25-07-07: one of the first to flower.

Busy day, potting up assorted seedlings of all kinds....

Just wanted to share this photo. Seedling #25-07-07, 'Midnight Blue' X 'Pinstripe'. Yes, its a miniature, and yes, it is richly fragrant, and yes, this is its true color. Strongly scented Miniatures of any kind are rare, and to have such a beautiful deep color as well is a real treat. I hope folks will like this one. I will be propagating it this Summer with the idea of making it commercially available as soon as possible. (Through Rogue Valley Roses, no doubt)

Back to potting up seedlings.....

Spinosissima Surprise.

72-08-11: 'Condoleezza' X 'William III'

I made this cross in late May of 2008, on a whim. I wanted to determine what, if any, fertility the Spinosissima hybrid 'William III' might have. It is a remarkably sturdy, disease free rose with great charm in a garden setting, and exquisitely scented purplish-pink blooms. I figured it might have some merit in breeding for improved care-free shrubs. I chose 'Condoleezza' simply because it is my "indicator" rose for breeding. If 'Condoleezza' won't take a specific pollen, nothing will.

What I got was about 7 well developed hips full of seed, and nearly every one of 'em germinated. The result was about 70 seedlings, of which I selected about 30 to grow on. (I made selections based solely on vigor, health and attractive growth habits/foliage, as none of these would bloom will the next year) Well, these are now leafed out and the first three are showing buds. Much to my surprise, all three are Mosses! ('Condoleezza' is very hit-or-miss when it comes to transmitting the mossing trait) Shown here is the most well developed of the three, clearly illustrating well mossed buds. Suddenly these seedlings are far more interesting to me as far as taking them forward into another generation is concerned. I will post more images as these grow.

More info about 'Condoleezza' here.

R. 'Pteragonis'

"Pteragonis", a R. hugonis X R. sericea pteracantha hybrid by Max Krause, 1938. This was a gift from Gregg Lowery (Vintage Gardens) in 2009. I am attempting to use it in breeding, but without success so far. I think its just a matter of finding the right plant to mate it with. (I doubt modern China-derived hybrids are appropriate)

"Pteragonis" is very similar to R. sericea pteracantha, with the same ornate red thorns, but a larger flower in a pale butter yellow hue. It makes a very interesting specimen shrub with virtues that go far beyond that of an ordinary Spring blooming species hybrid.

For more info on "Pteragonis" see the HelpMeFind listing here.

100-09, stage two.

Today I potted up the seedlings from cross 100-09 ('Golden Angel' X 'Champlain'). I have over 100 individuals of this cross now, which is ideal. Ralph Moore told me that he believed that you weren't seeing the full scope of what was possible in a cross until you had at least 100 seedlings to look at.

Also noteworthy is that the seed parent, 'Golden Angel' is a known triploid, and yet I got nearly 98% germination from this cross. The popular mythology about triploids suggests that they are often infertile or have very limited fertility. Clearly that is not always true. I suspect if we did gene counts of many highly fertile parents, we'd discover many triploids.

I got a mention on Carolyn Parker's superb blog.

Where to buy roses, by Carolyn Parker. Thanks Carolyn!

62-03-01: 'Precious Dream' X 'Muriel'

This seedling is the only one I kept from a very small batch of the cross of 'Precious Dream' X 'Muriel' I made in 2003. The idea was to work with two of the Moore Bracteata hybrids to create a breed line, emphasizing the R. bracteata characteristics. This seedling accomplished that in some ways: it doesn't bloom very freely, it is dreadfully thorny in the worst way (flesh-ripping fish hook style!) and has that awkward climbing habit similar to 'Muriel': sprawling, open growth that goes every which way.

I have barely used this seedling in breeding, in part because it flowers far later than most other roses, even when grown under plastic, and blooms only sparingly. in 2009 it didn't flower at all! Still, if I get anything from it this Spring, I will use it on some of my R. clinophylla hybrids and see where that leads me. (R. bracteata and R. clinophylla are closely related)

Note to my hybridizer buddies: I have one spare plant of 62-03-01 available to anyone who wants to use it in breeding. It is freeze tender, so it should go to someone in a hospitable climate ;-)