It’s that time of year again, the best time of the year. New roses are about to bloom!
They look Jim - hope you have some good ones this year. We had the first germination today, one of Mitchie’s - a cross of ‘Always a Lady’ x ‘Australian Gold’. It always is a thrill to see the first little bit of green popping up in the tray, and start to anticipate what it might be. Hybridizing is probably the biggest crap shoot, but isn’t it fun?
Hi John,
Thank you! Mitchie’s cross sounds like it is full of possibilities. The brand new seedlings germinating give such hope. Rose breeding really is one of the most enjoyable hobbies, and I think for me it is mostly in the anticipation. Warm wishes to you and Mitchie for a good year!
Jim Sproul
Hello Jim,
Is Pearl Sanford available commercially? My seedlings are popping blooms left and right. Like everyone else, I love this time of the year.
thanks,
bill
Remembrance x Double Red Knock Out finally popped open. The form is like its grandparent, Southampton, or, for those unfamiliar, like Geoff Hamilton with only 20 petals. The color is the most strange carmine-coral red color. The plant is very Knock Out like, likely due to linebreeding, and the foliage is intermediate. he peduncles are longer and the plant looks like it will mature to average Buck size. The next to “pop” is the same cross. It looks like it will be shorter and more floribunda-like. The bloom color is deep red. The foliage is simple. The third looks like it will be Olympiad red and semi-double, with a the best foliage I have seen yet. The foliage texture and color is Knock Out, and the shape is like Dortmund. The plant looks like it will be large, and the peduncles are longer. I am happy with the results thus far since my goal was to use these to breed back into red floribundas, while retaining the positive Knock Out qualities.
So thats what bloomed first this year. Its a small pool of good possibilities until the larger batches catch up.
Hi Bill,
I don’t have any blooms yet, so you are ahead of me! It is a great time of the year! Regarding ‘Pearl Sanford’, no one is carrying it. I will make some more cuttings this year and make it available later in the summer. It is a good workhorse especially for minis to floribunda sized roses and gives good color range and form. Each compact plant generally gives me about 1,000 to 1,500 seeds, with an excellent and early germination. Virtually every bloom sets a hip.
Hi Jadae,
Those sound like beautiful seedlings, it will be fun to see photos when they are available. I am using ‘Double Knock Out’ for the first time this year and will be using it on ‘Pearl Sanford’, among other roses.
Jim Sproul