Some fall color pics. See captions.
OP seedlings of Jackie’s thornless wichurana absolutely glowing in pots. The thornless wichurana itself a lighter orange. R. nitida is a striking shrub with great long-lasting color. A row of R. virginiana seedlings (likely many selfs) is coloring nicely.
This has been an exceptionally late fall–I suspect I won’t see fall color on R. nitida and R. virginiana every year.
Great color Joe.
Beautiful, Joe! How are the Xanthina seedlings?
Thanks, Kim! The R. xanthina seedlings are doing very well. About 30" to 36" tall, healthy and full. (No fall color, though.) I think they will bloom in the spring.
You’re welcome, sir. Mine are huge, too and retaining their foliage beautifully. I hope for some spring flowering. What I genuinely hope for one of us to find is a very double seedling of it. THAT is what I want to grow and play with.
Double Xanthina from Baidu, “Chinese Google”.
Looks like the foundations of an empire in the making.
Is that a golf cart?
We’ll see, Don. 
Yep, my most valuable rose hybridizing tool is the electric golf cart shown. Happy mornings zooming out to the field to pollinate.
The seedlings in this pic were from a couple years ago when I didn’t wash or cover the blossoms of R. carolina and R. virginiana and many but not all may prove to be selfs. Next year they should bloom for the first time.
Great colors there Joe.
Kim,
Are you growing the Double Xanthina or is that a picture from google?
Joe, That is a nice pic of the Rosa wich x Pink Drift. Did yours rebloom? Mine did again for the second year. It takes the heat well but with the water cut backs and the heat it did bloom less. We just started to get cool nights 3-4 days ago.
Kim, That would be very impressive to get a Dbl Xanthina, but the foliage is lovely regardless. Good luck!
Jackie,
I think this was actually a seedling I grew from some seed of the thornless wich that you sent me.
I have kind of lost track of the wich x PD…I remember seeing the tag so I know it is around here somewhere…I think still in a 4" pot that I will again store over winter…or maybe I lined it out in the field. I haven’t seen it bloom yet.
I would be happy with a somewhat dark yellow Xanthina. When I compare the foliage to that of Persian Yellow and Austrian Copper, well, let’s say there is a 100% difference in foliage health. Persian Yellow has none remaining, R. xanthina has all foliage remaining. It will be fun to start integrating R. xanthina into yellow modern roses, or maybe to start a totally new path to yellow? That’s beyond my ambition.
That double Xanthina I lifted from Baidu, the Chinese Google. I HOPE one of either Joe’s or my seedlings comes out like that! I WANT it! Xanthina’s foliage is remarkable. Healthy, dense, gorgeous with the reddish wood and prickles…what’s not to like?
It’s beautiful Kim
That, it is! I hope some of these turn out similarly. Imagine the fun of breeding with that!