I have three ‘Midnight Blue’ x R. moyesii seedlings that came from seeds provided by Paul Barden. So far in their first season there was no sign of disease.
Also a R. rubiginosa x ‘Baby Love’ from Michael Garhart that unfortunately has been very BS prone this season. It was disappointing as I thought this one would have better resistance.
Are either smaller statured plants? My garden space is limited but would love to take on one if it was on the smaller side. The nice thing about the one you gave to me is that it looks like it will be a miniature rambler and put out 7’ of canes over the season. Too bad about the BS issue. Do you want me to return this one to you?
And, here, you can see the Caninae foliage sneaking in, with Yellow Brick Road x (Rosa canina x Baby Love); patience can pay with species work:
And, yes, I raise seedlings during their first year in bins from Lowe’s It is economical and wasteless. It also creates an awesome environment for weeding out mildew-prone plants, lol.
Note the color saturation. The 1rst pic is from June and the 2nd pic is from August during 100+ degree weather. Conclusion: It IS possible to create species hybrids in which color saturation is on par with modern roses. Its parent is a rich creamy peach-tone that doesnt really degrade in the heat.
This is one of the West Chinese species rose I am going to use this year for path towards disease resistance. The colour saturation of this dk pink is quite nice as well.
[attachment 1146 R.willmottiae2.jpg] Rosa willmottiae
Thought this may have generated some interest, in you Northern Hemisphere breeders after new resistance, and cold hardy roses. R. willmottiae, sweginzowii, davidii, setipoda and macrophylla here showed no infections of fungus at all be it, PM , BS or rust, although cold hardinest does not particularly concern my breeding , over your way it does to a larger extent. These species, and many more from regions over Asia, survive in attitudes from 5580 - 11780 ft, which I would guess, winters temperatures may be quite cold.
Plus with all the variations of BS over your way, these may offer some foothold in combating the problem as they have evolved in totally different environment.
I noticed when R. willmottiae was crossed with R moyesii on HMF the bloom colour created was burgundy red. This species (willmottiae) may be able to introduce a new colour line on top of the health advantage.
I thought this forum was to throw ideas around so all of us could learn something which could be of benefit to us all.
This is one of the West Chinese species rose I am going to use this year for path towards disease resistance. The colour saturation of this dk pink is quite nice as well.
Rosa willmottiae[/quote]
Warren, it has a wonderful color that shows in the few descendants listed in HMF. If I were younger I’d surely give it a try. It’s diploid, but fertile offspring could be obtained by working with diploid repeaters, such as various polyanthas, or by taking 2 or 3 generations to bring it up to tetraploidy. (or by doubling its chromosomes…does anyone know whether that has been tried with this species?)
Pete I have a number of seedlings of mine which are very receptive to diploid and high ploidy pollens. I reckon if the F1 crosses are fertile achieving Tetraploid offspring could be possible by the F2. I could do what I did with the Euphrates and treat erupting buds with 1:70,000 Trifluralin as a means of doubling the chromosomes. This technique is also applied to seedlings at the cotyledon stage.
One that does have fragrance and has been used a bit more is Rosa bella. It’s tetraploid and, like R. willmottiae, seems to have good petals. It’s in the parentage of CHEWability. I grew a plant of R. bella from seed about 5 years ago, and have seen it bloom here in Charleston, West Virginia, but this past winter was very mild and R. bella did not bloom this year. Nor did the R. acicularis seedling I had planned to use. Clearly both of them either need more chill or they have flowers only in alternate years (this latter trait would not be good except for those who go into their garden only every other year).
Quite honestly Pete I was so excited about using its pollen I did not get a chance to sniff for scent, have a few more about to open so i’ll stick the nose in. R. bella looks intereting, when I first saw the foliage , it looked very much like R. macrophylla, but its closer to R. moyesii occording to the litrature I read.
R. bella is also in ‘Brindabella Bouquet’. I believe this is what balances out the downy mildew susceptibility of the ‘Baby Love’ in it… my OP ‘Baby Love’ seedling is a downy mess about this time every year but ‘Brindabella Bouquet’ remains unaffected so far taps head. If anyone has access to any R. bella seeds that they would be willing to post to Australia I’d love to hear from you. The chill hours worries me a little; however, it doesn’t seem to have affected the heat tolerance or flowering ability of ‘Brindabella Bouquet’. I’m also chasing maximowicziana if anyone has spare seed.
Do you want me to return this one to you?
It is economical and wasteless. It also creates an awesome environment for weeding out mildew-prone plants, lol.