I’d like to ask two questions:
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As hybridisers of roses I think we all inevitably have blind spots when we breed roses, so I think it would be interesting to hear what other hybridisers look for when hybridising. Is it specific colours, flower size, root growth, leaf size, flower sprays, size etc? Currently I’m hybridising for the largest amount of flower sprays (like moschata varieties), everything else I see as a bonus.
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This may be controversial, but what is your opinion on using invasive roses for hybridising? In ZA canina and rubiginosa are classified as invasive, as they were brought with settlers into some of the colder regions where stratification could take place. I think it’s a shame that they are effectively unobtainable as they have very interesting genetics and traits.
The reason I ask about invasive species is because I have seen some threads where people have removed plants of multiflora descent (like seedlings of Trier) as they were too vigorous and set too many hips where it was judged that the plants could become invasive.