That’s right, both parent roses produce suckers. But the two seedlings are still very young, so it may be too early to judge these characteristics. In general, seedlings with wild rose influence take longer to develop. Greenhouse conditions may also be a factor. It’s still winter here. In any case, their true traits won’t become apparent until the outdoor growing season. I hope they’ll do well.
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One of the keepers from OP ‘Laura Ford’ that was healthy, *but didn’t produce a flower in its first season*, had a stow-away seed at its base germinate the other day!
It has been plucked out and set in the seedling row with a marker, so I know it’s not a “this year sown” seed. I’m glad I caught it in time!
Hopefully it’s nurse seedling-“parent” blooms and keeps blooming. I’d be shocked if ‘Laura Ford’ gave me a once-blooming mini-climber, although it’s technically possible in my garden.
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Very excited to see how this cross goes!
UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I’ve just lifted out a second germinated seedling from the base of the same unflowered yearling OP ‘Laura Ford’ plant. Both are now growing in the still-bare row of OP LF from last summer, marked with a stake so I know which two are The Laggards.
I held off planting out a lot of OP seed, have kept them in the fridge, cycling them out onto the counter for a few days, then back in, finding new germinations every week, and planting them out in short rows in a long windowbox. So far, Kordes’ ‘Nicole’ leads w 9, ‘New Dawn’ & ‘Westerland’ tied at 7, and most impressive to me ONE SEEDLING from Kordes’ ‘Nymphenburg’!!
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Any updates here? I also wanted to ask if the seeds that take more than one round of stratification are any different… For example weaker etc etc?
Both are still there and thriving. However, the heat waves have taken a little bit of a toll on them, just as it has on all roses. I’m curious to see how well they’ll continue to compete this strange season.
There’s no general answer to that. Most of the seedlings from a second or even third round are unremarkable, just as is the case with the first germination cycle. There are only very few of each batch that are worth to observe longtermed and more closely. That won’t be any different later on. However, there are every time a few interesting exceptions. For example, the two seedlings from the third cycle of 2023, that you’re asking about here, were clearly from the start more vigorous and robust than the seedlings from this cross in the first and second cycles. In the first round, there was only one seedling that inherited even more traits from ‘William III’, but unfortunately, it didn’t perform well in the long-term test. The second round didn’t show anything exciting within this batch. In any case, I always look forward especially to seeing the older seeds sprout because I have realized that there might still be a few interesting surprises waiting.
Can we see how they are looking please? 