I was messing with ‘Night Owl’ and wound up getting some pollen on my finger. I have an ‘Arlene Francis’ close by and couldn’t resist splashing some NO pollen on it. If it takes it should be interesting. They look like polar opposites to me.
I was just curious what strange or impulsive crosses some of you have made and the results.
Jeff
Well, one I’ve done which I consider quite rational though somewhat extreme is a miniature pink with excellent bud form crossed both ways with Doubloons which is now about 8 ft tall with golden cupped to floppy (old-fashioned form we call it these days)blossoms. Doubloons has the strongest canes with the largest thorns (prickles technically) of most any rose I’ve grown. So far none of the reblooming seedlings amounts to much in teh vigor category, mostly too much like the mini.
I am currently attempting to get offspring from three seedlings I have from 2006. They are [(R. wichurana X ‘Floradora’) X (R. wichurana X ‘Floradora’)] X R. clinophylla. The seed bearer is a fully remontant selfing of the Ralph Moore breeder 0-47-19, and is a diploid shrub 3 X 3 feet, with single deep pink 1" blooms. I hope the R. clinophylla seedlings are fertile diploids. Time will tell. One of the three has some remontancy, and as it happens this is also the most attractive shrub of the three.
See:
So far I’ve had only one blossom on your seedling this season Paul. I love the foliage. It’s growing like a weed.
I put the pollen on Riverbanks which normally sets hips with most any pollen. I have one weak looking hip forming but so far it doesn’t look promising. Hopefully next season I’ll get more blossoms to play with. The plant should be huge by then.
As far as weird crosses go, I’ve got several, but these have to be some of the most unusual.
I have a large arching thin stemed small flowered fully recurent plant from (foliolosa x nitida) x banksiae. A 2003 cross. Fertility is low.
You can bet it has narrow leaflets 
.
These leaflets and thin arching stems are readily transmited to its two larger flowered fertile 2006 crossed offsprings that are eventually tamed by the other parent: a low recurent large flowered complex hybrid three generations remote from species involving rugosa, bracteata, foliolosa and nitida.
Pierre, those willowy looking laves and stems are unique. I have them here too. I keep wondering if anyone else will find them of value.
It’s ironic that evergreen and deciduous species marry so readily. It’s bound to create some very confused looking offspring. I know some of mine look confused.
I have a feeling it’s going to take several generations to get them to a point where they will have commercial appeal.
Of course all we can do is eventually make them available and see what comes of it.
This year I tried crossing one of the better remontant Hulthemias onto one of my thornless hybrid multifloras. It looks like only 2 or 3 hips are hanging on, so I might get lucky and have a few seeds to plant from that cross.
Also, I have a remontant R. soulieana seedling that I couldn’t get any pollen off of it for the last 3 years that seems to be setting a number of OP hips that I am looking forward to planting.
These intermediates have their prodominant beauty in the possibility that they may be a path to something interesting down the road - or not, but it’s fun trying anyway!
Jim Sproul
Yes, these type of crosses are fun. Here is another weird one.
I got a kick out of turning a hybrid gigantea into a mini. I’m very happy it’s yellow.
Here’s the lineage breakdown
Amber Cloud
Does anyone think ‘Rouletii’ x ‘Mutabilis’ is a strange/weird cross??? I was thinking a miniature form of ‘Mutabilis’ would be nice and they are both diploid chinas… I really like the sound of this cross… so am keen to hear various opinions. I was thinking that gigantea and bracteata on 'Rouletii" would be interesting too.
I think it sounds great Simon.
Robert,
I have a swamp rose X Basye’s Amphidiploid seedling that has very willowy leaves.
At times, the leaves look like hemp. Neither parent had willowy leaves.
It’s several years old, but its growth was stunted. It grew in a very tough area with established roses. Then I uprooted it, left it in a bucket of water for 7 months… and it survived and made new roots. (Swamp rose trait.)
If you want, I can send you a sucker. It has one small sucker that I can extract during the winter.
That is… if you have room.
If not, then anyone who wants to try to breed roses with willowy leaves… let me know.
Enrique, does your hybrid flower? It sounds likely triploid?
Non-remontant?
I think I have too much on my plate right now to take on anything else.
I have to make room for next years seedlings. It’s scary. I’m harvesting seed and I have no where to put seedling pots, even for germination.
I hope you record your hybrid at HMF. I’d love to hear more about it.
Thanks, Robert
I will take a picture and show the willowy leaves, and the few that are hemp like.
It’s most likely non-remotant. I grew this one for years, although-- always in a bad condition. It was crowded with mature plants, and it’s just this year that it’s actually put growth. Otherwise, it’s been dwarfed.
I’m putting it back to the ground again, but at a good location this time and I hope that within two years to get it blooming.
I have found that these odd “willow-leafed” seedlings usually have genetic flaws, often resulting in a plant that NEVER blooms, or has serious problems with vigor. I no longer hang on to such seedlings, since I have no patience anymore for runty, vigor-less seedlings.
“I have found that these odd “willow-leafed” seedlings usually have genetic flaws”
Or virus?