Has the ploidy of ‘Ebb Tide’ been determined… I ask this as it has diploids in its line, I wonder if it is a triploid?
Looks tetraploid to me, but who knows. It will self occasionally, but it is rare due to the amount of petals it has.
It doesn’t sound very promising as a seed parent…???
Maybe it does better as a seed parent after plucking out the petals.
Ebb Tide sets seed readily if the bloom is emasuculated within the normal window of opportunity. I have had plenty of seed from mine and it germinates quite well.
Paul
PS: it is likely reasonable to assume it is a tetraploid.
Ok, thanks for the info Paul. I’ll throw some pollen from tetraploid onto it, see how it goes then.
and maybe even some 1n pollens, why not.
Hi George,
It sets seed and the seeds germinate decently enough. It is a pain in the butt to use, though. Midnight Blue has the opposing problem – it opens too fast, so it becomes quickly subject to natural pollination before one is ready with their own pollen to use, lol.
I have some sincerely ugly blooms from Ebb Tide x Tatton, lol. Theyre floribundas with bright magenta, extremely double blooms =/ Purple Heart x Pretty Lady yielded similar. That bright magenta tone seems pretty dominant. Of the three purples, I think Ebb Tide has the nicest bloom form.
I would love to see a cross between the Weeks purple line and their own Coffee Bean. The purple seem to be magentas with a purple overlay and Coffee Bean seems to be orange with a russet overlay. I would love to see how these together would play out.
I was thinking it might be fun to try with ‘Violette’ or ‘The Black Rose of Sangerhausen’.
I tried it with Firefighter at one point.
Yeah, uhm…they all came out pink lol. The Black Rose of Sangerhausen might have darker and more purple shades to offer, though.
If “The Black Rose Of Sangerhausen” you are referring to is what we grow as ‘Nigrette’ in the US, then you may want to reconsider. It is the WORST, runtiest of any Hybrid Tea I have ever grown. I cannot imagine how this ever survived in commerce. Myself, I would never use such a weak plant in breeding.
I must be honest, I love love love deep purples… Paul Barden’s ‘Midnight Blue’ X ‘Lavender Pinocchio’ looks a ton more beautiful than Ebb Tide as far as the pictures show… I would love to see that one here in Australia one day, Paul!
‘Ebb Tide’ has remained totally clean of any disease whatsoever so far in my climate (I have had it from late winter and right through to the end of spring now). This is unusual to see here, but of course very encouraging so far…now to see how it performs for the rest of the growing season…
George,
Both Midnight Blue and Ebb Tide are capable of producing some extraordinarily beautiful purples. My recommendation is to cross them with vigorous dark reds and dark oranges. Yes, oranges. Try it and see.
I have a very beautiful and strongly fragrant miniature that came out of Midnight Blue that is scheduled for 2011 release. It will be named for a personality in the rose world; a humble friend who has long deserved recognition for their contribution to roses. See URL below:
WOW!
George,
I need to point out that when I listed that seedling, I made an error stating its parentage. It is in fact a cross of ‘Midnight Blue’ X ‘Lilian Austin’. There was a similar cross made using ‘Lavender Pinocchio’ and I mistook this rose for the other. That’ll teach me to go on memory and not consult my records!
Paul
And thank for the wow 
Oh your very welcome, Paul…I should be thanking you for providing so much inspiration that I might get over my tendency to take on new hobbies and rapidly get bored and move on…I really hope to continue this hobby, it is proving more a mental exercise than anything else so far for me, which in itself is good fun…
What do you think of ‘Ebb Tide’ x ‘Summer Song’… I really love the orange of this Austin rose, I keep getting drawn to its flowers every time I visit the rose growers. I wish Mr Austin would show pedigrees again, it would help those of us that like looking at such things before doing the pollinations.
However…I just read that ‘Summer Song’ orange can fade to salmon/pink tones in cooler weather, so it may not be so good after all in terms of expecting unfading color in its progeny.
I don’t think Summer Song is the right kind of orange, although I got true mauve out of Purple Heart and Jude the Obscure. My guess with Summer Song is a lot of bland pinks would be produced when merged with the purples.