Well, I did it. I had four new rose beds installed (now, unless I evict my horses, I officially have no more space for rose beds…) and planted all the seedlings outside. They seem to be really happy there, but every morning I go into the dining room and look through the window that opens into the greenhouse, and there’s nobody home…
What I did learn from replanting all these guys was that the seedlings of Tuscany Superb all had outstanding root systems! Two of them were 2/3 roots and 1/3 topgrowth. Seedlings of La Belle Sultane, except for one, were generally just the reverse.
Two new roses I’m especially happy with are crosses of Henri Martin x R. woodsii ultramontana, which are growing with lovely 9-leaflet leaves of a beautiful dark, glaucous teal with red veins that stay red as the leaves mature, and a cross of a lovely Alba that grows wild all over the county and R. arkansana..
Then of course there are tons of crosses with Fa’s Marbled Moss that I can’t wait to see. I’m going to work out the genetics of spots sooner or later!
“Two new roses I’m especially happy with are crosses of Henri Martin x R. woodsii ultramontana, which are growing with lovely 9-leaflet leaves of a beautiful dark, glaucous teal with red veins that stay red as the leaves mature, and a cross of a lovely Alba that grows wild all over the county and R. arkansana…”
Very cool crosses, Fa, I approve!
I’ve been using a plant I believe is R. woodsii also, and will be seeing the first seedlings this year. I have some seedlings from the 2008 crop that are ‘Tuscany Superb’ X R. arkansana. Although they were runtish last year, they appear to be picking up steam now. Same can be said for two seedlings I got from ‘Joycie’ X R. nutkana. (However, I suspect my plant of R. nutkana may in fact be R. californica. I don’t know how to tell these two species apart…do you?!)
Paul
No, don’t know those two. What I do know is that you tell R. woodsii woodsii/fendleri from R. woodsii ultramontana in that one has resin glands on the tips of the serrations and the other doesn’t (and I never remember which unless I go out to the garden and pull leaves off the ones that are already identified!). And ultramontana has the world’s most delicious hips!