Is there any correlation between the color of the seed leaves and the color of the flower or the color of the foliage. I was just asking because I have a few seedlings coming up that have a dark purplish red color to the seed leaves. One has secoundary leaves forming and they look like they might be the same color but they are very small still.
seems to me that seedlings with lot of red in stems/leaves often have red blooms
I was going to say something similar. Most of my purplish red foliage seedlings end up being red or mauve roses…sometimes dark pink. Those with young foliage having a lighter red to orange tone over a lime to olive green tend to be orange, yellow or white. Not always…but enough for me to notice a trend.
That is a shame. I was hopeing that it had something to do with final leaf color even if the leaf color was somewhat dilluted. I think if you could perpectulate the foliage color and then hang a contrasting flower color on it that would make a great plant. I think foliage in many ways are more important in landscape plants than flower because you have to look at it more of the year. My biggest fault with hybrid teas is that they look weird in a garden.
I do not observe seed leaves color and relation with foliage and flower color. I think like you, Adam, foliage is quite important among my breding goals; foliage health and beauty are decisive with adequate plant architecture and strength a necessity for good display of attractive flowers.
‘Shrublets’ are not so easy to bred as few parents have enough hability to give compactness to progenies.
Actually I am particularly delighted as all these goals are met in quite a few new seedlings with heavy species content. Time will tell if they hold promises…
I grow a lot of Old Garden Roses and the purple red color to me ALSO means a closer-to-Tea-and-China-ness in the plant’s ancestry. Chinas may have the shruby-ness that would be desirable for front of the yard plants. Most teas get much bigger.