Have some roses reached their full breeding potential?

I’ve ordered a bunch of Ralph Moore roses and have noticed that HMF doesn’t list descendants for many of them. So that made me wonder if some roses (not just Moore’s) have possibly reached their full breeding potential. Then I think about the amount of rose DNA floating around and I wonder if I asked a dumb question.

Jeff,

In many cases, its simply that nobody has thought to explore them as breeders. When someone like Ralph Moore breeds 500 named varieties in his lifetime, there is just no way he can try them all out as breeders. However, sometimes a rose turns out to be sterile and so there’s no way to make use of them. There can be numerous reasons for the lack of offspring.

It is also possible that a particular rose is being used extensively for breeding, but the breeder is playing his cards close to his vest (not disclosing the parent). Or even giving false parents.

Jeff: Where did you order them from – I am looking for Ralph Moore roses. Thanks, bob

Paul and Henry. Thanks for the responses.

Robert: I bought them through Noreast. I bought several cultivars this past March and they were healthy and vigorous. I thought I would go back for more.

They are closing their retail operation as mentioned in a previous post. I do know that they are running low or are out of stock on some, so I would say if you can, jump on them now. Most are only $3.75.

Jeff

Link: www.noreast-miniroses.com/bin/nemr

Jeff, as Paul mentioned, the lack of offspring doesn’t mean that a particular rose has been fully explored, or that it isn’t a good parent. Likewise, finding a rose with many descendants through HMF, doesn’t mean that it is a good parent.

Jim Sproul