(2006)  Page(s) 16-17, vol. 37, no. 1.  Includes photo(s).
 
Bicolors in my Hardy Crosses
Peter Harris
In 1997 I put R15 pollen on the red Meilland grandiflora 'Scarlet Knight' (in Europe, 'Samourai') simply because 'Scarlet Knight' is highly fertile as a seed parent. Believe it or not, I was hoping to get some yellow seedlings. "Hope" is probably the right way to think about it since 'Scarlet Knight' has a very heavy dose of red in its background and when left to pollinate itself will generally produce (in my experience) about 85 per cent red seedlings (and a few red/white bicolors). But I got lucky. I got ONE (only one) seedling with some yellow: a lot of yellow on the petal face and yellow on the reverse. At the time I had not identified the rose as 'Scarlet Knight' and was using it under the study name of Bookstore Red (BR for short) since I'd found it near the bookstore at WVU Tech. My code for the cross of Bookstore Red x R15 was BR5, and the improbably-yellow seedling was BR5-04 since it was the fourth seedling kept from that group.

BR5-04 repeats well, and has a pleasing fragrance. It is upright in habit and has needle-like prickles on its canes. The flowers have 10-20 petals of a good width and substance. The center of the blossom is a bright yellow, and the upper surface of the petal seems to have a base of yellow with an overlay of rose red. The reverse of the petal is bright yellow. The leaves are glossy and attractive, with a reasonable level of disease resistance. The bush grows to a height of about four feet. [See Picture C on page 20]

Since 1999 I have tried to use BR5-04 as a seed parent, but it does not set many seeds, and even when it sets seeds the hips usually drop off before 8 weeks. As a pollen parent, it does better. Although it does not produce a lot of pollen, the pollen is good, and I have been able to get a fair number of seedlings with BR5-04 as the pollen parent. The seedlings are typically tall and very upright in habit, with attractive, dark, glossy leaves like those of the parent. The canes are well armed with needle-like prickles inherited from R15. The seedlings are also, more often than not, bicolors. So far this year I've had 4 seedlings bloom from the cross 'Cal Poly' x BR5-04. All have been bicolors, with the top of the petal either light pink, light red, or medium red, and the reverse a shade of yellow, usually light yellow or pale yellow. This cross, coded C4, has yielded a high percentage of bicolors in the past, and I will repeat it this year. My objective is not to get bicolors (although they are welcome) but to get yellows (which would be more welcome), with the hope that these yellows are hardier than average and can be used as parents in further crosses to create hardy yellow roses.

(1976)  Page(s) Vol. 7, issue 4, page 9.  
 
George Langdale
Mr. E. F. Allen, President of the R.N.R.S ., spoke at Oxford on "Long Shots in Rose Breeding" and of his own work in preparing a breeding strategy. He told of his results to date using the species rose Rosa Bella and mentioned that he had some repeat flowering, disease resistant F1 seedlings from Rosa Bella x Flamenco. He suggested that more amateur rose breeders should follow his strategy of using species in an effort to breed 'new blood' and better disease resistance into garden roses for the future. He said that another good species rose to try is Rosa Davidii. Both Rosa Bella and Rosa Davidii are tetraploids, but he suggested that when using species diploids with floribundas or hybrid teas, the chosen variety should be the seed parent crossed with the species rose. He did emphasize, however, that breeding with species is a long-term programme.

(1975)  Page(s) 7, vol. 6, no. 2.  
 
Margaret Jeffress, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
Brownell's 'Golden Glow' is a once-blooming, sub-zero climber, but many of its seedlings are dwarf and everblooming. Some are miniatures. 'Golden Glow' has big seed pods and will accept many pollens. The seedlings also germinate quickly. Most I've had are light yellow, double fragrant, and have tough, resistant leaves.

(1975)  Page(s) 17-18, vol. 6, no. 2.  
 
William J. Radler, Greendale, Wisconsin
Another consistently outstanding rose for many years has been Golden Jubilee, a floriferous yellow floribunda. It seems to be of average hardiness with protection in this area, but its claim to fame might be that from our experience it has been completely resistant to spider mites. Since it has never been bothered by this pest, it comes back vigorously each year unlike other varieties of floribundas that are especially loved by spider mites. I have a suspicion that this rose might not make a very fertile parent. If this is true, perhaps the chromosomes could be doubled by the drug colchicine? Is anyone else  interested in a spider mite free class of roses?

(2006)  Page(s) 16-17, vol. 37, no. 1.  Includes photo(s).
 
Bicolors in my Hardy Crosses
Peter Harris
In the spring of 2000, I put pollen of R15 on seedlings grown from open-pollinated seeds gathered from 'Ross Rambler'. The seedlings, both once-bloomers, were quite similar, with one white and the other slightly pinkish. Germination of the resulting seeds was fairly good, but most of the seedlings looked like seed parents, with bluish or grayish leaves. Two looked different, having glossier leaves and a thicker cane. In the spring of 2002, the more attractive of these had a single large bud on it. This seedling, given the name RC-01 (Ross seedling by the Creek—a lot of thought goes into these names), is a bicolor, with a silver reverse and a fluorescent red upper petal surface. The filaments and anthers show considerable influence from 'Ross Rambler'. [See Picture D on page 20]

RC-01 is a once-bloomer, but since it has a repeat-blooming climber ('Golden Showers') as a grandparent and since 'Ross Rambler' often repeats late in the season, I think that RC-01 has a good chance of bringing hardiness into a repeat-blooming line. Accordingly, last year when I had 5 blossoms on my RC-01, I took all the pollen and used it on 'Cal Poly' (a mini which is yellow and fertile, and will, I hope, help moderate the height of seedlings derived from R15 and RC-01). The pollinations yielded 86 seeds, and already I've had 9 germinations. I'm pretty interested in this cross. Check that—I'm excited about it. Be expecting a follow-up report on the seedlings by this time next year. And, yes, I will repeat the cross this year. No, I'm not looking for bicolors, but I'll bet I get some.

(1976)  Page(s) Vol 7 Issue 4 page 9.  
 
RHA Newsletter 7(4): 9 (Winter 1976)
George Langdale
Mr. E. F. Allen, President of the R.N.R.S ., spoke at Oxford on ''Long Shots in Rose Breeding" and of his own work in preparing a breeding strategy. He told of his results to date using the species rose Rosa Bella and mentioned that he had some repeat flowering, disease resistant F1 seedlings from Rosa Bella x Flamenco. He suggested that more amateur rose breeders should follow his strategy of using species in an effort to breed 'new blood' and better disease resistance into garden roses for the future. He said that another good species rose to try is Rosa Davidii. Both Rosa Bella and Rosa Davidii are tetraploids, but he suggested that when using species diploids with floribundas or hybrid teas, the chosen variety should be the seed parent crossed with the species rose. He did emphasize, however, that breeding with species is a long-term programme.

(1975)  Page(s) vol 6, no. 2, pp. 5-6.  
 
Breeding for Yellow
Bernard C. Gardner
For too long a time I tried using R. Foetida as a pollen parent, in the hope of getting that unfading deep yellow color in a better rose. The seedlings always tuned out to be pale yellow or white. Quite unexpectedly, however, they were continuously flowering.

(1975)  Page(s) 17-18, vol. 6, no. 2.  
 
William J. Radler, Greendale, Wisconsin
One of the consistently outstanding roses since the opening of the gardens in the early 1940's has been Soeur Therese, a yellow hybrid tea of exceptional winter hardiness and vigor. The flower itself has few petals and opens fast, but no other yellow rose has this much vigor and hardiness. Consider the possibilities if Soeur Therese were crossed with roses that transfer good form, ample petalage, and slow-opening qualities.