The Year of the Moss...

The yearlings’ buds are just beginning to show color, and many are looking very promising. Weird thing is, I’ve gotten full-blown moss roses from parents that should not have given me any moss at all. I’ve also gotten a couple of oddities I thought I’d share.

I’ve been calling this one “Mongol’s Hat.” No idea why. I’ve never seen a rose that is mossed on the hip and stem but not on the sepals. Its seed parent, ‘Nightmoss’, is somewhat like this if I recall correctly, but “Papyrus,” the pollen parent and a seedling of “Fa’s Marbled Moss,” is nothing like it.

Here is the other oddity. This is a ‘La Belle Sultane’ offspring. The entire plant is covered in these tiny buds, covered with the reddest moss I’ve ever seen.

I’ve seen that “Mongol’s Hat” (great name btw) phenomenon to some degree among Centifolia Moss type seedlings, although never to quite that degree. Remarkable, eh wot?

Very nice mossing. The name gives a good mental picture too.

Hi Fara,

Great mossing - I like the contrast against the naked sepals! Very unusual!

Jim Sproul

Hi Fara,

I had replied once but must have forgotten to click the final “post” button.

I like being able to see the mossing in such detail. Thanks for posting these pictures. Are you noticing any variations in the scent of your mossed seedlings?

Thanks, Tom

Thanks for the kind words, all!

Tom, I -think- I’ve been noticing different scents on the roses, but the hay and the pine trees are spreading pollen everywhere and I can barely smell anything at the moment! I have been keeping notes on this, though.

This one is really neat!