Improving an OPS of kakwa

General Discussion
1

I have a 3 year old OPS of Kakwa that is about to bloom for the first time , the plant is different from the parent , leafs are slightly larger and lighter green, prickles are a lot larger and more numerous and the buds are also larger , more substantial and cover the entire length of the branches , the rose itself though is gangly and lacks the elegance of the parent, what would you suggest as a cross to improve on the architecture of the rose ? Candidates that I am considering for now are : Double scotch white ; Hugonis or Fruhlingenmorgen/duft , or if not what would you suggest ? In general how do you improve the shape of a rose ? Would crossing back with the parent work without loosing the larger size buds and blooms ?

Thanks

Hovman J.

2

Hovman J.

You might consider trying ‘Henry Hudson’ or ‘Marie Bugnet’. Both are hardy, compact repeat bloomers in zone 3.

What zone are you in?

Margit

3

Thanks , interesting suggestion , I am in Toronto , so that is 6b? (but we do get occasional few weeks of -20 windchill) I have both Marie Bugnet and Henry Hudson, Henry Hudson for me is of a lax growth habit , both are hybrid rugosas how would a cross between a hybrid rugosa and a hybrid spinosissima work out ? Would there be any viable seeds from such a cross?

4

Nicely if both are fertile. And strong plants.

You can expect a strong dominance of spin characters with a shift toward the rugosa stiffer habit and larger flower.

5

Here is a picture of the blooms, surprise they are yellow!, no fragrance and the branch can not (yet ?) support the weight of the blooms.

Cross suggestions as to how to keep the yellow color while improving the strength of the seedlings and if possible regain Kakwa’s fragrance ? Would a cross back with the parent work for this ?

Thanks

Hovman J.

[attachment 1686 Kaops4.jpg]

6

I am not sure on the plant architecture but Hazeldean or Prairie Peace might reinforce the yellow coloring.

I would not think you would have anything to lose from a backcross to the parent. Your worst seedlings having inbreeding depression showing up in weird mutations or a lack of vigor could be weeded out early on thus not taking up a lot of room. So I think it is worth a shot. Most likely you will not get as bright of a yellow in any yellow seedlings from such an attempt.