Hello Sebastian,
have you thought about the special combination of rosa Moyesii with rosa spinosissma? Or rosa sweginzowii with rosa spinosissima. I am not sure if the seedlings will be fertile but if it works, you would definitly get some spectacular hips…
The problem though might be that if this kind of fertilisation works, it might take two years before the seeds will germinate and I have no idea if the seedlings will be fertile/producing hips But it might be worth the try.
A slight tangent from this. Is spinosissima difficult with moderns? Toying around with the idea of lavender/purple flowers turning into black/purple hips.
Hi Sebastian,
Of all the hips I’ve handled, the only ones that make my mouth water are from Rosa roxburghii. The fragrance suggest something like peach or apricot.
Coincidentally, I once pollinated a very double Roxburghii by ‘Doorenbos Selection’, a reblooming Spinosissima with purple-red flowers and purple-black hips.
The cross succeeded, to the extent that a hip formed containing seeds. Unfortunately, I was too anxious to open it, so I don’t know for sure that the seeds would germinate … and if they would, I can’t guess what might have come from it.
Modern DNA evidence suggests that R. roxburghii is fairly closely related to R. hugonis … much closer than most people would imagine.
http://bulbnrose.x10.mx/Roses/breeding/ZhangRoseDNA2013.html
Karl