In the same vein just discussed by Paul, I have an Easy Goin’ X Suzanne (R. spinosissima x R. laxa) hybrid that is very vigorous. The plant dies back some here in Wisconsin but regrows robustly. It is currently slightly over 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide–it was planted in the fall of 2005 and the original cross was performed in 2002. It is clearly a hybrid and retains many of the scotch-briar characteristics like vigorous suckering, thorniness, and foliage that, while much larger than the typical scot’s foliage, still retains a higher leaflet count. It has not been without blooms since the bloom season began-- it currently has two buds ready to open as I write this. Pointed peach buds open to a fairly large, double yellow/pale pink bloom that always retains more of a soft yellow color than a pink effect. It is moderately fragrant for me. If it didn’t die back I would have a much more spectacular early bloom, but there are always a few blooms present–I just am not sure if it is the continuous new growth that results in bloom or if it could be considered a repeater–it certainly blooms the first year on new wood or I wouldn’t see any bloom. I just did my disease evaluations. This plant looked healthy all summer–but in the last week it dropped about 50% of its foliage. I see some black lesions but absolutely no yellowing–and the foliage on the ground looks healthy and green–I am wondering if it is some sort of response to seasonal changes rather than a serious disease issue–it has done this each year. The plant still looks attractive but more like a many-stemmed tree. My Suzanne has also shed most of its leaves (and had a few late season blooms) but two Suzanne OP seedings that I have both look more scot-like are still well foliated. Pehaps the early defoliation is a Laxa trait(?)–I don’t have R. laxa. The plants sets some OP hips but not a ton of them. The pollen is quite potent and I have many seedlings–a fair number showing good disease resistance. Anyway, I have three suckers I heeled in yesterday that are available to anyone who wants them. I have dumped cookies a few times so you may not be able to contact me through the website. Send me your contact info if interested.
I have some version or other of Harison’s Yellow taken from a neighbor’s plant because it just dazzled me with its color this past spring. Unfortunately this cultivar does not set hips so I’ve been looking for something close that might be a good mother for its pollen. I would like to try it with your spin hybrid. Please send me a note at the address on this web page:
Your observations on the premature defoliation are really interesting. I wonder if the leaves of some species roses have a fixed life span that matches some expected growing season. I have a plant of R. glutinosa grown from seed nativized to northern Idaho where the nursery that I purchased it from is located (Paradise Gardens). This plant was spotless all summer without spraying and grew well. All of a sudden I noticed chlorosis set in and a week later it lost it’s leaves overnight. It now has leafed out again and is doing well.
i’ve been working with various spins, and your cross sounds great, esp if it’s that hardy in z.3 it should be great here in z 4. (Reading, Vt). Thanks in advance, joe
I have two suckers left–one for each of you. I already promised the other to Don. Contact me at joverom@cheqnet.net with your addresses and I will try and get these off this week.
I haven’t heard from you yet with respect to mailing info (or it was inadvertently missed). I’d like to mail these Easy Goin’ x Suzanne suckers out tomorrow so they arrive by the weekend.
" I would suggest combining roses having heavy scots rose influence with roses having heavy influence from either rugosa or wichuraiana (or both - kordesii derivatives). I think that these combinations should produce great things. "
I think so also.
I’m wanting to do a ‘Sky’s the Limit’ x ‘Belinda’s Dream’
Somewhere along the way I would like to work with
‘Janet B. Wood’ & ‘Yvonne Rabier’ & ‘Alberic Barbier’ … and maybe with ‘Seagull’ or ‘Schneezwerg’.
I wasn’t familiar with Sky’s the Limit, so I looked it up on HelpMeFind. Looks like it would be another good one to try with a scots rose hybrid. Any of those others should be good matches too.
I haven’t grown ‘Prairie Peace’, but I think that it would be a perfect candidate for crossing with a repeat-blooming wichuraiana, multiflora, or soulieana derived rose or with a rugosa hybrid. I sure wish I had it.
It seems to be very seldom that a new pimpinellifolia cultivar is released these days, so I’m happy to inform you that a cultivar named ‘Tove Jansson’ has been released in Finland. Late Tove Jansson was the beloved Finnish writer famous for her Moomin fairy tale characters equally loved my children and adults.
‘Tove Jansson’
Joy, Kahila & Kangaspunta 2008
From the cross ‘Red Nelly’ x ‘Poppius’ (1991). Medium to large, single, glowing deep red flowers in June. Improved growth habit as compared to ‘Red Nelly’ (aka Single Cherry), less thorny, more free flowering and showier. 1.2-1.4 metres. Hardy to Central-North Finland. Available as microprogated small plants as of 2008.
Robert, I just got Claus Groth from Martin Weingart nursery, Germany this spring. I’m not sure it will turn out be very hardy in Finland, but we’ll see.
I have breeding in mind, of course. I’ve been thinking about cross breeding some spinosissima hybrids with repeat genes, including Stanwell perpetual, Aicha, Golden wings and Claus Groth. Something repeat flowering, fragrant and hardy(ish) with a nice spinosissima-type growth form might be achievable.
This type of crosses would probably not have enough BS resistance in USA, but in Finland BS is fortunately a minor problem.
Robert, my Claus Groth seems to skip flowering this first year. It will be interesting to see how cane hardy it turns out to be here.
I bought Fruhlingsduft (Spring fragrance) just a few weeks ago. It has a few flowers, the colour of which is a bit insipid but the fragrance stunning. The fragrance is quite unusual and in my opinion similar to that of Eugene de Beauharnais, a china rose! I also noted that the fragrance seems to be equally intensive in warm and cool weather. If you’re into fragrant roses, this is quite an important trait in our cool summers, where some roses said to be “very fragrant” are only modestly so.
Thanks for the update Jukka. Several of my once bloomers also failed to flower this season. In my case our Winter was probably too mild to initiate flowering.
I have several different crosses out of Golden Wings. I’m going to let most of them go. It seems susceptibility to Powdery Mildew is the most common problem. Some do not repeat. Some are quite fragrant. Most are quite prickly.
The Fruhling series of Scots hybrids seem to still offer many opportunities.
Btw, the rose in commerce here in the U.S. as, ‘Eugene de Beauharnais’, is often classed as Bourbon which seems to fit the traits in my opinion. It is fertile in both directions.
Oh goodness, that thing’s HUGE. Much bigger than palustris (if that is indeed the parentage)- or at least my wild collected palustris doesn’t want to be larger than 3’ (or 1m).
Henry, I was looking at all your pictures. I really like your “Number 325, (Folksinger X Illusion) X R-15” seedling. I can imagine trying to cross that with your “Number 228, Rugelda X R-15”. Anyway, very nice.