Last spring I put pollen from a found pink OGR-style moss on Cal Poly. So far I have four seedlings from this cross this spring. I expected only once-bloomers, but three of the four seedlings are already showing flower buds at a very young age. I’m confused. The two obvious possibilities are that (1) I didn’t emasculate well and these are self-pollinated Cal Poly seedlings, and (2) the found pink moss (FPM) isn’t what it seems and has “modern” genes. I have my doubts about both, though.
I don’t think these are Cal Poly self seedlings. Although the flower buds are too small (and my eyes too poor!) to tell if any mossing is present, the balsam scent of the moss parent is strongly present when I rub my fingertips over the buds. Also, these seedlings are rather distinctive in appearance. They are all very similar with bright, lime green foliage with strong red veinage and red margins with bright red stems. The only other seedlings I have that look like them (2) are from another cross that has that same found pink moss as a grandparent - (Distant Drums X FPM) X My Stars.
I traded for the FPM about a decade ago when I was active on GardenWeb. It has a very “OGR” appearance to me with no obvious modern features. It came from Washington state. The only information the trader could give me was that the house that had previously stood on the site where the rose was collected had been built in 1903. It doesn’t bloom every year here on the Mississippi coast, due no doubt to a lack of sufficient winter chill. When it does bloom I frequently see only 1-3 blooms. The only time I’ve ever seen it bloom heavily was last spring following the coldest winter in 15 years in this area. It has never re-bloomed. Due to limited opportunity I’ve gotten very few seedlings from it over the years. It does not set hips and the blooms are so double with a button eye that very little pollen is produced. In the decade or so I’ve had it (prior to this year) I’ve gotten 7 seedlings:
Jude the Obscure X FPM (3)
Distant Drums X FPM (3)
(Distant Drums X Scarlet Moss) X FPM (1)
None of the Jude the Obscure seedlings ever bloomed. I kept the nicest plant for 6-7 years hoping it would, but it never did. Those are all gone now. The Distant Drums seedlings are four years old. Two of them bloomed last year (single blooms on each). The third has not bloomed. The single seedling from (DD X SM)X FPM is three years old and has not bloomed.
Given the lack of blooms I’ve seen on the moss parent and it’s few seedlings to date, you can see why I’m excited to see buds on this year’s seedlings so soon. Any thoughts anyone as to why this is happening? Have I overlooked any obvious possibilities?
Mark