Parentage of Polar Joy

General Discussion
1

Looking at the patent of Polar Joy, the hardy, own-root tree rose sold here in the North (through Baileys and it was bred by Jerry Twomey and Ping Lim) was interesting to learn it is listed as a cross of Snowdwarf (white rugosa hybrid used in some Explorer rugosa hybrids) x Champlain. It is triploid and not very fertile, but very very healthy, hardy, and a nice prolific bloomer with minor rugosa appearance. It is a single pink that reminds me a little bit of ‘Nearly Wild’. I wonder what else we can get in crossing Snowdwarf with tetraploid modern roses???

David

2

I started using straight Rosa rugosa alba with tetraploids. Id ont think I would use hybrid teas, though. Theyre often way too angular. I think all of the white rugosa hybrids in commerce are inferior to it. Wild Spice might be okay. which might be a descendant of Snow Dwarf (the lineage of Pierette is hidden).

If I was going to try something other than the above w/out white I would prolly go with using Jens Munk or Frau Dagmar Hastrup.

3

Hi David,

I

4

You all are a bad influence. I bought a 3 gallon own-root of Jens Munk on the way home :frowning: And I found a 3 gallon own-root Electric Blanket (R. wich shrublet) for cheap, too.

5

Hi David

On your Yard & Garden Line News Volume 8 Number 15 September 15, 2006 picture one can see long growing ground shoots.

Just as if this tree rose was a singled stem from a large shrub.

Is this right?

Is’nt this a new rose type?

6

Hi Pierre,

Good eye! Yes, there are suckers on the ‘Polar Joy’ coming up at the base. The rose with blooms next to the suckers though is ‘Island Dancer’. The propagators take cuttings of ‘Polar Joy’ and prune them to single stems and create the trees eventually, so it is an own-root tree rose and amazingly hardy so we don’t have to do any special winter protection here in zone 4.

Some eventually sucker and we can just prune them off, or just let the plant become a large, own-root, shrub.

David

7

I wonder what other roses would be pretty amenable to being an own-root tree rose and produce a nice long-lived trunk. Maybe William Baffin would work or a really hardy rose like John Davis. Hmm.