I’m interested hearing your most proudest crosses. The hard-to-make crosses, or the very odd combinations.
For me, this year’s proudest crosses were the following
R. foliolosa X R. blanda
R. moschata abysinnica X Evelyn
Livin Easy X Persian Sunset
Perle d’Or X Persian Sunset
Mel Hulse X Evelyn
Mel Hulse X (R. kordesii X Basye’s Amphiploid)
The foliolosa/blanda cross because I could never get foliolosa stop aborting. Add to this fact that blanda blooms very early and ends when foliolosa begins blooming.
Abyinnica also aborts easily, mostly because the fused-pillar-like pistilate is easily damaged during pollination. Plus, this is the first year I’ve gotten any pollen from Evelyn… which is why I’m also proud of the Mel Hulse cross.
Persian Sunset crosses because I’ve never made more than a few crosses before, and this year I’ve got abundant hips from both of these crosses.
and the Mel Hulse X KorBasye because, despite the KorBasye having abundant pollen, I’ve been unable to cross with anything else because of the rain.
R. glauca x Heidi
R. glauca x complicata
William Baffin x L83
R. glauca did not want to cross for me with anything but species. I got it to set with two forms of R. arkansas, R. woodsii, R. woodsii ultramontana, and R. foetida biocolor. I did also try R. foetida but that one failed. While complicata may not be that far away from species it does intrigue me to see the hips out their. And I think it would be great to eventually produce a moss with glauca foliage.
I got William Baffin on a whim trying to decide from it and Carefree Beauty. Thinking I read that it was very seed fertile I got William Baffin. When I got home and read some notes I made I relieved it was the other way around. So I decided to try it as a seed parent just the same. Mostly with spare pollen that I decided not to use for anything else, one exception was L83 pollen which I used on about everything. All the hips on William Baffin failed to take except the few L83 crosses. I did use William Baffin on a lot of seed parents but it these few hips that seem special.
Now the trick will be germinating the seed of both. If their is seed inside the hips out there they won’t have to many of them. So I guess I will see what comes out of this.
Nothing to be proud about, but I do have a very small hip from R roxburghii normalis x Mrs. John McNab. Despite all the rain & pervasive blackspot this season, Mrs J remains healthy. Wouldn’t accept any pollen whatsoever & no op hips.
I have two hips of Suzanne x William’s Double Yellow. Now to figure out a germination strategy.
I’m not sure that this qualifies for “proudest crosses”, but it definitely caught me off guard…
For the past 2 seasons I have been making the cross Outta the Blue x Baby Love. I get tons of hips, reasonable amounts of seed, and the first year no seedlings. This past winter one seedling came up. I decided that I was just wasting my time and did not try the cross this year.
Well today that seedling was blooming. It is a mini/shrublet with 7 leaflets. It has a double bloom the size of Red Fairy or smaller. It is the color of Outta the Blue and it has the fragrance of Outta the Blue. So far it seems pretty clean, at least mildew free. There are a couple of other flower buds that will open in a day or 2, I’ll try to get a photo and post it.
I may have to think about making that cross again next year. I did not even use Outta the Blue this year…
Liz
Like Liz, I’m not sure if this is my proudest cross.
Liz I can’t wait to see photos of your baby. It sounds fascinating.
Heaven knows I too make some weird stuff too. This seedling just happened to blossom for the first time this morning so I thought I would share.
This is ‘Midnight Blue’ x ‘Star Magic’. It’s fun to see the influence of both parents so clearly in an offspring.
Robert, that is very intriguing.
Thanks Paul.
I’m hoping to marry it to 174-02-17, among other things. We can be in-laws, again.
Robert, you sure do get around 
What a weird combo. I like it.
I get around?
Hmmm… I’m not sure how I should take that. lol
As for weird, most of the unusual crosses I make are hopefully steps toward something I’m working toward.
Unfortunately I now have way too many of these types of seedlings but they are fun.
It’s a very pretty rose, and unique… there aren’t any “blue” roses that are single. There are the mauves and lavender singles, but that one seems unique because it looks like a star.
Yes it sure is a hybrid…I love it for what it is, as well as for what potential it also has in its genes…thanks for the photo!!
Robert, that is one very cool seedling that you have there…
I don’t think of Robert’s work as “weird” as much as “unconventional”, and I mean that in the very best sense; he is braving difficult territory and good things come from such ventures. More power to ya, Robert.
Thanks for the comments.
It’s nice that we don’t have to please anyone but ourselves or create anything conventional looking isn’t it?
I keep thinking about hybridizers that have have to answer to higher ups and sales staff. For me, I think it would be stressful and very boring to create tens of thousands of main stream looking seedlings only to picking out just those few that might have mass market appeal.
I’d much rather satisfy my own curiosity. It is a luxury to be sure. I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
I think some of my proudest seedlings at the moment are likely my probable laevigata hybrids. When and if they ever blossom I’ll have a better idea of what I’ve got. Only one has the foliage I would expect from such a cross. It’s making good progress. I need to get another photo. It’s fairly large in a 15 gallon container now, fascinating to watch.
This one should be diploid which would be a novel avenue to pursue.
Link: www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=79699
I really like Livin’ Easy X Persian Sunset and Midnight Blue X Star Magic. Those are crosses I would do. The Ducher X R. laevigata seedling looks promising.
Over 400 of my hips have aborted so far this year out of roughly 900 pollinations. 51% of my crosses aborted last year. I’m hoping that this year will be a little better. Most of the failed crosses were ones that had a low chance of success, like crosses with species roses. Some hips failed due to fungus infections. This seems to affect hybrid teas more than my other parent plants. For example, all of the pollinations I did on Gemini’s first flush failed due to hip rot. Does anyone know what causes this or how to prevent it? It seems to be worst in cool damp weather.
I guess I’m proudest of crosses that succeed in spite of long odds. Of course, crosses aren’t really successful unless you get seedlings from them, but developing hips are signs of hope. There is one hip of Torch of Liberty X R. foetida bicolor still hanging on, as well as one of R. gigantea X Oakington Ruby. There are also hips from R. bracteata and R. clinophylla pollen on various seed parents, although those crosses were done late in the season and it is too soon to be certain that they will make it. There are hips developing on Persian Sunset from several different pollen parents. That surprised me since no hips set on Persian Sunset last year. I’ve also got hips on two of Moore’s bracteatas that didn’t make any hips last year: Out of the Night X Moondance and Fakir’s Delight X Fabulous! Some of the other crosses I’m watching:
(Schoener’s Nutkana X Coral Dawn) X Chrysler Imperial
(Livin’ Easy X R. kordesii) X Ingrid Bergman
Golden Angel X Basye’s 86-3
‘Verbena’ X Mutabilis
‘Verbena’ is a seedling I found growing in a potted verbena. It resembles R. multiflora nana.
I cannot say a “proudest cross”. My bias colors my perceptions, so my answer would vary from time to time.
This year, I am looking back at last year’s keepers. From that, I am highly proud of several crosses:
Rosa canina x Royal Amethyst. I am proud of this one because it bloomed in it’s 2nd year from germination. It also set seed. It is a definite climber, like it’s mother, but double flowered and with larger foliage.
Toprose x Candyland. What a fruity rose. It is an unfading sherbert yellow striped sherbert orange pillar rose. It has wicked thorns, but good vigor and health. I was amazed that even though the colors were not strong (like Oranges and Lemons), it retained its color into the 100degree weather with little fading (unlike Oranges and Lemons).
Livin Easy x Baby Love. This is a 3’ powerhouse bloomer. Semi-double crayon orange blooms in huge clusters. It doesnt stop blooming and is healthy. It should make for the parent I have been needing to make crayon orange shrubs and floribundas without the health issues of previous versions.
Only two of this year’s seedlings have caught my eye so far. Livin Easy x Ebb Tide looks black, lol. Tickles x Rock Creek is a definite bright red and white striper. Otherwise, I am bored. The keeper so far looks to be PEnny Lane x Solitaire. It is an unfading, fragrant, primrose bloom that is water lily-shaped. It will be a pillar rose.
I think it is safe to say that I a the most proud of crosses that further shape my goals towards my biases for floribundas, small shrubs and climbers – roses, which in my opinion, give the highest ratio of color per usuable square inch in a given garden.
Jadae, your seedlings all sounds great. I hope you get some of these out for testing.
Livin Easy x Baby Love
I suspected that would make a decent cross… you beat me to it.
Hi Jim,
you said,
I had some hips rot on Geminis’ early flush also. I found that hips on Gemini cannot get wet at all. I cover mine constantly and also I don’t know weather you spray for diseases/insects, if so make sure you cover your hips then too.
My proudest crosses this year are all of them…LOL. Just kidding, actually I did many of my crosses with striped pollen only, Its sorta a mix and match of everything. Here are the roses I used the striped pollen on.
Brigadoon
Gemini
Osiana
Elle
Glorious
Neptune
Marilyn Monroe
Stephen Rulo
Black Magic
Black Baccara
Pope John P II
Rt 66
Silverado
And all my seedlings from last year.
I hope to get only stripes, and even if I only get a handful that will be ok.
Jim, how are seedlings from the livin easy X kordesii?
I’ve been thinking of remaking the cross, but this year I wasn’t able… I was physically away from this area as of late. I did make a few livin easy X (kordesii X basye amphiploid.) But those were the first hips to abort this year.