Quest-Ritson is a good volume to have, but it has limitations and I find the author rather opinionated on certain matters. Still, its a good reference book.
Paul
Don, Iâve found more than one mistake in printed volumes and as Paul points out, itâs only one personâs opinion anyway.
Once in print mistakes are there forever. Modern Roses is a good example. No volume is definitive. Information is in a constant state of flux.
Online databases are updated constantly and have redundant systems to protect content. If the power goes out so will the lights unless you plan on reading by candlelight.
Information that makes it to print is outdated before it hits the bookstore and then only offers information on commercially available cultivars which come and go faster and faster.
I have boxes of rose books in my garage and many more in my home but I rarely crack one. Updated information is available for free at my fingertips with much less clutter.
I wonât be investing in reference volumes again any time soon, if ever. Of course one can always look at the pictures. JMO
Translation: time aand lexicons are dynamic pieces of information 
Robert,
I came across two of your hybrids at HMF and Iâm wondering what their status is. They are two crosses of Lila Banks with Innocence, which gives them banksia, canina, californica and spinosissima in their close ancestry, pretty interesting:
Hi Don, theyâre doing great. Thanks for asking.
They seem to be fertile as seed parents. They both have fat hips ready to harvest anytime now.
This is one of the reasons I suggested âInnocenceâ as seed parent in another thread.
They will be better established next season so I should get to utilize them more.
Robert, Iâm curious about your Royal Sunset seedling.
Have you had any yellow or orange offspring from Royal Sunset?
Does anyone know the parentage of Sequoia Ballet? It seems to me that thereâs something of Queen Elizabeth in it, and although I wouldnât purchase it, I like to know its breeding history⌠just for fun.
Enrique, I used to know but never recorded it. Now I canât remember for sure. I remember it didnât blow me away .
Iâm fairly sure the seed parent is âStrawberry Iceâ.
âSequoia Balletâ, code number 177-96-12. Parentage: âGolden Gardensâ X âStrawberry Iceâ, introduced 2007.
Thanks for the correction Paul. I was never crazy about âStrawberry Iceâ. The growth habit is awkward. I knew Ralph tried it as seed parent for awhile too. I never understood why he used it for so long.
He always pushed âGolden Gardensâ. The color is good and itâs a very tough plant. The yellow doesnât fade. It sets hips easily but I find it can mildew slightly here when conditions are at their worst.
Should cross GG with Baby Love or Rabble Rouser!
I always wanted to use Strawberry Ice w/ Heart nâ Soul, but thatâs about it.
I think I still prefer âCal Polyâ over GG.
Iâll keep, 'Golden Gardens '. I might utilize it yet. Itâs amazing it survived as I ignored it for years.
I remember Paul recommended me Golden Gardens as a parent for thornlessness⌠I almost got it, but-- the spot I had it planned is being used by a seedling of mine.
A friend of mine knows ramblers and climbers pretty well so I asked him what heâd like to see breeders work on at that end of the spectrum. He said:
âThere is something glaringly missing from the available rambler repertoire: a true yellow, hardy, fragrant rambler of the old-fashioned âDorothy Perkinsâ type. Nobody has been quite able to produce one. And if it was recurrent, it would have appeal to modern rose growers too.â
Here are a couple photos of the old fashioned Dorothy Perkins where you can see the thin supple canes, almost like a multiflora rootstock though she is really an F1 wichuraiana. The Dorothys are the plants in the middle and on the right, draped over a monsterous Patricia Macoun coming at them from the left.
Barbier seem to have come closest to a solid yellow ramber with four of their F1 wichuraianas, two of which - Primrose and Fran
Robert,
This year I have used âGolden Horizonâ in breeding for the first time, and it has indeed set seed with a variety of pollens. I chose to try it because I know of no other yellow, not even âCal Polyâ, that holds its color so well, and what a color! It is a deep cadmium yellow that is so rich its almost orange. If it passes on any of that rich yellow to its offspringâŚlook out!
âGolden Horizonâ, Ralph Moore, 2006. âCal Polyâ X âStrawberry Iceâ (yet again!)
Brownell also produced some yellow and yellowish wichurana rambler descendents. I have some of them growing now, but I still canât see whether they have typical lax rambler growth (which I want).
Rob
I would think Alberic Barbier is potentially a source of yellow in the Wichuraiana style of climber.
I have Jersey Beauty which I just love. It sets hips easily and will find out this Winter how germination is as I have about 100 hips with Lady hillingdon pollen. Maybe using something like Golden Horizon, which Paul talked about, with Jersey Beauty would produce some nice yellow ramblers.
Patrick
If I had to use a rambler, yellow or otherwise, I would probably choose Aviateur Bleriot. The parentage is too good to pass up on.
You know⌠I maybe able to put Sequoia Ballet next to Queen Elizabeth right next to the gate. Does anyone know where I can find a new source for it now?