Anybody ever use this rugosa before? Seems interesting and possibly worthy of use?
Right now I’m on pins and needles waiting for young ‘Roseraie de l’Hay’ OP but possible ‘Plaisanterie’ and or ‘Stanwell Perpetual’ crosses to grow, I’ve had a few germinations. The formation of hips for ‘Roseraie de l’Hay’ for me indicates a possible fertility that I think holds potential if you hit it with the right cross? I’ll have to see if the seedlings that come up show any sort of vigor or prove to be genetically weak and die young.
Anybody ever use ‘Mrs. Anthony Waterer’ before? The color is very striking and I would imagine it’s it’s pollen fertile might help bring bright colors into crosses that may not have very bright colors yet and you don’t want to make a direct cross to a mini or something far more china derived. Thoughts?
Link: www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.4299&tab=1
‘Mrs. Anthony Waterer’ is a triploid and therefore its pollen likely lacks viability. Regardless, it is subject to mildew so I would rule it out in a breeding program. If you want to work with Rugosas, one important route to take is crossing the species or pure Rugosas with Floribunda cultivars to develop crown hardy selections for Zone 3. There would be a good demand for any high quality cultivars developed, especially if the flower colour is red or yellow.
‘Augusta’ by Percy Wright is ‘Hansa’ X ‘Mrs. Anthony Waterer’.
It can be seen at the Montreal Botanical Garden. It was given to them by Paul Olsen many years ago.
Link: www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.40277
Thanks for your response, Leo
Although it is true I sent ‘Augusta’ to the Montreal Botanical Garden in the late 1980’s, I’m not 100% sure what they have labelled as this cultivar is accurate. I got it back as a small plant from the MBG a couple years ago for the Devonian Botanic Garden, but it didn’t appear to be what I thought it should be. I hope to visit the MBG this summer to have a look at this cultivar to confirm they have the correct one. It’s easily recognizable because the large, medium pink flowers have weak stems. The foliage is also non-rugose.
I work a lot with Rugosas and I stay away from anything that is disease prone as a staminate parent. The exception is ‘Therese Bugnet’, which is not too prone to mildew on the Canada Prairies but can be a problem in warmer climates. And even then, I only use it for one select project. Which is to combine it with ‘Aylsham’ (‘Hansa’ x Rosa nitida) in an attempt to get selections having a combination of reddish coloured canes and attractive fall foliage.
Howdy there Paul
Just wondering if you have done any work with Sarah van Fleet, it grows really well around my area.
cheers warren
Personally, which I have stated before, I’d stay as far away from Hybrid Perpetuals as possible.
Paul,
I planned on using Therese Bugnet for pollen this year. I also have Marie Bugnet, but I am still unsure about using it because of is relation to Grootendorst. Does it always give mildewed seedlings? I have a Danae x Leonie Lamesch seedling I thought of using as a seed parent w/ Therese Bugnet … but I was not aware of the mildew issue. That complicates things since it took me several attempts to get something mildew-free from Danae 
My hope was to get a rugosa hybrid type without the magenta tones into a rose for breeding purposes with other diploids.
My Sarah Van Fleet rusted rather badly when I had it.