1932 The Fairy as 1930 New Dawn are perfectly modern roses that were bred fifty years in advance. Both are strongly wichuraiana derived as is the rambler Mlle Marthe Carron that is a favorite Meilland landscape roses parent.
Wichuraiana provides dense growth procumbent to wider than tall, high frost resistance as well as the highest level desease resistance. Everything quite usefull when breeding Ground Cover roses. Unfortunately none among these features is monogenic and as often too rapidly they are diluted.
Unfortunately again when wichuraiana polyanthas are nice rounded shrubs as is the species rugosas, the kordesii derived vars I know did loose these nice plant shapes.
Pierre Rutten
Probably because of cell rigidity.
That the good PA of rugosa does not combine well needs to be examined.
Rugosas have large parts and stiff ground shoots that branch high with steeds smaller branches that build an overall rounded externaly dense plant. Secundary branching is wide angled and little higher growing.
Most (all?) rugosa hybrids combine large parts and stiff not so dense growth with erect, stronger high branching. Relative infertility preclude recombination in further generations the more so that most progenies are from crosses to HT whose PA implies at least one annual expert pruning.
I would like to have other’s opinions.
Or comments about vars that do not fit my descriptions.
Pierre Rutten
Rosalina maybe. (sp?) Uhm… Rote Max Graf? Im running out of ideas.
You are right about Roselina. With smaller parts it has a rather nice silhouette.
By the way comparing it to Max Graff one can wonder at which wichura was the father as it has too large sized leaves.
Rote Max Graff rugosa content is not obvious and not very different from a climbing Fl
If I remember well another than the original kordesii was bred. How do they compare?
As I am transplanting selected seedlings and comparing architectures I realized that there were little explanations about desirable architecture betterments.
Abundant easily produced not too vertical ground shoots, wide enough ramification angle, steed shorter higher ranked branches are characteristics that in my opinion would allow better plant architecture with a pruned or not domed silhouette.
Most modern roses have few vertical ground shoots and long erect branches.
In this direction are some British breed shorter HTs such as Silver Jubilee or Freedom as well as many shrubs: Kent, Knock Out or Roselina qualify.
The short,stalky and well-brached HT’s are among my favorites. They look nice in the landscape and you can bring them in for arrangements, give them to people or set them on the kitchen table.
I used to grow Freedom but it’s shortcoming was that it detested the wet winter soils much like many from the Golden Wave line do here.
There is a new HT this year called In The Mood that is supposed to have a similar plant habit. I’m going to buy it and see.