That’s true, I mostly grow once-bloomers. I like them. You coddle and preen them when the weather is cool, they bloom spectacularly, then tell you, “Thanks for all the care, now go sit in the air conditioning.”
The problems you mention with modern roses are exactly why I don’t grow them, and don’t want to grow them. I like things that are attractive bushes even when ignored.
What I would like to do, eventually, is come up with a repeat blooming rose that has no Chinensis in it at all, and I’m working with the local R. arkansana for that, since it blooms periodically all summer. We’ll see…
Boy! Talk about a case for ‘regional roses’! The very reasons why once flowering types are so great for your climates is why they are so awful for mine. Give me the Teas, chinas, noisettes, hybrid musk/multiflora, polyantha etc. and they’ll very often do HERE what yours do THERE.
Kim,
I really agree with you on the “regional roses”. While I lust after some of Paul’s beautiful creations, I am not sure that they would be happy in this infernal heat. Also I think the buying public is beginning to warm to the idea of landscape roses, given the popularity of Knock-out.
Believe me, I know what you mean, Joan! Paul’s Gallicas make my mouth water every time I see photos. I KNOW they’ll be totally unhappy here, though. It isn’t worth doing to them, nor to me.
The landscape rose popularity has to be. Smaller yards require smaller plants with more bang per square inch. The traditional mini doesn’t do it in most cases. Polys can, but they aren’t bright enough and many begin flowering too late for warmer areas.
I guess I’m just going to have to begin the Secret Garden X Fed. crosses to see if repeat without China can be created here. Kim
Fara has a very valid point on the benefits of living in Colorado. Every early summer one of the greatest rose blooms we have comes from Austrian Cooper. Here in this climate it is the perfect rose besides it only blooms once. We do see PM however. Most other diseases you see occasionally but not too often. Probably the biggest limitations here would be water, which incidentally is also the reason we lose so many roses in winter. It is not the cold but the dehydration that causes most winter kill here.
As far as breeding for disease resistance the best I can do is start with disease resistant plants and hope for the best. I however will not find out if they are resistant until we have a weird year.
I do like Gallicas and Damask and both your work Paul and Fara work makes me drool with envy. The English rose was a brilliant idea but they have too much modern blood that makes them grow more like some of the weak modern roses. Paul I hope even if you decide in the end to mostly to retire that you will at least tinker some more with your Gallica hybrids.
It took me 3 years to get Jubilee Celebration, which is clean and compact, to finally set hips. “Very double, informal” roses are are PITA to work with, but theyre also very rewarding. The pollen parent to win out happened to be Dreaming Spires (lol…) but I also have Tatton x Geoff Hamilton seedlings from 2008 throwing up climbers, which presents another challenge. A lot of the OGRs and their replicas are difficult to work with because many turn out lanky, which in turn takes up a lot of test bedding space. Both parents themselves are a mere 2.5’ x 2.5’, but the majority of the progeny are 3’ W x 8’ T.
Funny enough, the seedling this thread was made for is both miniature and non-climbing, but it still retains non-miniature and kordesii traits, despite that it has 3 separate lines of climbers in it! (Golden Glow , Kordesii, and Harmonie).
I paraglided 1500’ over Tillamook, OR today. I guess ya never know what ya get til ya take that leap of faith, eh?
Good points Michael. I hadn’t even thought about that. Thanks for pointing that out. I like that this seedling has rugosa, wichuraiana and eglanteria blood and hope that disease resistance will carry forward.
Rob
Reading this thread regarding bare stemmed plants resulting from minimal care reminds me that the ‘old’ chinese gardeners preferred their roses to be blooming on bare stems.
As our repeat flowering genes came from 4 stud chinese roses that were apparently the result of a thousand years of selecting for that bare stemmed look, I’m not surprised that I find many seedlings that I sprout that the old chinese gardeners would have loved.
I suspect that it will take a bit longer yet to correct this.
It is a good thing that Kim and Fara ( & maybe others) are looking for repeat bloom from different sources, though I doubt that I may ever see any results of their success, here in Oz.
Rod
Thinking of the repeat blooming genes without any chinese traid, the Portland Rose might be worth trying. At least in my climat it has a moderate continuous bloom without any maintenance ( but watering). It’s cold hardy and even heat tolerant and not to forget the fragrance. With those hot pink flowers it is a showy compact plant.
And it is very healthy.
Comte de Chambord has the same moderate repeating all the summer but here it gets awfully downy mildew in the spring.
I’ve got a couple of Portlands here, and will have to look for Compte de Chambord.
Ah, watering, after a wet early-summer, been having to do an awful lot of that here.
Fa,
You ought to consider ‘Suzanne’ also. Spinosissima, remontant, extremely hardy, fertile, no disease issues. I can probably arrange to get you a piece of this one.
I’ve put it on the list. Thanks, Paul!