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

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!

118-09-14

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)

"R. souliolosa": 87-09-01

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.

118-09-14: from R. pisocarpa

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'.

42-03-02

42-03-02 = (R. wichurana X 'Floradora') X (R. wichurana X 'Floradora')

As the years pass, you discover seedlings that grab your attention for one reason or another. Perhaps one stands out as very different from its siblings, or one might have an architecture feature you like, or superior disease resistance. While it might not be immediately apparent what purpose such a seedling might serve, it is wise to hang on to it and culture it and wait for its purpose to be revealed. I know that sounds a bit too mystical to be appropriate for something as systematic and planned as rose hybridizing, but the concept has meaning.

Take 42-03-02 illustrated here, for example. It is a selfing of the Moore breeder 0-47-19. It bears a striking resemblance to the Moore Hybrid Wichurana except that it has deeper coloring and is a 2.5 foot rounded shrub, always in flower. As its parent is a known diploid, I am assuming this is also and so I now use it in breeding specifically to further diploid breeding lines. It accepts a wide range of pollens and makes seed with about 50% viability in most cases. Testing the limits of its ability this year, I put some strikingly dissimilar pollens on it, including a 'Schneezwerg' F2 seedling and 'Scabrosa'. I have also used my R. foliolosa on it, and all of these pollens have resulted in healthy, fat hips.

My recommendation to breeders is that when a seedling grabs your attention for some reason, pay attention. It might prove to be a stepping stone at some point down the line, It might not tell you what its purpose is today, but it might turn out to be meaningful in a few years time and you'll be glad you kept it.

Working with R. clinophylla

Several years ago Gene Waering distributed seeds of R. clinophylla to several rose collectors, including myself. From my batch of seed I grew about a dozen plants. I gave several away, ultimately keeping only two, which had flowered within 2 months of germination. I thought perhaps these would have some kind of genes for remontancy in them, although my work with these two so far indicates this is not so. Curiously, R. clinophylla has a fragrance often compared to the smell of Acetone, much like its close relative R. bracteata.

The rose pictured here (click photo to see a full sized version) is one of my first hybrids using my R. clinophylla. This is seedling 92-06-03, bred using a self seedling of Ralph Moore's 0-47-19 I grew years ago called 42-03-02.

This seed parent, 42-03-02 is a fully remontant pink/purple with 5 to 9 petals, blooming in large panicles of 1 inch blooms on a 2.5 X 2.5 foot plant. It is highly resistant to all diseases and although not tested for its ploidy, I expect it is a diploid, like its parent. It also happens to be quite fragrant. I have not used it extensively as a parent until fairly recently, choosing it more often now because I have a use for a disease resistant diploid in my work. (You'll read more about that in the months to come, I'm sure)

Back to 92-06-03: this is the most colorful of the three seedlings from this cross to bloom so far. There are four more that have not yet bloomed and they are behaving as though they have genetic problems, so I expect they will be discarded this year. The plant in the photo has long arching canes that bloom along the length of the cane all in one quick flush, with side buds following shortly after. Each bloom lasts 2 days and then drops cleanly. This clone has a slight fragrance. This plant and its two siblings are being used as both seed and pollen parent this year to determine if they have fertility. I am using some old standard diploids with them, such as 'Old Blush' and 'Trier' with the hope that these will allow me to step forward with some remontant, fertile diploids in the next generation. The beautiful ferny glossy foliage on these (especially 92-06-02, which you can read about here) is something I want to retain, but with this ancestry, I suspect these will be evergreen, warm climate roses only. We shall see!