I got 1125 seedlings from the crosses I did in 2007. These are the four best. They are all very healthy and floriferous. I’ll probably register all of them sooner or later.
Apricot Twist x Ed Yesan : yellow miniflora with globular buds
((Magenta x Lilac Charm) x Cafe Ole) x Midnight Blue : purple floribunda with good form
Danae x Mutabilis : a shrub like Danae, but with mildew resistance and fragrant color-changing blooms
(Livin’ Easy x R. kordesii) x Lavaglut - a red floribunda with foliage like plastic
I like all four roses, Jim. Apricot Twist X Ed Yesan is a very pretty color. The Magenta cross is vivid. I like Danae X Mutabilis. I don’t have room in my garden for Mutabilis crosses because it grows to 10 ft tall and I have to cut it down to 3 ft every other year. Another Mutabilis-type rose highly recommended by Louise Clements of Heirloom Roses nursery was Mateo’s Silk Butterflies, a pink Mutabilis type. 1993, bred by Lettunich of Corralitos, CA. The Livin’ Easy cross reminds me of Don Juan. I have another new cross that looks similar, Chrysler Imperial X Prospero, by David Austin. I’m waiting to put it in the ground. It looks like it will be a climber. I crossed Indigo, a Portland Rose from the 1830’s with Sunset Blvd, Harkness. It produced a nice short climber with very formal dark pink blooms, but it has a very blotchy black spot in mid-summer. Maybe Indigo could be used for its pollen to get that dark Indigo color. The Indigo bush was on its own root and it had suckers that traveled a great distance away from the plant.
Thanks John! I saw Mateo’s Silk Butterflies at Sierra Azul Nursery just yesterday and it looked good. I live just a few miles from Kleine Lettunich, and the roses she bred do very well here. My favorite rose of hers is Lyda Rose.
Hi Jim, congratulations on the crosses! I’m particularly fond of the Danae X Mutabilis cross. That looks like something that might make an interesting landscape type for the longer season climates.
