My Sombreuil has got to be the most beautiful double rose in my garden. It’s only knee high now, but it’s producing buds. It’s produced hips in the past with tetraploid pollen, but the season wasn’t long enough for them to mature. Last year when we had drought & the growing season started early & was about a month longer than usual, it rejected the diploid pollen I put on it. So no hips.
It seems a stretch growing it in a cool climate, but most rose gardeners in my area habitually grow zone 7 American, British & French roses. The Sombreuil is 15 yrs old, on it’s own roots since the original plant died. Considering that most grafted hybrid teas have a life span of 5 yrs or less, & are slow to get going in the spring, it’s done remarkably well for a “tender” rose.
My question is, what pollen works on it?
How are you able to get hips with Sombreuil? Is it the climber of great contraversey, or did you obtain the “real” Sombrieul.
My climber is several years old, and it hasn’t set any hips because of the high petal count.
Mine used to set hips before I removed it. I thought about using it but decided I already have too many projects.
Enrique
Mine is not the “real” Sombreuil. It’s the one that’s referred to as Colonial White. I really do prefer this one for the form & substance of it’s flower. Pickering calls it “Sombreuil”. It doesn’t climb for me because the season is short compared to the deeep south. It’s upright until it gets taller & then it flops onto another rose. I am so fortunate it blooms off new wood, because even with good snowcover it’s stems are black mush in spring.
In summer & spring we have cool nights & mornings & I think that has an effect on fertility of some roses. We had a long, hot, dry summer last year & a long season the year before, but I couldn’t get hips on “Sombreuil”. This year it’s very cool & it’s back to normal. We’re a month behind last year, on the same schedule & conditions as 2005.
I’m able to get hips & seeds on roses that don’t produce them in the south. I had been putting pollen from Reine des Violettes on hybrid teas with zero success. But last year I got an op hip on her & got three easy germinations. I think the pollen was from a neighbouring seedling of Belle de Crecy x Red Flower Carpet.
I got three roses. One with the glossy foliage of the BdC C x RFC, that has at least one flower bud on it. The other is mini size but is growing. (I don’t expect recurrent bloom, but I’m hoping for cane hardiness.) I planted the third regular size plant in another area because if disaster struck, I didn’t want all three seedlings together in the same spot. Unfortunately I lost track of the third one.
My Mme Hardy (the real rose) also produces a small number of normal flowers with pistils that work & produce seeds. It’s just a matter of looking for them. I wish I had know earlier that she isn’t “fertile.”
Robert
Did you use diploid or tetraploid pollen?
Lydia, I only observed OP hips. I only thought about using it for that reason. Mine was also the “Colonnial White” version.
Very interesting.
I got mine from Amityville when Janet used to live in San Jose.
This clone has NEVER set hips on it, OP or purposely.
My Sombreuil is about to bloom,at it’s usual schedule despite our early spring. Anyone else have experience with it. Any guesses as to ploidy?