Darlow's Enigma as parent

I have had a lot of nice open pollinated seedlings of Darlows Enigma.

Peter Harris reported that he tried lots of tetraploid pollen on it with almost total rejection:


I have tried taking the actual flower and using it as the pollen doner on both diploids and tetraploids with a very low sucess rate. The only recorded one I could find in my crosses is (and of course it could have been a self; but it sort of looks like what I would expect for this type of cross):

(Rugosa Double X open pollination) X Darlow’s Enigma

http://home.neo.rr.com/kuska/rugosadoublexdarlowsenigma.htm

What are other’s experiences?

Link: home.neo.rr.com/kuska/rugosadoublexdarlowsenigma.htm

It’s interesting to hear about the many OP hips people get from Darlow’s Enigma; here in my yard, where admittedly few OP hips form on any rose, it seems to be aborting nearly everything I haven’t pollinated by hand. It is difficult to say exactly how many of the developing hips are ones I facilitated because I didn’t tag most of them (they’re so tiny and fiddly and the mosquitoes have been unbearable this year), but I do feel confident that most of them are the products of human intervention. I believe that some were sired by tetraploids, others by diploids. Only time will tell for certain, though, and the proof will most definitely be in the pudding.

I haven’t tried out the pollen yet but I do have a very meager quantity of dried anthers in the freezer. Of all the roses I’ve collected, though, this one sheds the smallest amount of visible pollen (none or almost none).

I tried it on Leonie Lamesch earlier this spring with no take. But not as a seed parent since I do not own it. Hope that helps some.

Mine has plenty of pollen, in fact it probably has as much as any other that I have. I am using the pollen on every rose that I have to see if any will take(what else do I have to do). I also am trying to get some seeds to take and will find out in a few weeks. I know its late to pollenate but it hasn’t frozen here in over ten years and besides if some do make it then I will be ready to try next year. I have some OP hips in the refrig right now and will try to germinate them this winter.

Darlow’s Enigma sets many OP hips here. I have had pretty good luck crossing it with diploid Tea roses (Mons. Tillier, Duchesse de Brabant).

I’ll keep trying to harvest pollen from mine; maybe my difficulty is just a weather issue. I have tried in the past to always collect it very early in the morning, or from a bud the evening before opening… I do wonder when the best time to take its anthers is. My policy of trying to use the same bloom for both pollen and seed could be flawed when it comes to some roses, too.

Stefan, I collect my pollen about 7 in the evening. I collect all that show white on the bud and I get all the pollen I need. I leave it in an opened small container overnight and it is uaually ready the next day. Good Luck.

I have found ‘Darlow’s’ to be unworthy because of its reluctance to work with other parents. I would work with ‘Trier’ instead, which is infinitely more cooperative.

Looking at the hips this year, I’d say it isn’t necessarily reluctant as a seed parent. The number of seeds per hip is small and that’s somewhat of a disadvantage. ‘Trier’ is not as hardy as Darlow’s Enigma in the far north, but otherwise it probably compares favorably.

I just got back from a visit up north. Went to a nursery in Victoria, Canada, near the Butchart Gardens and met the owner, a nice gentleman by the name of Robin Dening. The one rose that I was most intrigued with was identified as ‘Darlow’s Enigma’. I was going to “look it up” on the internet, but came to one of my favorite places first and here is a post!

That rose was in full bloom and very beautiful. It didn’t look quite like a rose and I was very interested in trying it in my breeding program.

It seems from the above posts that the reviews are mixed. Is anyone getting seedlings using it as a pollen parent on tetraploids?

Jim Sproul

Yes, Jim. I also tried it on Rabble Rouser with failure. I’ll try it on other dwarfs next year as I do not have room for the giants it is probably capable of producing lol.