"Horizontal trellising"

This is something you should probably file under "Don't Do This At Home". *laughs*

When you manage a large collection of roses, especially one in which new seedlings are generated by the thousands every year (for 13 years!), you are inclined to let certain housekeeping chores slip. Case in point is what you see happening in the photo here. Years ago, I shoved a seedling flat under a bench after I had potted up the seedlings in it. (The red arrow in the lower left points at the outline of the flat) Every year a small percentage of seeds germinate much later than their flat-mates, often not until the Fall or the following Spring. Such was the case here: the flat lay under the bench, undisturbed, and here we are 6 or 7 years later with late germinating seedlings well rooted into the soil below the flat, and sending up vigorous canes through the metal grid bench tops! Three times now I have hacked these seedlings down to stumps, and this is how they look this weekend: happy and rarin' to go. As it happens, one of these is a seedling that hasn't yet flowered: a cross of ("Lemon D" X 'Scarlet Moss') X 'Fakir's Delight', all of which are complex Moss hybrids from Ralph Moore's library of inventive crosses. So, I don't dig these out because I am waiting to see this last, late seedling bloom.

At the far left side of the frame you see a hint of another seedling that escaped its flat entirely. It reaches to the roof of the house now and is wickedly thorny, although as is often the case with roses of modern Moss pedigree, the thorns are not particularly sharp and it would take some effort to actually injure yourself on them. I have documented the left-most seedling in previous posts, labeling it as simply "Floor Moss". Click the link to see a photo. I'm using "Floor Moss" in breeding now, since it tends to be very clean and has great vigor. Oh yeah, and the blooms ain't bad either.

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.

10-05-05: an orange moss.

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!

Modern Mosses: 10-05-09

Although people like Ralph Moore laid down the essential ground work for the modern mosses, it is still a difficult path to follow. Part of the problem is that you are adding another factor into the equation (all the other desirable traits + mossing) and so selecting for all of the qualities you want means you have even fewer seedlings to pick from. Fortunately there are some plants in my arsenal that makes the job a whole lot easier. Moore's 'Scarlet Moss' is one such rose. Not only does it pass on good mossing, with 'Dortmund' represented twice in its pedigree it readily passes on rich coloring.

The seedling pictured here, 10-05-09 came out of a cross of 'Condoleezza' X ('Sequoia Ruby' X 'Scarlet Moss'). The pollen parent is a short plant with 2.5" very double cherry red blooms and moderate mossing, and is a sibling to my commercially available 'Unconditional Love'. The seed parent,'Condoleezza', a Ralph Moore mossy Floribunda, is a modestly mossed pink flowered shrub that often shows a bit of an orange/yellow center. 'Condoleezza' is one of my best seed setters. You can put any pollen on it and get seeds that germinate easily and soon after sowing.

In this cross I was pleasantly surprised to discover not only some reds and deep pinks among the seedings, but this heavily mossed number that opens to bright, clear yellow semi-double blooms. (Two more photos here) There was also one very strong orange mossed seedling in this group which I will post about at some future date. 10-05-09 is a small shrub, not quite a miniature and not quite a Floribunda, about 2 X 2 feet and very full. It blooms in big clusters in flushes all season.

Last year I stopped deadheading it and it formed seeds readily, so this year I plan on using it in breeding to see what it might do. I'm not entirely satisfied with the size of the plant; I'd rather have a full-sized bush with larger, fuller blooms.