I get the feeling using Gourmet Popcorn with white diploid species as pollen parent, is going to give whites… I don’t like whites/pale colors… So, back to the drawing board for me. I am looking for a diploid mini, with good blackspot and mildew resistance, which passes on strong colors like red or yellow, and which is a reasonable seed setter…I think I am asking close to the impossible now!
Those two colors are hard to find in any diploid, with some minor exceptions.
“‘Sweet Chariot’ has as its seed parent ‘Little Chief’…Is it correct to assume that Little Chief is also a confirmed diploid?”
You have me curious as to the ploidy of ‘stars n stripes’ now- as it too has ‘Little Chief’ as its seed parent and I own it.
True enough Jadae.
I have several other unrelated rose breeding strategies in mind, so I think this particular one may have to be placed in my ‘too hard basket’ for now, and move on to the others, to see if they are more easily achievable.
Coming back to this thread, I have thought even more about my isues here. I am not one to easily ‘give up the ghost’. Putting everyone’s wonderful contributions here together, and seeing what is available to me here, I am going to go for Sweet Chariot (diploid) as mom, crossed with pollens from diploids other. At least it is a start. Now to get it!
And as luck would have it, my rose grower has one left…off to Dural then!
Going back to Pierre’s interesting comments about pollination of some of the more difficult diploids, does the same advice apply to ‘Sweet Chariot’…or is ‘Sweet Chariot’ fertile enough as a mom to go ahead and emasculate, prior to adding pollen (1n) onto the flowers.
The option to go ahead and emasculate would be more advantageous to me, as it would mean fewer resources spent on seedlings that ultimately prove to be selfs.
Tiny blossoms and hips are a pain to deal with.
You’ll need patience. It wouldn’t hurt to be a bit near sighted.
“Tiny blossoms and hips are a pain to deal with.”
You can add that seeds/pollination ratio is very low.
With diploids spring/summer selfs are rare. Selfing is not uncommon in autumn but these seeds are often poor germinating.
Inconvenient of either pollinating without emasculation or bee cross is that if there are other diploids close by some unwanted crosses may occur. However experience is that allmost all seedlings are from the applied pollen or from the closest compatible simultaneous flowering neighbour. Even in a “rich” environment.
From what you tell me Robert and Pierre, pollination without emasculation seems a good compromise, but I might try a few emasculations as well if the flowers are ok for my near vision.
There are no other surrounding diploids to complicate matters.
I just got the plant, no flowers, it has just finished a flush of flowering, and sad to say it is totally covered in blackspot.
Hopefully there will be progeny, and hopefully they will not have as much blackspot.
Now for some fun!