The seed parent for this cross, code named "K155-11", is seen here and was itself a seedling of ('Marmalade Skies' X 'Baby Love') X 'Julia Child'. It is a "half-sister" seedling to 'Thrive!' since they share the same seed parent: 'Marmalade Skies' X 'Baby Love'. Like 'Thrive!', K155-11 has been extremely clean in our climate and I have seen no disease on it.
The pollen parent is a complex Hulthemia seedling that has ancestry that includes 'Persian Sunset', 'Chewtiggle', and 'Bull's Eye'. It has a nice purple blotch. It's downside is lack of vigor. It has been a smaller plant, but is building a larger plant size slowly. It's code name is "L83-6", and is a sister seedling to 'Eyeconic Pink Lemonade'. It is shown below.
Combining the above two parent roses resulted in the seedlings below. There are a handful of other seedlings from this cross that I am continuing to evaluate, but I think these two are the best. As you can see, the blotch is not very large, but I think the darker color at the base of the petals may give more of a depth to the blooms that otherwise might not be there.
How would one of the better English rose breeders like 'Abraham Darby' or 'Graham Thomas' go in this mix? Here, Abe and GT have many petals that open in typical frilly English rose style but then they continue to open to reveal their stamens... a blotch would be like... just when you thought the flower had no more to give... check out this blotch! It's the flower that keeps on giving.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon, I think that your imagination is the limit. Either of those roses would be fun to try with the Hulthemias. I agree that a blotch seen in the bloom upon fully opening would add interest.
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