OP vs. Self-pollinated

General Discussion
#1

I was reading another thread when someone mentions OP hips vs. self-pollinated ones. Is there a way to tell them apart or does it matter? All of mine were OP, to me that means nature did it itself. Is there a list somewhere of roses that self-pollinate?

thanks,

Maria

#2

You really cant tell them apart until they germinate and study the seedling traits and contrast the seedlings to the female parent. It is also possible for a mixture of OP and self…or perhaps even 3 roses found their way in. It is really difficult to even speculate the situation unless it is done manually and even then there is a margin of unknown.

#3

Hi Maria:

I usually plant OP seeds of a new rose that I am considering to add to my list of seed parents. What I am looking for is to see what the germination rate is like and to get a feel for the quality of seedlings that it produces. In my experience, OP seedlings (to a very large degree) resemble the mother plant much more strongly than when that same rose is pollinated with a known different pollen. That indicates to me that OP seedlings are most often self-pollinated.

Jim Sproul