Here I am showing the Basye’s Purple Rose. Although it has already lost a few leaves, it is displaying special autumn colors this year. I haven’t noticed that before. There are a few buds remaining, which is also notable for me at this time. The flowering period of Basye’s Purple usually ends earlier here. As already known about this rose, it is difficult to realize a specific cross, but occasionally an OP works.
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I found a specimen of Basye’s Purple in Chicago with maybe 30 OP hips and snagged a few. Someone posted like 12 years ago with a few OP seedlings, the hope being that an F1 might be more fertile. I never managed to find any follow-up posts about it, but one of his seedlings had genuinely black, thornless stems.
Really hoping I get some germinations, it’s such a unique rose.
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Thank you for your reply! I am aware of @aimbault’s post about his OP seedling with black, thornless stems. A really interesting one! In recent years, I have had a couple of descendants of Basye’s Purple with attractive coloring, OPs and very few from artificial crosses. Unfortunately, they either lacked vigor or showed growth disorders at an early stage. It is a tricky game. Let’s see how things develop. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you and me and wish you every possible success!
If you’re not as constrained by space and budget like I am, you might consider stepping back a generation and working with rosa ”foliolosa” as well, as that is where I believe the genetics for the dark coloring primarily come from. This is evidenced by this dark purple specimen Paul Barden created using foliolosa and Little Chief.
I put the name in quotes because the cultivated, pink rose sold as r. foliolosa is actually some weird triploid hybrid of unknown genetics and origin. Regardless, it seems to be, at least in part, the source of the heavy pigmentation in Basye’s Purple while being much more fertile.
Either way I hope you keep us updated on your progress!
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Thank you very much for your ideas and thoughts. Some time ago, I started breeding with
R. foliolosa, which is known to initiate color changes. I wanted to test this ability myself, especially with regard to producing colored shoots. Unfortunately, however, I was only able to observe this trait to a very limited extent. One possible reason could be that it is extremely difficult to fertilize the buds before they self-pollinate. I should also mention, that due to space constraints, I only had one clone of R. foliolosa available which limited my possibilities. The cross combination of R. foliolosa x ‘Basye’s Purple’ and vice versa was one of my trials. Unfortunately, my R. foliolosa died during the last late frosts.
Anyway, I will report back regarding ‘Basye’s Purple’.
I grew ‘Basye’s Purple’ about 20 years ago (2005) in Connecticut, USA. USDA Zone 6b. It grew well and wintered well in that climate, but many of the flowers failed to open. Something about the structure of the five petals locked them in place, so that they would eventually drop off the bush as a closed bud. It may have been unique to my location but I have never seen it mentioned before.
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Welcome, Thornier!
As to my experience in recent years Basye’s Purple do not open it’s flowers when in the summer season cloud free, fresh nights follow periods of rain. Furthermore, and as mentioned, I never had buds in October before.
This year, however, about 1.5 weeks ago, the blooms slowly but normally opened.
Meanwhile it is mid October. Due to an altitude of about 550 m AMSL cloud free nights lead to increasingly lower temperatures in atmosheric layers near the surface accompanied by increased dew formation on leaves and buds. Therefore I assume that the very last few will remain closed.
Just as an additional information I’m living in Zone 7b.
Where in Connecticut were you?
Hamden, just north of New Haven.