Abnormal rose breading year

General Discussion
1

This year (in Belgium-Europe) we were confronted with a rather warm spring period. (Temperature in the greenhouse went up to 40Celsius at the beginning of April, normal we still can have/expect frost at this time of the year) Of course this also created the situation that the crossing/pollination started at the end of April. (Which is in my case more then one and halve month earlier then last year. Normally the hips are harvest in the period from end of August till frost occur,… depending on the ripening time. However this year, I now already have green bottles from the earliest cross-pollinated roses. Specific the crosses of Hybrid musk roses (Easy to cut, Brigitte de Villefagne, but also thinks as Rhapsodie in Blue, Ivory fashion etc… are generating there bottles. With the real summer lying in front of us, I wonder if I still would harvest the hips when there ready, and keep them longer in the refrigerator and still seed them in December/January or start seeding them after they have spent a two month period in the fridge. Does anybody have similar experiences, what would you advice…

Kris

2

In this climate, I start hybridizing in late March. I harvest the hips when they are ready, and keep the seeds in the fridge until December/January. I get very little germination in the fridge.

3

Thx Jim,

At which temperature do you keep the seeds in refrigerator.

I notice a different of 4 degrees Celsius depending on the place in the fridge. (e.g in the door, back of fridge, under the frost box, or at the bottom of the fridge.

I think the temperature is important. You can’t have frost, but it also need to below 4 degrees. Not ?

4

I keep my seeds at about 4 degrees Celsius. I haven’t tried other temperatures, so I don’t know whether they would be better.