Anyone have cuttings of Memphis Music they can share? I haven’t been able to locate a source for it. Has anyone used it as a pollen or seed parent?
You can order it as well as other Whit Wells roses from http://www.twosistersroses.com/whitwells.html
I checked there. I didn’t see it listed at Two Sisters on their website.
On my computer screen it is about 2/3 down and on the left side. It sure is beautiful with the dark red color and yellow stripes!!!
I see, you’re looking at the pictures. It’s “sold out” and not even listed on their catalog page: http://www.twosistersroses.com/PrintableCatalog.html
I found it on Whit Wells’ page. Minimum order of 3 roses, though. Maybe I can find some friends who want to order some with me.
Look also for Abracadabra as they are the same rose. Not that Mr. Wells is dishonest. It’s most probable with so many potted plants around, a mistake was very easily made. That being known, for breeding, you could pretty much have the same results using any of the Frisco sports.
Thanks, Kim. Have you (or anyone else) used it? Does it pass on it’s two-toned behavior? I’ve heard the plant itself is unstable.
Sorry, Judith, I’ve not even grown it. My days of nursing florist roses are long past. Too often, they’re just not decent plants and definitely nothing I’d want to “dip my brush in”. It’s too difficult finding healthy, vigorous, productive garden plants to coax into something I want without resorting to that gene pool. Now, if my goal was to produce a florist rose which would produce under glass and with a lot of manipulation, perhaps, but this is out of the Frisco line and that has already become a “has been” in the florist trade. It produced good shape, small flowers, and so-so plants. Even Kordes, who created it, has moved past it. It’s very likely a chimera which wouldn’t produce stripes anyway. Your chances of striped petals would probably be better from something bred from the Moore line of striped roses, which I would guess is everything striped out there, not a sport from something else. I don’t know of anyone creating a striped line except Ralph. Once he opened that door, it was very easy for anyone to walk in.
I got an Abraccadabra from Cliff the year before he closed up. I remember him telling me that his cuttings were not very stable and that he was going to start holding onto longer so he could make sure they were striped before he sent them out. Sure enough, when mine finally bloomed it wasn’t striped. It struggled that first year and produced about 4-5 blooms. One had a small bit of petal with yellow on it but that was it. When it didn’t come through the winter I was not too disappointed. I don’t recommend it myself but if you’re warmer than me it might do better.
Hopefully Kathy Strong will see this and chime in. If anyone has a decent climate for this, it’s Kathy.
Well, I’m always a sucker for a challenge. 
Hi
I have several plants, all recently pruned, however, so it’s not a good time for cuttings here until the new spring growth hardens off. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a hip on any of my plants, because if I had, I would have probably tried to sprout it. But I don’t recall ever trying that.
And the other interesting thing is that this plant is very unstable in its striping habit – on any given plant you have to keep after it by pruning down the parts of the plant that throw solid color blooms – which is usually about half of them. It wants to revert to solid colors badly. Also, it’s a mildew queen. I spray Compass regularly, and even that is not particularly effective. Are you sure you want to breed with it? I guess it would be good if you want really dark colors and decent exhibition form on small blooms with good, thick petals, but that’s about it. Oh, it is thornless, so that’s a good thing. But, it is not particularly vigorous.