54-08-08

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

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

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!