germination of Captain Thomas

Following the yellow thread, I want to mention that I’ve not had any luck at all germinating Capt T by vernalization in moist peat despite a number of attempts on OP hips harvested at different stages of maturity including falling to the ground (from spring greenhouse blooms that ripened out of doors). I have kept it for months, and also tried planting anyway to see if a warm spell would help. As a pollen parent it gives lots of offspring, some of which made it into commerce despite poor hardiness (Golden Shower, Sunny June, High Noon I think). But I’ve not seen one good yellow with many petals in any crosses I’ve done. CaptT has fine-looking glossy, disease prone foliage, fading single one day blooms.

Recall that there are probably not many yellow genes out there, just some different linkage patterns and dosage effects. I’d say go for good plant traits and wide crosses.

Thanks for this info Larry. I have a friend in NY that has good luck germinating CT out of doors but this is my first try. Yes, it’s very fertile as pollen parent. The whole venture might be a waste of time but I guess I’ll give it a shot since I’ve put in the work already.

Peter Harris found that seeds of ‘Golden Showers’, an offspring of ‘Captain Thomas’ mostly germinated in fall - suggesting that the seeds need heat as well as chilling.

It might be useful to try the method Rowley devised for R. canina. Store the moistened seeds in warmth (greenhouse temperature) for a couple of months before chilling them.

Karl

I wonder why it requires this method…

I suspect the seed coats are very tough. I think they need some time to degrade. A bromelain soak might be helpful?

or in a mix made of 1 can of coca-cola + 1 tablespoon of malt vinegar: it works too.