I wanted to share my recent experiences with one of my favorite roses, ‘Illusion’. After many years of using Illusion as a parent I had to yank it out after it developed a rose rosette infection. I was sorry to have to pull it as I love the color, bloom form and health. Afterwards I reflected back on the results this season of using it as a parent. What I’ve noticed as the summer progressed was that Illusion did not pass on much in the way of health. I used Illusion as the seed parent with 1-72-1 and ‘Smoke Rings’ as pollen parents and the other way around. I’d have to say that 3/4 of the seedlings show a high degree of BS infection with some completely defoliating. I’ve tossed the majority of the seedlings out and have saved a handful of the healthier seedlings to see how they develop. I also have one Illusion x Cherry Meidiland seedling that has been struggling with BS and hasn’t grown much over the season. I yanked it out last night and noticed that the root system hasn’t developed much. I repotted it with better soil to see if can be saved as it has a wonderful vermillion red color. I don’t know if Illusion just didn’t pass on the expected disease resistance or that the other parents had more to do with the lack of resistance. One postive thing about the remaining seedlings is that the combination of parents has produced some really nice blended color combinations.
Hi Rob,
My Cherry Meidiland is ultra healthy here on Long Island, NY. Makes a good cut flower and love the flowers. My only gripe is all those thorns but then I guess everyone knows my feelings on that( speaking of “that” my legs are scratched and my arms and hands have puncture wounds, from weeding amongs the roses but them I am in shorts and a T shirt and gloveless so I guess I only have myself to blame LOL).
I have not grown either Illusion nor Sympathie but seeing many of the good things our RHA members are creating with Sympathie, I am wondering if you might do better with that.
Jim
Rob,
One thing that I have noticed is that the lack of root vigor is very indicative of future problems. This is a rose that may never establish fast, grow well under any slight compromise, but very possibly may do well as a graft. Since I only do ‘own root’ I toss anything that has less than a very good root system because it just doesn’t work otherwise in a hardy disease resistant situation. Try it as a graft, but anything short of that and it will bring along some problems. I do have a rose that I kept from a couple of yrs ago just because it has the most perfect color and form and with the intention of only keeping as a personal potted specimen it has finally developed into a decent long stemmed producer of 5-6 flowers at a time with 3-4 repeats per season. Not exactly a bloom machine, but in keeping it (this rose probably would do well in a greenhouse cut flower situation) it is interesting to note just how much a non vigorous root system affects the entire rose. This is some of the problem with some roses that are on the market. Root vigor affects disease resistance and bloom production, and if it ain’t there, it probably never will be.
Jim,
I found Cherry Meidiland to be relatively healthy in my BS environment so I thought it would be a good match. I’ve kept Illusion because it was so healthy. The home I live at now has a small garden space so I won’t replace Illusion with a climber but thank you for the suggestion of Sympathie. It looks good from what I saw on HMF.
Jackie,
Thank you for the input re: the root system and for sharing your experience with one of your roses. My Illusion x Cherry Meidiland is a wonderful color and has a very nice bloom form and I really hoped that I could do something with it. When I finally pulled it last night and saw the meager root system I understood why it might have been struggling with BS and lacked vigor. I don’t know if there was something wrong with the soil…too wet??..or if there is something deficient about the plant itself. Repotting the plant in better soil is my last shot at giving it a chance. Hopefully it will become more vigorous and show less BS but if not, as much as I hate to let it go it will get tossed. I really want all of my roses to grow on their own roots so I’d rather not graft. Thank you again
I used Illusion extensively in my hybridizing. As I mentioned in another thread I cut my garden back from about 1000 roses to about 50. Which of the “top 50” have Illusion genes?
Illusion X (Rugelda X Peter Harris’s R-15)
(Folksinger X Illusion) X (Folksinger X (William Baffin X OP))
(Illusion X John Davis) X (George Vancouver X John Davis)
lost tag from plant with flower and plant simularites to suggest possible Illusion genes
(Folksinger X Illusion) X Peter Harris’s R-15
Dortmund X Illusion
Folksinger X Illusion
the earlier lost tag X OP
OP means open pollination
Henry,
What did you observe about disease resistance in your Illusion F1s?
Rob
I have a spray free garden and essentially the good “things” keep the bad “things” at bay. I.E. I do not record disease resistance as I do not have to.
The following may be useful in putting the concept of biocontrol into layman terms:
"Disease-suppressive soil microorganisms have been found in many places. In monoculture wheat the severity of “take all” disease often decreases within three to five years. This phenomenon is known as “take all decline,” and is considered an effective natural control. Although the mechanisms are not completely understood, the decline is associated with changes in soil microorganisms that compete with and prey on the fungus. Melon plants grown in the Chateaurenard region of France do not show Fusarium wilt symptoms even though the fungus is present in the soil. Soils with suppressive characteristics tend to develop slowly and are usually found in fields where perennial crops or monocultures have been grown for many years.
Suppressiveness may be lost if the monoculture is interrupted even for one year, or if pesticides are applied. For example, researchers first recognized soils suppressive to cereal-cyst nematode when nematode numbers increased after application of a broad-spectrum biocide. Many species of fungi and bacteria in the genera Trichoderma, Streptomyces, Bacillus and Pseudomonas suppress diseases, but at this time only a few strains are commercially available. Additional commercial products may be available soon, however, as this is currently an active research area."
The link where I found this is no longer active. The following link about “biocontrol” may be useful: Publications | UGA Cooperative Extension