Singles are nice, too

Rose blooms having between 4 and 8 petals are considered to be "single" (because of their single row of petals).  Several of my rose seedlings resulting from open pollination (most likely self pollination) of my 'Queen Elizabeth' roses are, in fact, singles.  In general, the bloom size of these seedlings is 3 inches in diameter or more, so they are by no means small.  Below are some photos of representative blooms -- the dates beneath each photo are the "birthdays" of the respective seedlings.

March 4, 2009

March 26, 2010

April 4, 2009

March 15, 2010

March 1, 2009

March 23, 2009

March 20, 2009

March 31, 2009

April 7, 2010

OK, so I snuck one in that slightly exceeds the 8 petal limit, but I'm not naming names.  Seriously, though, keep the above images in mind when you read my post of December 6, 2011 titled "The BIG rose".  There I theorize about the ancestry of the 'Queen Elizabeth' rose.  Since 23 percent of my self-pollinated 'Queen Elizabeth' seedlings (9 out of 39) are "singles", I believe that this points very strongly to Rosa roxburghii normalis (not Rosa roxburghii plena) as being one of the grand-parents of the 'Queen Elizabeth' rose.

Update of October 13, 2012:   But then again, sometimes I'm not sure what to think.  Literature I've recently read indicates that both the "normalis" and the "plena" versions of Rosa roxburghii have spiny calyxes on their rose buds.  Not a single one of my 39 self-pollinated 'Queen Elizabeth' seedlings exhibits this characteristic.  Referring to my post of December 6, 2011 again:  Maybe the grand parent in question was indeed Rosa multibracteata . . . OR . . . maybe 'Baby Chateau' did indeed self pollinate to produce 'Floradora' !

Update of October 18, 2012:  Let's take a closer look at the seedling born on March 1, 2009 -- see the fifth photo above.  Of all my 'Queen Elizabeth' seedlings, this rose looks the most like some wild species rose from the Orient.  How about Rosa bracteata? ( R. multibracteata is more pinkish);  see Google Images for some photos of R. bracteata.  Below are two photos that I took today of the seedling rose bush.  The flower really has an extremely high-pointed bud, which unfurls very easily.  What's really confounding is that this rose bush is only 14 inches tall toward the end of its 4th growing season.  The plant is complemented beautifully by the carpet of moss.

Morning of October 18, 2012

Afternoon of October 18, 2012

A rose by any other name . . .

I went on a field-trip yesterday to the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, where I saw among their thousands of roses some beds of the 'Queen Elizabeth' and 'Voodoo' roses.  As mementos, I photographed their respective rose-bed markers:

As you have read (or will read, depending on whether you read this blog from bottom to top or from top to bottom), these two rose varieties play a prominent role as seed parents in my production of new roses.  All of my 75+ seedlings, with one exception, are un-named (I identify them by their parent and their "birthday").  The one exception is the rose seedling which I named 'Red Galaxy', and which is now registered with the American Rose Society.  For a look at this rose, you may click on the page tab "German seedlings" at the top of this blog (you will find that the rose is appropriately named).  To see some REAL red galaxies, search for "red galaxy" on Google Images.

Update of June 17, 2012:  I've been waiting to get some presentable photos of my own 'Queen Elizabeth' and 'Voodoo' roses in bloom.  The rose bushes shown below have yielded most of the hips and seeds that I have used to produce my new rose seedlings.

'Queen Elizabeth' grandiflora rose
Photo taken June 12, 2012

'Voodoo' hybrid tea rose
Photo taken June 17, 2012

First 'Voodoo' (seedling) bloom of the year

I have a couple dozen seedlings of 'Voodoo' parentage, but only one can have the first bloom of the year.  This honor goes to a seedling born on June 12, 2008.  As you see in the following photos, the blended colors of today's bloom are much improved over the plant's first bloom that opened on August 9, 2008.  Unlike most of my other seedlings, this rose bush has "semi-double" blooms, as the petal count is 15.  Beginning its 5th growing season, this plant is now 3½ feet tall.  The pictured bloom is 3 inches wide.

Update of May 25, 2012:  The bloom of May 20 is shown 5 days later.  I really like the way that the blooms of this rose bush turn a ruby color as they age, rather than bleach out as most roses do.  In fact, most of my other 'Voodoo' seedlings undergo the same photochromatic reaction to some degree.

August 9, 2008

May 20, 2012

May 20, 2012

May 25, 2012

First open bloom of the year !

The first open bloom of the year is on the same 'Queen Elizabeth' seedling as shown in my posting of April 11th.  Interestingly enough, it didn't develop from the bud discovered on the 11th, but from a later bud.  Also, this is a full-petaled bloom; I was expecting maybe one of my rose bushes with 5-petaled blooms to be the first of the year.  The roses, however, have the final say.  Here's the bloom:

Update of May 15, 2012:   The following bloom opened just one day later.  As expected, it is a 5 petal bloom that doesn't have to struggle to open like a full petaled bloom.  This one is also a 'Queen Elizabeth' seedling, and I showed you the plant's "baby picture" in my posting of December 6th of last year that I titled "The BIG rose" (look for the seedling whose birthday is April 4, 2009).  Here's a photo of today's bloom:

Both blooms shown above are 3 inch flowers.  What they say in the rose literature is quite true -- seedling blooms develop richer coloration over their first few growing seasons.