What Options are Available for Sports of our Roses?

General Discussion
1

Hello All,

I have a sport growing on one of my roses (‘Heaven on Earth’). It is a medium-yellow color. I originally thought that the correct, apricot-colored rose was the sport. This rose bush has always been yellow for me. I’ve grown the rose for three years, and the yellow blooms have fewer petals than the apricot ones.

I was just curious what options are available for people who find sports on their roses? I know the easy answer is to propagate it. I do plan to do that, but I am rather lacking in that skill. And yes, I already know I will probably never get any money from the rose, and that it will probably cost me more to keep the rose, than to just give it the shovel.

Andy

P.S. If anyone knows how to upload pictures to the forum, I can email them copies of picture(s) of the rose. I can’t figure out how to upload them.

2

I think I am finally able to upload pictures of this sport. They can be viewed at

http://picasaweb.google.com/registered.in.ri/AndysRoses/photo#5230798596689642754.

Any information you can give to me on what to do with it is appreciated.

Andy

Link: picasaweb.google.com/registered.in.ri/AndysRoses/photo#5230798596689642754

3

You have the option of offering them to the vendor of your choice at which point they may or may not pick up the option for distribution.

Hopefully they offer you a royalty as discoverer.

The prefer they not be registered prior to evaluation.

Timing and marketability seem to be everything. It’s very easy to move on to the next thing.

4

So, part of the bush is the normal pinkish color and part of it is yellow? That part wasn’t clear. I mean, the whole bush isn’t yellow, is it?

5

Paul,

There is one cane which is the ‘normal’ pink/apricot coloring of ‘Heaven on Earth’. This cane came from a very low part of the plant. It appeared two years after I had initially planted the rose. The rest of the rose (90-95%) has always been yellow. I originally thought that the yellow coloring was the correct color for the rose, and the pink coloring was the sport. I now know that the yellow part is the sport. The rose has remained yellow for four years in my garden. This indicates to me that it is a fairly stable, but not completely stable, sport, however.

From what I understand, I think I have four options. Please let me know if I am wrong, or there are other options available?

  1. Take the rose out of its container and add it to the compost heap. Problem solved! Headache gone! The rose may not be a very good rose anyway. If I do this, rose is lost forever, but then I don’t have to deal with it.

  2. Try to propagate the sported portion of the rose multiple times either by rooting cuttings or budding to determine if the sport is stable. If it is, then offer it to a vendor for possible introduction as Robert indicates. The problem with this is that I have about 0-5% success rate at doing this. I am trying to learn the correct techniques, but these things take time to master.

  3. Do nothing. Enjoy the rose as an unregistered rose, eligible only for unnamed rose classes in the rose shows like my other seedlings. When I get tired of the rose, either let the ‘Heaven on Earth’ portion flourish, throw it away then, or just donate it to someone who wants it as a yellow rose to enjoy in their garden.

  4. Register it with the ARS with the name of my choice and distribute plants to friends and relatives. This way, I can possibly honor a friend, loved one, or just name it for myself. This is what I’m leaning towards, but I don’t know how to go about it. Local consulting rosarians are unfamiliar with the process. The ARS hasn’t been helpful, and they haven’t returned any of my calls about what to do. I also don’t know how much it costs? Is the option only available to members of the ARS? Are there other options for sported roses?

Andy