The subject of ‘Banshee’ [or the various Banshee’s] and their possible usefulness in breeding, has come up in threads several times recently. Rather than highjack those threads, I figured I’d start a new one about that subject.
Back around 1992, I used ‘Banshee’ pollen on ‘Bonica’. The seedlings were once bloomers as would be expected. One of these survived near total neglect for 20+ years until I rescued two suckers a few years ago and brought them closer to our house to use for further hybridizing.
RRD pressure is VERY high here. Often roses become infected within their first year of being planted. So, I wanted to breed repeat blooming seedlings from this ‘Bonica’ X ‘Banshee’ hybrid, that would hopefully inherit it’s toughness and apparent ability to escape RRD infection.
In 2017, I used pollen of ‘Bonica’ x ‘Banshee’ on ‘Carefree Sunshine’. Hip set was good, but germination was not. Of the less than a dozen seedlings, none showed juvenile repeat. BUT… the largest seedling immediately formed a flower bud at the beginning of its second year [2019]. I’ve been watching this seedling very closely and have decided that it’s just not quite good enough to warrant an official trial. It has a somewhat sprawling growth habit and the flowers have a tendency to browning that may be a milder form of the balling issue ‘Banshee’ is famous for. It is very healthy, and mildly fragrant. It hasn’t been around long enough to say anything about RRD resistance, but this seedling has enough good qualities that I’m going to be trying it out as a breeder anyway. Mostly, I’m posting these pictures to give folks an idea what potential ‘Banshee’ has. Here are pictures of the growth habit and browning of flowers. Next, I’ll post some pictures of foliage and how the flowers look when it’s better behaved.
