16
Hybridizing and Harvesting
Why is this thus? What is the reason of this thusness?
ARTEMUS WARDIn this chapter I hope you, the reader, will "follow" me around, "look" over my shoulder and think along with me as we probe into some of the why's and how's of rose breeding. The dictionary gives as one definition of promise: "to give ground for expectation." So let us see what some of the give ground for expectation might be and what the rose breeder can do about it.
For every promise there is at least one condition, which means that there are strings attached whether we like them or not. As a simple and very apparent example, to get roses we must plant roses; to get everblooming bushes the factors for everblooming must be there; to get low bushes these factors must be present; to get a red everblooming rose on a dwarf plant all these factors must be present in their proper pattern.
The search for better varieties begins with what we have or can assemble for our breeding material. This is our gene pool out of which all our possible varieties must come. If we do not get what is wanted any of the following elements may be, all or part of the reason:
1. Lack of necessary knowledge or skill
2. We may not have assembled at our disposal all the the necessary rose gene material.
3. Failure to use proper techniques tinder the proper conditions.
4. What we seek is impossible to attain.
5. Other unknowns may be limiting or frustrating our attempts.
To produce a good new miniature (or other) rose variety generally requires that the rose breeder carefully combine two separate and distinct varieties to produce seed for the new generation. Pollen of the selected male variety is placed on the receptive stigma (pistil) of a variety chosen as the female or seed parent (see Figures 23 and 24) .
But to get back to the beginning, the first step is to select the best or most likely varieties suitable for breeding our "perfect" new rose. Just what varieties may be chosen as parents will in large part depend upon the particular objectives sought such as color, form, foliage, disease resistance or desired combinations of these and other qualities. We must continually study possible parent varieties. Some will prove best for seed parents; some as pollen producers. Others will be fertile if used either as the male or female parent. Some varieties may serve best as links in breeding for some more distant objective(s) where combinations of several parents will be necessary.
A good seed parent must set hips (seed pods) readily, produce good viable seed in sufficient quantity to be practical and possess as many of the desired qualities (with as few of the undesirable) as possible.
Pollen parent varieties should produce good viable pollen in sufficient quantity to make possible the crosses desired. Miniatures being so very tiny, it is always a problem to get enough pollen. Some kinds will produce only a few anthers so many, many flowers must be used. The variety used as the pollen parent must also have as many of the desirable, and as few of the undesirable, qualities as possible. With these conditions satisfied the success promised is much more certain of fulfillment.
In my own breeding work I prefer to use miniatures as the pollen parents. Very few miniatures will set seed hips and then each hip may have but one or two seeds. By using the collected pollen carefully I can pollinate many flowers of roses which will not only set seed hips but each hip may contain from 4 to 10 or more seeds. This procedure also allows me to spread the limited quantity of miniature pollen over many flowers on a number of diverse seed plants.
Materials and tools used to carry on this seed production operation are inexpensive and easily obtained. While others often use envelopes for storing pollen I have found that glass baby food jars are most satisfactory. Other materials used are:
A good small-bladed pocket knife
Several small artist's brushes
Supply of labels
Pencil
Glassine sugar bags
Chart or book to keep record of each cross
Small pocket stapler
Supply of StaplesPOLLEN PREPARATION: Buds, not too far open, of the selected miniature rose are gathered in the evening. Color should be showing good when buds are picked, but they must not be so advanced as to already be shedding pollen. We may have half a baby food jar full of tiny buds or as many as a shoe box full of one variety. Petals are removed, then the anthers are removed and dropped into a clean baby food jar. Anthers should not be more than 1/4 inch deep over the bottom of the jar. Do not cover or seal. Use as many jars as needed. Label each jar with name or number of pollen variety and also the date prepared. In about two days at room temperature the anthers will dry, open and shed their pollen. When ready to use the jar may be shaken lightly, depositing pollen on the glass sides of the jar. It is easily picked up on the brush to transfer to the pistil of a flower prepared for the purpose. These baby food jars are excellent because you can see and pick up nearly every grain of precious pollen.
Flowers of the selected seed (or mother) plant are prepared, or emasculated, by first carefully removing petals from each bud, usually when it is about one-third to onehalf open: Some kinds have to be worked earlier than others in order to prevent self pollination.
After petals are removed the anthers are carefully removed by grasping them between the knife blade (near the tip) and your thumb. We find this fast and efficient. However, some breeders prefer to use small scissors or tweezers. If not needed for other crosses anthers may be allowed to drop on the ground.
While it is possible to use pollen which has been stored for sometime, I prefer to prepare fresh pollen daily during the pollination season. This not only assures good pollen in sufficient quantity, but if flowers on the mother plant should open more rapidly than anticipated they can be taken care of.
Prepared flowers on the mother plant may be dusted with pollen immediately or if not ready (stigma should be sticky) may be allowed to develop for a few hours. After the pollen is dusted on the receptive stigma it is covered with a glassine bag (as illustrated) and the bag tightly stapled to hold in place. We leave this bag on until seed is harvested (late November or early December with us). Each bag is coded by cutting a corner, two corners, a corner and one or more notches or other combinations. These cuts not only code the bag but they provide a bit of ventilation. This way we may put several crosses on the same plant or row of the same variety. This cross and bag code is recorded for identification at harvest time. We also mark with a waterproof paper label two or three of the pollinated flowers, each tag containing the same information as recorded in book or chart.
By leaving these glassine bags on until seed is harvested we have very little or no chance of losing its identity should the hip drop off before we get around to picking it. As hips are harvested they are easily sorted into separate piles by the bag markings.
The ripe hips are cut open as soon as possible so the seeds can be removed. Small and light seeds are discarded. Seeds are placed in small plastic bags with a separate bag being used for each kind. A small amount of Orthocide, say one-half to one-fourth teaspoon is added and seeds shaken to thoroughly coat them. Then, depending upon quantity of seeds in bag, one-half to one teaspoonful of moist peatmoss is added. Each bag is closed tightly with a rubber band and labeled. Seeds treated and packed this way may be stored on a cool, dark shelf or in the refrigerator for one to three weeks until they can be planted.
Seeds are planted in flats or pots of soil prepared the same as for potting. Flats are filled with this soil mix, moved into an unheated greenhouse and then carefully leveled, tamping all corners and gently firming the soil with a board 1/2 inch thick by 3 inches wide cut to length so it just fits easily inside the flat. When finished the soil is about 3/4 inch below top edges of flat. Each flat is then thoroughly watered and allowed to set for about two days before the seeds are planted.
If only a few seeds of each cross are to be sown a slight depression is made with the board above which has one edge rounded. Seeds are planted in this depression in a straight row or as many rows as needed. Where we have larger quantites of seeds from a particularly successful cross the seeds are sown broadcast. As planted, each lot is carefully labeled by attaching a wired plastic label to a tack driven into the flat. For added identification, a notch is cut into the flat separating each seed lot.
Seeds are then pressed into the soil surface by laying our planting board on top of seeds and pressing. To cover seeds we spread a 1/4 inch layer of dry peatmoss over the flat and follow this with a layer of perlite about 1/2-inch thick. Flats are then gently watered and will require little or no further attention for several weeks.
And so we wait for the first seedlings to appear. Will the promises be fulfilled? Then we see our first seedling, then another and another. Soon the flats (if we are lucky and the seeds germinate well) have many seedlings. We watch for the first tiny bud. Is it the one we have been looking for? Probably not, for many times I have observed that the first seedling may be only single flowered-but any one of these tiny rose plants could be the fulfillment of a long ago promise.
"Bullfight critics ranked in rows
Crowd the enormous Plaza full;
But only one is there who knows
And he's the man who fights the bull."
Domingo Ortega
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