as a record of the journey ... who was it that said that if you keep a diary one day your diary will keep you ;)
ReplyDeleteI still have all nine of my first batch of seedlings. Why? Donno, I was just lucky, I suppose. Each one of them is special in some way. They were all open pollenated Fa's Marbled Moss and they're all different. I think I may at last ditch two of them, and one has yet to bloom. But the others have earned their places in my garden, if in no one else's.
ReplyDeleteI see nothing wrong with that Fa. SOme of my earliest Moss/Gallica seedlings are still out in the garden, even though they have no particular merit. They are a living record of your ideas and goals, and thats good enough to justify their place in the world!
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