Re: Dr. Huey in 5b
I got three op seedlings of Dr. Huey from last year’s seeds. Dr. Huey is healthy here in S. Ontario despite the drought. No blooms this year. Two seedlings are prostrate. One wants to climb. The mother plant that set hips is surrounded by diploids, one being a a tall musk like op seedling of Lavender Dream. The tetraploid in the area with copious pollen is a lax seedling of Belle de Crecy. Both possible pollen donors bloom on second year wood. Both are fragrant & healthy. The Dr. Huey plant with no hips last year is surrounded by tetraploids, some of them shrubby, so lots of pollen for the bees. But no takes.
Time will tell if the 3 seedlings are hardy or healthy enough.
Simon, I would “second” Jadae’s suggestion to use ‘Night Owl’ for vigor. It is way cleaner than ‘Dr. Huey’ at least in our climate - DH gets powdery mildew really badly here. However, I think that your idea for getting a strong root system from breeding with it sounds like a very good goal.
Something else along those lines you might consider is ease of rooting cuttings. DH does root well, but there are also many minis that root excellently and are also vigorous. Own root vigor is certainly something that the commercial rose growers are looking at now.
Jim Sproul
Robert wrote: “My triploid Banksia hybrids are quite fertile.”
May be you did let us know this once or twice 
There are exceptions to any rule and that is why I say “allmost” in:“Years ago I did a lot of triploid breeding and allmost ceased.”
There is another item with introgression through triploid breeding: the fact that dilution is (too much?) speeded. Combined with usual reduced fertility it makes this path worth only for single gene controled rare features.
By the way I have somewhere a “Fairbanks”: The fairy x single flowered banksiae sp. I got it some ten years ago. It could qualify as understock being strong, healthy and inerm.
Yes Pierre. The subject was triploids in breeding. Was it not? My triploids, confirmed by David, happen to be what I use most.
I will say in my experience a large percentage of seedlings must be culled from such crosses, but, a large percentage of seedlings must be culled from any cross. The difference for me has been almost negligible in terms of numbers to be discarded.
“but there are also many minis that root excellently and are also vigorous.”
Firstly, I really appreciate everyone’s input on this. Rose breeding doesn’t feel quite so daunting when everyone chips in like this without making me feel like an extreme wet-behind-the-ears newbie (which I am but I don’t like feeling like that LOL).
Just the other day I also thought about the minis and their vigour and ease of rooting in this discussion because this year is the first year I have ever received grafted mail order minis and I found that a little odd. In the past they have always arrived as struck cuttings and any mini cutting I have ever struck has always done very well in terms of disease resisatnce, vigour, and longevity. I have a few minis here right now (watercolour, gold coin, green ice, galaxy, pink delight, and the fairy (not really a mini though I guess)) that I could use and am on the lookout for some of the cheap Poulsen’s ‘Parade’ series minis (Parade Roses) that were released here a few years ago. They were extremely cheap, cutting grown plants, planted 3-4 to a pot in a 3" pot that were sold off in dept stores for a few dollars per pot but they were indestructible, had a nice fragrance, nice small flowers and a good range of colours. I think my cold winters here would kill them though.
Simon:
If you are interested in some multiflora cuttings, and they can be mailed to Tas, please email me.
I have been using Nur Mahal for some years, This year I’ve had a huge hip set of OPs. Previously only used the pollen, this season I’ll try as a seed parent.
The OP seedlings apear to be quite healthy and vigorous, but as they are only 2" tall, time will tell.
Rod
G’Day Rod,
Unfortunatley roses can’t be legally mailed to Tasmania without the necessary DPI permits. They must go through the relevant quarantine facility before they are sent on. I am trying to source some roses (‘Eliza’ which has huge sentimental value as it was a gift when my daughter Eliza was born 10 years ago, ‘Scarlet Cascade’, and ‘Si’) from NSW and VIC and so far I have found out they need to go to a Dept of Primary Industries in the state of origin. Plant material originating from a private residence must be treated with methyl bromide gas for a period of 1 hour before being cleared for entry into the state. I don’t know what the cost of that is just yet. I can buy mail order roses from places like Swanes, Treloars, Rankins (rankinsdirect.com.au), and Misty Downs (http://www.mistydowns.com.au/) but they too arrive with a quarantine inspection certificate and because they do it in bulk it is far cheaper (for them and for me). So I will take you up on your offer once I find out more details. In the mean time if you email me at voorwinde5@bigpond.com I can contact you/keep you up-to-date as I find out more.
Cheers,
Simon
Robert wrote: “Yes Pierre. The subject was triploids in breeding. Was it not?”
Do you think I was out of topic?
Then I thought digressing about rootstocks as had been done from the earlier posts was allowed… Didn’t you introduce a non triploid Cardinal Hume in this thread
Just joking with my friend.
Simon, minis in general are as hardy as the larger roses. And when grown ownroot, usually come back even if the top dies to the ground.
Jim Sproul