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Welcome to the September 2003 edition of my web site! The roses I write about are the Old Garden Roses and select shrub and miniature roses of the 20th century. For tips on rose culture, pruning, propagation and history, see the "Site Resources Guide" box in the navigation panel at left. To return to this page, click on the "thorn icon" in the margin at left. Articles from the previous months are archived and can be viewed by clicking on the listings in the left margin. Oh, and please don't write to me for a catalog or pricelist.....this is an information site only, not a commercial nursery. If you wish to buy roses, see my sponsor, The Uncommon Rose. My
2003 Seedling Selections.
Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger version of the photos listed below. Note: You must have javascript turned on to use this feature.
It was for the sake of curiosity rather than any expectations of results that I made the cross of 'Oakington Ruby' X 'Little Chief' last year. I was interested in seeing what might come from crossing two Miniatures that have a track record of producing very dwarf offspring. Perhaps it would result in some extremely dwarf seedlings? Well, it resulted in a few very curious seedlings, one of which is the pink Miniature shown at right. (I'll decribe one of the other seedlings in a moment) The seedling you see here is quite dwarf, with very glossy, deep green foliage that is no more than 2" long, and moderately thorny canes that branch heavily. While I cannot be certain of its mature size, I'd hazard a guess that it will be no more than about 15" tall, and somewhat wider. Blooms come in clusters of three to five or more, and are scented almost like Sweet Peas. I didn't expect to keep any of these seedlings, but this one is going to stick around for further evaluation.
I suppose this cross was made with the idea of mating two very successful parents, 'June Laver' and 'Little Darling', with the expectation that some worthwhile offspring would result. Usually 'Little Darling' is used as a seed parent, but it works equally well as a pollen donor. 'June Laver' is a reluctant pollen parent, and so I had no choice but to use it as the seed parent. A few nice seedlings came out of this lot, but many of them lacked petal count or lasting color. None were strong yellows, but one or two were light yellow and red blends, as is the one you see here. This selection, which I consider to be the very best of the lot, is quite beautiful with its peachy yellows and reddish markings. It blooms in clusters and one to a stem, which might make it a good variety for exhibitors. It holds its form a long time and the petal substance is excellent. Unlike its seed parent, this seedling does not suffer from short stem syndrome. It easily makes 5 to 8 inch stems, ideal for cutting. I'd say this has a very good chance of being selected for introduction.
One
of the most promising of this year's seedlings is a wonderful rich red
Miniature Moss that came out of 'Sequoia
Ruby' X 'Scarlet Moss'.
This is likely my favorite seedling from my 2002 crosses. The plant
is a somewhat upright grower, to about 24" tall, branching well
to form a shapely, full shrub. Blooms are always produced in clusters
of three to twenty, each about 1.5 inches across and fully double with
a hint of a button eye at the center. The mossy buds have a fragrance
Click on the thumbnail at left for a larger view of the buds.
'It's Showtime' has not been explored in any significant way (so far as I know) as a parent, and so last year I made a few exploratory crosses using it as a pollen parent. Reluctantly fertile, it resulted in a small amount of seed when crossed with one of my favorite seed Miniatures "Penny Ante". The seedlings I got from this sowing were interesting, and a few appear to be well worth keeping for further evaluation. Pictured here is one of the nicest selections; a miniature apricot with lovely bloom form. The initial results have been encouraging enough for me to continue to use 'It's Showtime' as a parent in other, more eclectic crosses. There is a separate page listing several of the other seedlings from this cross, if you'd like to view them.
When working with the once-blooming European roses of classes like the Gallicas, there is often a long waiting period between sowing the seeds full maturation of the plant for an honest evaluation. In 1999 I made a cross of 'Duchesse de Montebello' X 'St. Swithun' which resulted in about 5 or 6 seedlings. Two were kept after they flowered the following year, and those two were plaved out in the garden to grow to a mature size. This selection is by far the nicest of the two, and in my opinion, combines the best traits of both parents nicely. Blooms are about 3.5 inches each, usually borne in clusters of three and five. The fragrance is rich and complex. The shrub appears to be about 5 X 5 feet, full and bushy, with large semi-matte foliage in a beautiful bluish green and is quite disease resistant in my garden. Unfortunately, this rose did not inherit the remontancy of its English parent, but it has a long bloom period in early Summer during which it produces large numbers of near-perfect blooms of exquisite OGR form.
This is a five foot shrub now, which produces clusters of three blooms all over a well-proportioned plant. Each bloom is about 4 inches across, opening flat (unlike its parent, which tends to remain deeply cupped) with many petals. The color held very well during a week of temps well over 90F, always holding a delicious peachy color. The fragrance is very fine as well, with hints of lemon to it. It is my intention to introduce this rose sometime in the next year or two.
A
few selections from 'Sheri Anne' have been saved for
study, most of which are small climber style plants, and a few small
shrubs with 2 inch blooms. The same applies to the 'June Laver'
crosses, with the exception that there were two full-sized shrub types
plants, one of which is a perfect cream colored single bloom, and the
other is a rich apricot-orange shrub with large double ruffled blooms
and a lovely fragrance. The most interesting cross turned out to be
'Sequoia Ruby' X 'Out of Yesteryear',
from which many seedlings were kept. Most are peaches and pinks and
a few yellows, and one nice white. The peach-pink combination pictured
at left is one of the nicest, with 2 inch blooms that reflex into a
pompon shape. The second seedling from the 'Sequoia Ruby' X 'Out of Yesteryear' cross is this pink rose pictured at right. The plant itself is very bushy and compact, with lots of healthy dark green semi-glossy foliage. Bloosm are borne in clusters of three or more, and occasionally singly. The blooms are about 2 to 2.5 inches across, fullt double as you can see, and have a very nice, sweet scent that is quite pronounced. I think that these two selections have a very good chance of passing the tests for worthiness. You many see these in commerce in the next couple years, with luck!
As you can see from the photo, this selection is a cupped bloom with a blend of peach, yellow and red coloring. The buds are moderately mossed, and the foliage is richly glossy, and the bloom is lightly fragrant. I have high hopes that this will make a healthy bush that flowers a lot!
Because of time and space restraints, I have had to select only a few seedlings to show you, but rest assured, there are dozens more that all have some potential to impress me (and maybe you) as they mature. I'll post reports on the rest as time allows. © Paul Barden, September 2003
Original photographs and site content © Paul Barden 1996-2003 |
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The
time from March through September is, for me, the most fascinating few
months of the year; so much happens in this span of time. In early March
the seedlings begin to germinate and produce first leaves. April is
when they all get potted on into individual 3" pots, and here they
start to show their individuality. The first of them begin to bloom
during this time, and some of them also show their predisposition for
mildew. By May, many of them have outgrown their pots and are selected
for moving up into gallon containers. By early June, the remontant seedlings
have pretty much bloomed and the poor ones, the less interesting ones,
the weak ones have been culled out. July and August are the next culling
phase; moved into gallon pots and placed outdoors in the open air, they
show their abilities (or faults), and as they develop, the better ones
are marked for further evalutaion. At this point, I estimate that I
have kept about 0.7 % of the seedlings. By next Spring, I expect I will
have kept no more than 0.1 % for further evaluation. Out of that group,
I expect to choose no more than 8 or ten for introduction. It's a harsh
process, isn't it? Out of approximately 4000 seedlings grown this Spring,
only a handful will ever be grown by anyone but me. Still, I am more
generous than many of the big commercial breeders; they select one in
10,000, generally!
