I collected openly pollinated arkansana hips from a plant growing in the Tasmanian Arboreturm (http://www.tasmanianarboretum.org.au/). Since S. Akimoto & Y. Ueda (Cross- and self-compatibility in various species of the genus Rosa. Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology (2001) 76 (4) 392-395), showed that arkansana had only 6% self seed set (and 50% self fruit set), I am assuming that my plant is probably a hybrid of some kind though its appearance seems relatively consistent with the photos on HMF, however, it is yet to flower. The seedling is now three years old. At the end of its first year I planted it in the ground where it failed to establish. Conditions were dry and it suckered profusely making surface runners. Soil is deep, acidic (5.5), friable, red, basaltic soils, low in organic matter. It received irrigation to help it establish. During winter, after being in the ground a year, I dug it out and potted it up. It had declined to just a few runners with shoots no more than 5cm long and short stringy roots. This year it has flourished in a 25L pot and has not tried to send roots down into the ground despite sitting on bare ground. A small runner was sent to a friend in NSW where it was also potted and is thriving. The plant is now about 60cm tall and looking good (and very healthy). I intend to put it back in the ground this winter now that it is larger and stronger.
I have noticed that with my wichurana hybrids, their roots are long and thick with very few branching feeder roots where I can see them. These roots appear to be going in search of water, spreading a long way from the main stem of the plant.
Larry,
Thanks for the info. I haven’t had time yet to read the reports, but here they are for anyone who may be interested.
Prairie plants and their environment (1968)
Ecological relations of roots (1919)
Root development in the grassland formation (1920)
Back when I was at K-State, I worked part time on a study conducted by a Nigerian student on the root growth of soybeans. I washed roots.
Plots were dug to various depths, the soil was washed off, and the roots were collected, dried, and weighed. It was messy work, but I understood the importance. It was also an interesting challenge talking with someone who seemed to have a learned English from someone with a British accent.
Karl
She did not discuss physiological races or possible hybrids. Erlanson (1929), however, did discuss these important matters. For example:
Botanical Gazette 87(4): 471-472 (May 1929)
Cytological Conditions and Evidences for Hybridity in North American Wild Roses.
Eileen Whitehead Erlanson
In the central United States there are many Rosa forms which are very puzzling taxonomically. Some of them appear to be intermediate between R. suffulta (tetraploid) and R. blanda (diploid), for example, R. relicta Erlanson. It may be that these actually originated from crosses between diploid R. blanda and tetraploid forms, and that the resulting triploid hybrids were fertile as is 2949, giving rise to fertile tetraploids or perhaps to some triploids in the following manner: