Chianti is an impressive plant here (z5): tall upright plant covered with fragrant, well-formed blooms is June, hips in fall; completely hardy; suckers some but not much; the only Austin remaining in our garden.
Hmmm…thanks all for offering various descriptions re: ‘Chianti’ based on your climates, and breeding experiences!
Keeping in mind that when they say ‘Chianti’ needs extra cold… it isn’t going to get that in Sydney LOL
Too right, Simon.
I had ‘Constance Spry’ here several years before I finally gave up. It simply refused to flower.
It did however, grow like a weed.
Yeah, I wouldn’t attempt to grow ‘Chianti’ in a climate any warmer than mine. The Gallicas in general don’t perform as well here as they do in colder climates where they get many more hours of chill. Here, they do OK, but they don’t make the same massive displays, nor is bloom quality as good. The Gallica-China hybrids do better. (‘Hippolyte’, ‘Duchesse de Montebello’, etc) The best plant of ‘Chianti’ I ever saw was in a zone 4b or 5a, where it spent four months of the year buried up to its waist in snow.
What is your USDA climate zone Robert…?
9 or 10 depending on the year.
This year definitely 10. We’ve hardly had any Winter at all.
I still have Plumeria with leaves on them. The Bananas still look great.
Btw, fyi, I’ve experimented with stripping the leaves off of those that wouldn’t blossom in the past to see if it helped induce dormancy. It seems to have made no difference.
Checking today I noted that I have flower buds forming on “Secunda” for the first time. There are also buds forming on ‘Manipur Magic’.
The mild Winter is moving things along. I should have first blossoms from 2009 crosses in the next few weeks.
lol… we both live in a harsh climate zone for most roses, Robert.
Summer heat here combined with several days of drenching rain have given a tropical feel here lately…most uncomfortable weather!
The snail bait around my newly sprouted rose seedlings is growing furry mould over it, at a faster rate than the seedlings are growing.
:0)
George, actually we have great climate zones for roses but we can’t expect to grow all the same roses those do in cold Winter climates, or for even those that grow and flower to perform in the same way.
‘Westerland’ is a great example. I look forward to hearing how it does for you there.
Strangely enough some very hardy types do thrive here and I’ve had good luck hybridizing with them.
I’m guessing the Teas would do better for you than they do for me. They seem to enjoy humidity.
I live in a mild climate but most of the year humidity is quite low.
My enquiry regarding ‘Chianti’ was purely out of interest in the cultivar, after all it is relevant to the breeding of WS2000. Outside of that, I was NOT contemplating on ever growing it here in Sydney, nor would I ever grow ‘Constance Spry’ here. Both are too close to Gallica ancestry to expect much out of them in this microclimate.
The Teas are a mixed bag here as far as performance goes, Robert. Some do dreadfully here in the heat and humidity, and others are evergreen and thrive. The group is too diverse to generalise about, IMO.
Nice to know George. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who has trouble with some of the Teas.
‘Lorraine Lee’ was not good here but was strangely very fertile as pollen parent. I only used it for a very short time one Spring.
Descendants do better but all mildew to some degree.
See link for example.
Hmmm… That’s interesting work, and observations you have there, Robert.
‘Lorraine Lee’ (Tea/Gigantea) does very very well here in Sydney, it flowers into winter and keeps a lot of its foliage in winter, from memory (I never pay much attention to it, as it is one of those roses you tend to see too much of here, and “get over it” as it were…lol). It seems to love the local climate and soil chemistry.
“It seems to love the local climate and soil chemistry.”
George, I figured it was good where you are. That’s the reason I used it as example.
It’s interesting that it’s so good for you and yet it suffered much of the year here from the low humidity and high heat.
Location makes all the difference.
I also want to point out the seedling I linked is a triploid x diploid cross.
Have you had a chance to assess RBXLOL for fertility, Robert?
It sets OP hips and they contain seed. I’m sure it’s fertile.
The growth habit is open and floppy. If I carry it forward I’ll probably try it with a mini to try to increase branching.
Winter flowering is good which is one of the things I’m breeding for. Too many roses and too many tangents to explore.
We’ll see.
good luck :0)
I have hips forming on ‘Lorraine Lee’ this year with ‘Mutabilis’. I was looking at increasing the branching with this.
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