Looking at some of the descendants of “Carefree Beauty” I came across “Alister’s Gift” and “Naga Belle”, both Hybrid Gigantea that have “Carefree Beauty” in the parentage line. Can anyone speak to the disease resistance and fertility of these two. Again, looking to combine with miniatures next season. Thanks in advance.
Rob
Gigantea + Miniature! I love it.
Hoping that miniaturism will dominate. 
Looking to get some disease resistance genes from the species into miniatures.
…actually, doing some more research I’m thinking that these too might not be hardy enough to work with. Never mind…
Yeah, serious doubts that anything with that much gig in it would have genes suited to a harsh winter climate.
Hi Paul; I would agree with you there, Using gigantea in offspring would be suited more for the warmer climates Zone 9. I am using pure R. gigantea as a pollinator this spring in Australia as a means of breeding roses for our Temperate and sub tropical regions.
Rob I have seen Alba’s growing here in town where I live and they are always clean as a whistle, also they would be able to withstand your climate better.
Warren,
I used to grow most of Rolf Sievers’ Albas years ago and never did get any repeat offspring so I gave up. They sure where clean though.
Rob
Here is a photograph I took of a R. gigantea today growing in the area where I live.
Warren
Thanks to Robert Rippetoe, Burling Leong and Carolyn Supinger, formerly the brains and voice of Sequoia, today I received Nessie back home. It’s a once flowering, intensely healthy, vigorous and fragrant seedling I raised some years ago, which recently was only listed in gardens and nurseries in Italy!
Momma was Montecito (Brunonii X Gigantea) and I’m fairly conficent the daddy was Mlle. Cecile Brunner. I hit every flower I could reach with her and these results are pretty much what I’d expect from that cross. Modern Roses 12 is in error with their report it is a sport of Montecito.
My idea has long been to cross it back with polys and minis. It sets copious hips, though I’ve never germinated any seed from it. I can’t wait to get her in the ground and start running! Kim
Nessie is a beauty Kim. I checked out Montecito and saw that HMF lists her as a height of 98’ 5"…that’s a big rose!
Thank you Rob! In case you didn’t look at the “foundation photos” I posted of the Montecito at The Huntington, this is where my plant came from. Kim
That rose must be HUGE! It must be a sight in full bloom.
The seedling resided in a fifteen gallon can which attached itself to the ground VERY quickly! Even then, it put out arms of easily eight to ten feet in every direction. As they laid out fairly low, each bud threw laterals of at least three inches, some nearly a foot, before breaking into open clusters of flowers. I never had a tree to encourage it into and hope the faltering Black Walnut out back can be pressed into that service. Robert had used it as a root stock for some of his Gigantea hybrids and raised a few seedlings from it.
Avoiding being entangled in her “arms” was quite a trick when the winds whipped through while watering. I love her and am very excited to have her back! Kim
To my eyes the canes in the picture look to be as thick as a man’s forearms! Amazing.
Rob I am just waiting to see Jack holding his golden laying goose climbing down.
That plant had already hit the top of the forty foot Pecan by the time I “discovered” it back about 1983/84. That photo was taken this year, nearly 18 years later. I HAD to grow it from the first time I saw it. One of Clair Martin’s favorite stories was of the little old lady at an Orange County Rose Society meeting proudly showing off her little one gallon plant of Montecito she’d bought from Bob Edberg when he had Limberlost Roses in Van Nuys. Clair sat chuckling, knowing how huge it would be, but it was SO ‘cute’ in the little can! LOL! Kim
I had similar thoughts Warren. 
Kim, it’s going to take over your garden! lol
I’m watching for the Golden Goose and there are plenty of worse things to take over this hill…prickly cucumber, Russian Thistle, Mesquite…Kim
I am having trouble even with Robert’s Petite Perle 'Or, which is highly healthy, floriferous, and vigorous. However, despite looking fine in March/April, it did not winter well at all. I even had it near the house of the garden. It simply is so very tea-related that it cannot tolerate cold well.
Aha! So it’s not triffid vines after all. I guess prickly cucumber is the stuff that’s taken over our neighborhood this year. It has draped itself gracefully over the stinging nettles and chokecherries in the hinterlands behind our back yard.
