1st winter … canes bent down and covered - <<1% loss - 33 inches high out of cover and fully leafed out.
That in itself is par excellent for protected gallica in my zone 4a CDN garden … but it gets better … just starting budding out and not one or two.
High hopes for zone 4 gallica “new” gene pool, but still many years of trialing in my gardens left, plus gamble on no protection … but at least get the pollen and maybe hips this year.
Color simliar to La Belle Sultane … in some photos … that one didn’t make itvthrough winter.
Expectations exceeded for bloom quality and color - couple shades darker than photo - exceeds for value of bloom in my gardens - 1st bloom 3 inches as measured across diameter - give my eye teeth to be able to get similar.
Feel the more order form calling - well done Pirjo (passed).
May actually have an exotica color for a gallica in garden in my garden - had protection for first winter - best survival l be had for “ purple gallicas with protection but early days -full expose test soon but May delay to enjoy color for a few more seasons.
From google translation of Finn Rose Society blurb on rose. Hannu has provided a link at very bottom of his input on Auli from site… A excellent bar none, seed parent for me in 2022.
Pirjo’s original naming before formal FRS naming “Merveille” seems appropriate for my success with it as a seed parent.
She addressed in below write up as “Miracle” … NS !!!
… how appropriate for my hybridization efforts with F1 and species … as towel was going to be thrown in by me before imported it for testing and successfully crossed as seed parent and germinated a number of crosses.
Protection is hit or miss for me in zone 4A CDN.
Merveille
Pirjo Rautio, 2005
“Miracle" is a cross between a moss rose and a French rose.
The Rose Society has chosen ‘Merveille’ as the rose of 2015.
1-1.5 m high, abundantly flowering bush. Some root water forms. ( no idea what last sentence means).
The magnificently colored flower is semi-double, at first velvety purple-red, later dark purple, the center remains lighter.
The golden yellow stamens emphasize the dark color. A pleasant scent. Flutes round and hairy.
Peduncle: 5 cm, tufted
Sepals: broad, short, lobed, turned to the side
Leaflets 2 pairs, thick, 4-5 cm long, 3 cm wide
Straight spikes on shoots.
Well for sentimental, personal, as well as for my hybridizing great leap forward reasons, l sadly announce the zone induced demise of my original Great “Merveille” germinator seed parent even when well protected against -35 C this winter.
If l had put anymore protection thickness on it, it would have skipped the lignite stage, and turned straight to coking coal.
Hope it’s off-spring with hardy, and semi hardy, demonstrate the superior cold tolerance of the Simonet’s cross of his very tender Red Dawn (tested 3 a long while back awhile back and passed after first winter), with Skinner’s hardy Suzanne spino cross.
Hi RikuHelin, I am very sorry to hear this sad news. I know the situation too. Above all, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the offspring will be more convincing in terms of cold tolerance.
I’m really sorry to hear that you’ve lost one of your more promising seed parents. I know just how crucial and rare that kind of rose can be for a far northern rose breeding program. Maybe one of those seedlings of yours will not only have the best qualities of both parents, but also carry that seed-setting (and germinating) ability forward, and give you even better future results than ‘Merveille’ ever could.
Now, if the tender ‘Red Dawn’ could produce semi-hardy offspring when crossed with a very hardy parent, maybe you could get similar results using slightly less hardy (compared to ‘Merveille’) but more easily obtained (and replaced) good seed setters. In a single generation (with a bit of luck), it might be possible for you to create the somewhat cold-hardy seed parent you’ve always been looking for. Not that a fully cold-hardy, good seed parent wouldn’t be even better, of course.
Mounded protection always seemed to produce erratic results for me in Minnesota, and I often wondered if overall survival would have been better without it, even if more cane might be lost, which of course is a deal breaker for once-bloomers… Sideways (total) burial in soil seemed to work well for tender roses growing in pots, but in-ground roses in my wooded garden rarely had easily worked adjacent soil for the “Minnesota tip” method.
Digging out the peat moss today and a cutting and op seedling from Merveille from 2021 ( planted 2023 ) seemed to have survived in the cold Bermuda climate in front of south Bay window. Highest probability of out of zone survival plot but c/w protection. No expectations on long term growth/survability and tiny … but at least live clones/op still around … for awhile.
But that aside l think I fluked another season of the OGR moss Mme de la Rôche-Lambert in same plot - protected. Has 1’-3’ foot green cane with no black cane blotching (9 times out 10 wouldn’t be around by June).
This one has buds swelling. Tried as seed parent last year with a cross with a hardy. Another goal working towards that being hardy moss … only one l know of and all three l tried as suckers didn’t take.
Got plenty of physically outside looking good seed, but no germination - but neither did any crosses this year. Looks like may get another round. First tried 10-15 years ago and plant winter killed right away.
Wow, that’s a nice surprise, and much better than having to re-import! Is that the first time it has faced a winter that cold? That reminds me a little of some herbaceous, corm-forming plants that can tend to die out in certain winters, and yet their tiniest cormlets survive to regrow.
Yes first time for seedling and cutting. However though both are green, what went in was larger but not nursery large but more like 3, 4 inches above soil line.
BTW lykkefund and R helenae still survive but that’s it. They never flowered last year and basically start over from maybe foot or two of cane ( protected).
Also on positive side “The Gift” that l believe is a “multi flora” something or other sailed though two winters in a row with little damage (moss covering). Sometime residual samples of an (1 or 2) old test of a couple Geschwind’s MF? hybrids due throw an odd, or four, blooms out, about once every 5-10 years .
Only solutions are not to venture out into tenders for pollen and/or seed parent options (nah … not a chance as was my first crossing success and will budget for it in bay plot so long as number/cost tiny, or buy out door gas heated and light green house as Simonet rumoured to have used (nope - not practical based on size/layout of property and too expensive - moss cheaper).
I don’t know if this would appeal, but another solution, certainly more affordable than a heated greenhouse, would be to overwinter a limited number of small to medium-sized potted plants in a refrigerator.
I think that I would probably die a little inside if you lost your “Hybrida” plant! Maybe you can still squeeze some flowers out of them, even with a foot or two of cane…
hey great idea for me to think through … send them into dormancy and keep cool … going to chew on that a awhile. Garage too cold - doors known to have frozen shut …
April 19th
Nothing l like better than to have freebies of my crosses… Merveille x JC doing what any good gallica dominate gene partner? should do.
This is the second or third runner from my now tall maybe “gallica x explorer” crossed tries.
Been using heavy dosing of 4-0-2 NPK liquid feed in water … 35ml / 3.0 L … nope a tad higher more like 50+ ml. Trying encourage rapid greening and replacement fungal leaf damage - may have over done.
Per your comment on R helenae … it’s still live (today photo). For both Lykkefund and R helenae hybrida … no crossings this year again … l retain them for transient sentimental reasons.
Qualitatively l can believe (a relative chuckle up North here), lykkefund has slightly hardier genes.
I would not have thought that ‘Lykkefund’ might be the hardier of the two from everything that the Scandinavians say, but that does look like a more robust resurrection at this point! Actually, they both look really healthy and vigorous. Is there any way to lay canes over to bury them? That might finally get you some live wood with flowering potential. Keeping containerized specimens could also make that easier–I had some potted roses including ‘Marechal Niel’ in MN that I overwintered by burying them in the vegetable garden.
It’s the start of spring winter hardies’ bloom. But that’s expected but other observations were not.
First, cannot count out the original Merveille, as a healthy young bush (4 canes) has grown about 1 foot away from spot where original import canes packed it in this winter and amongst Clary Blue sage l planted this spring (nothing was there a/g originally).
Odds stacked against winter protection saving this year’s cane for next year’s bloom. But will be tried.
Yup have sentimental attachment - first successful seed parent l used - though tall seedlings are not showing yet clear champ and disappointing in vigour and shaking off PM from winter grow room.
Won’t be protected this winter - but hopefully cross with Fedtschenkoniana will make it - different thorns from Merveille. Leaves? can’t tell, no form or pale grey green tone similar to parent.
Second, and as an aside two Geschwind roses after 10-15 years converting to semi hardy? (not protected - doubt it). Have buds Ernst Dorrel (sic?) and Heavens Eye.
Observational Erratum Corrected
Note what l had thought was curious was that Rautio’s Auli has bloom buds, on new wood (now deleted paragraph prior to this correction). l thought this was an aberration for new wood as it’s a once blooming gallica origins rose to me ( as per HMF).
l chased back the long (relatively speaking) budding canes and origin is from an old wood “stump” even though new cane.
Sure is a blurry science answer in that <5% of cane length and old wood source dictates whether 95% of cane length has a bloom. But glad.
Seeing is believing … Auli cane today (Sunday) on left that’s smooth as you know what has no bloom development and new cane on right and off shots has bloom buds … you have to imagine you see old wood.
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