[attachment 1974 K7L11.jpg] Hybrid Kordesii X ( Carefree Beauty X Old Port) we have just had 3 days of bad weather so bloom quality is a bit down.
Don, I wrote a reply, but apparently didn’t finish and post it.
I’m afraid rhododendrons aren’t an option for me, unless I start breeding for cold hardy rhodies that are tolerant of 7.5+ soil pH! I haven’t seen one growing within 50 miles.
My breeding process at the moment is pretty much a scatter-gun approach. This spring I would collect pollen from two or three roses in the evening, dry it overnight, and in the morning search for blossoms to pollinate.
I guess I think of roses in three categories: modern (tender), species (including near-species like Suzanne, Hazeldean, and Prairie Peace), and the roses that represent the work of others in combining hardiness and rebloom…not sure what to call that category, but it would be the ‘foundation roses’ of which you spoke and would include the Explorers, Radler’s hardier roses, Commander Gillette, Prairie Joy, Red Dawn x Suzanne, David Zlesak’s roses, Julie Overom’s EGS1, etc.
I’ve allowed myself any combination of those three categories, with an emphasis on the foundation roses. Modern x Modern just for fun and the rush of seeing a gorgeous first blossom. Species x Species to emulate Tom Silvers’ fun crosses and to eventually create species type breeders that have varied offspring and the chance to combine the best of both species. Foundation x Modern to gently nudge modern forms towards hardiness or to add interesting or lovely refinements to the foundation roses. Foundation x Species crosses might have the potential to bloom when grown outside, despite being once-bloomers that die back somewhat. They will require one or two more generations to recover rebloom, but if the F1’s bloom outside and are fertile I can use a brute force approach there.
Modern x Species crosses are something I might regret, probably producing die-back once-bloomers that will never bloom outside. If I find one with exceptional health, vigor, foliage and form I may have to dig it up or take cuttings and winter it inside in order to get blossoms and test fertility. I tried this with Apothecary’s Rose x Knock Out/Morden Blush, and I fell in love with the shrubby form of the resulting seedlings that were indeed non-blooming. I dug up the two healthiest of them, wintered them inside, but they ended up either mildewing or being infertile and I let them go. Now I have some First Impression x R. virginiana in their first year, and some of them have very lovely, healthy foliage. Definitely a long row to hoe, and stubbornly impractical, but I still ended up making quite a few Modern x Species crosses this year, putting Hazeldean, Suzanne, and Ross Rambler pollen on a number of tender roses. Of course this pollen seemed to be super fertile and created the fattest hips of all. Next year I may have to exercise discipline and avoid such wide crosses while I evaluate these seedlings and the potential value of that type of cross.
Another type of cross is Modern x hardy reblooming rugosas such as Keewatin, Henry Hudson, and Belle Poitevine. It will be interesting to see what results come of those crosses. Likely triploids that are 1/3 rugosa…what sort of traits will manifest?
So for now I have disregarded Will Radler’s advice, “focus”, and I’m taking a scatter-gun approach to find out in which direction I should go.
After a few seasons you will hopefully have the makings of a career.
I want that, but I think it will be a minimum of fifteen years before I start to meet my basic goals, and even then there’s no guarantee that those roses will be marketable outside of my region. So much fun, though!