10-05-05: 'Condoleezza' X ('Sequoia Ruby' X 'Scarlet Moss'). The pollen parent, which is extinct thanks to Gophers, is a sister seedling to 'Unconditional Love', one of my commercial releases.I view this rose as one of those "close-but-not-quite-finished" seedlings that will hopefully be a stepping stone towards something more to my liking. This is a heavily mossed rose in a very attractive shade of orange with a Chinese red blending, becoming more red as the flower ages. It sets seed easily, although this will be the first year I have had an opportunity to evaluate its offspring. (I'm hopeful that it will bring something good to the line)
The plant is a compact, shrubby thing, having grown to 2.5 feet so far, but since it has lived its life in a pot, it may get significantly larger if grown out in the open garden. Blooms are about 2 to 2.5 inches each, with 8 to 12 petals and a few petaloids. The petals are a strong, clear yellow at the base, which may be an indication of its potential as a breeder of yellows.
While I think the Ralph Moore mosses are marvelous plants, I feel there is a lot of room for improvement on the group. In the pursuit of dwarfism, I think Ralph made compromises when making his selections. Certainly some of the "mini mosses" are wonderful breakthroughs in breeding, but most leave something to be desired as far as plant architecture, disease resistance and stability of color goes. As I say, lots of room for improvement. What would I like to see happen with this group of plants? Well, increase in both the plant stature and in bloom size, for one; I am imagining a rounded shrub of about 4 X 4 feet, well articulated with foliage to within a foot of the soil. (In a similar line of breeding I have accomplished this goal already with 'Treasure Trail', a very attractive pink-yellow blend moss that is about 3.5 feet wide and tall.) I would also like to see a significant improvement in disease resistance, This I believe can come through 'Scarlet Moss', which has the wonderfully sturdy 'Dortmund' represented on both sides of its parentage. Take note Hybridizers: both 'Scarlet Moss' and 'Rose Gilardi' have 'Dortmund genes in them and both are potentially the best breeders to pursue for improvments in the moss genre.
Improvements in color intensity and stability are also very possible and again, 'Scarlet Moss' and 'Rose Gilardi' are likely to be useful in this regard. Although the odds of success are slim, I have made one more attempt in 2009 to use Moore's old breeder "Orange Moss" in combination with seedling 10-05-05 and its sibling 10-05-09, a clear yellow. "Orange Moss" is a poor choice in that it rarely breeds any strong colors, and it has a dreadfully weedy growth habit. (Read; tall and lanky) However, I gave it a go with these two seedlings, hoping the stronger color genes of the 10-05's and their compact growth habit might tame "Orange Moss" and pick up on its lovely coloring. We shall see. Its all just wishful thinking until the first seedling flowers!
