The rugosa rose Fredrik Hellstrand, which was born from Louise Bugnet’s op seed, (Discovered by Helena Verghese-Borg, Sweden, 2005), is not completely sterile as is commonly thought. The flowers are so densely multiple that pollinators cannot reach the pistil. When the flowers are emasculated they can be pollinated with pollen from another rose. However, FH does not accept pollen from all roses. Last year, I was able to successfully pollinate the rose only with pollen from the R. gallica Splendens and now I have 27 seedlings growing from that pollination. The pollination done with pollen from the (L83 x Pikkalan Kaunotar) x Suzanne rose less than two weeks ago seems to have been successful.
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This excellent sharing to me of details of hardy crossing and challenges that can be over come - applicable to whatever zone - but with Bugnet origins “new roses”, its especially pointed for cold zones.
I looked at “Indian Head” an old found rose in Canada of nearly full form and l backed away. It is not cold hardy but a form l would like to transfer or cross it to produce hardy close version.
Backed away due to the challenge you overcame with this crossing.
Look forward to continuing to learn more of your successes … especially since you were a big push out of the hole l was in, in germinating cold zone roses (your photos tell the cold zone story).
Keep them coming when ready.
(Btw have surviving splendens and L83 of good robustness and hardiness)
Hi, Riku
I’m happy to share my experiences. When you live in a cold zone, the primary goal is that your roses survive the winter without protection. I’m terribly lazy about protecting my roses. I only do so if it’s necessary for breeding. My goal is to develop new varieties that will survive in cold zones, are beautiful, healthy, abundantly flowering and, if possible, fragrant and repeat flowering. This is slow work, as you know. You sometimes have to wait a very long time for results. I’m already 60 years old, but rose breeders are known to live long lives, so maybe I’ll still have time to do something great. Here are some pictures of the rose I crossed, R. gallica Splendens x Above and Beyond. The seedling grew in a pot until autumn 2023, when I planted it in the ground
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Here is another hybrid, also crossbred with A&B. The rose opened this flower last Monday. I emasculated the other flowers and pollinated them with pollen from different roses to test if this is a fertile seedling for further breeding. It is a rugosa hybrid Schneekoppe aka Snow Pavement x Above and Beyond. The flower diameter is 8 cm (3.15 inches).
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This flower is a cross between Lac Majeau x Campfire. The diameter is about 5 cm (2 inches). The fringed petals probably come from F.J. Grootendorst, one of the ancestors of Lac Majeau. The rose is thornless. This seedling, like the others, will require years of monitoring to see how they thrive here.
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Had to post one more picture. This plant is now blooming for the first time. The rose is a cross (L83 x Pikkalan Kaunotar) x Suzanne. I expect this to be a very winter-hardy rose.
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Txs, l am short of … “four score and seven years ago” in age …. but not by much, less than a score (20 years) … some mornings doesn’t feel it.
So that is the cause of the self imposed pressure to race up hybridizing basic experience learning curve. And the need to get the basic germination art under control so l could concentrate on hybridizing. This something thats missed in the conversation with encouraging neophytes.
Therefore your cold region experience was of great interest to me, plus your favouring of the bloom full form that makes OGRs attractive.
I find l am now less “bent out shape” after finding l could do it, and get successful crossings and germinations of hardies. Nothing of commercial value and quantities, but have “no commercial needfulness - l leave that to the young baggy and tweezer guns.
This year l cut back on crossing numbers and focused on promising parents … unfortunately the original Merveille that broke the germination barrier for me, has passed on. Took three protected winters but it gave up.
But lots of seedlings (its the one that broke down my germination barrier), and it lives on in a prized 3 year old fedtschenkonian cross (no bloom yet) that surprised me with hardiness and PM resistance.
Even now in July the ogrs showing PM around it - it is like last fall “nothing on it” and about 2 feet plus high. Other Merv x JC crosses behave as herbaceous rosaxrosa perennials (come back strong). Some show PM. And no color yet.
Good luck … and off to Iceland soon for the first deep re-immersion in Scandi since the 50s and “Icelandic” rose growing. Being a geologist in another life and a mining engineer (too long in Uni) want also to see where continents ripping apart and being renewed.
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