First of my seedlings to bloom this year.

Deborah x Arthur Bell - has a bit of proliferation but the colour is so striking and it has a slight scent so I am going to wait.


Two open pollinated Christopher Columbus - the colour very similar to the mother however lower petal count and quite different in size to each other. To my nose, neither are scented but my husband disagrees.


Now this one is a real surprise! I planted Stephen Rulo last November and when I got the bare root plant there were a couple of hips so I decided to plant them. Well, colour very similar to the pics I have seen of Stephen Rulo and it is strongly perfumed. I will have to wait and see how the parent and seedling compare, still I just love this colour!!



I didn't do that many crosses last year but still have a few seedlings which I am eagerly waiting to see bloom.

Anyone else with seedlings? Would love to see!

You went from seeds to bloom in 6 months??? Wow! Tell me please, what soil, what amendments, what lighting? The first one and the Stephen Rulo seedling are very impressive.

VERY nice, Sharlene!

Glad you like them!

Cindi, my seeds were in the fridge until the first week of January and then I sow them in a seed starter mix and only put the early germinations under the lights - Lightwave T5 LW 24-HO (4 tube 96 w). I have the March/April germinations in my sunroom. Amendments - not too sure what you mean???

Sharlene, I'm fascinated with your propagation techniques and really appreciate you sharing! You're giving me all sorts of inspiration! With fewer and fewer vendors selling grafted plants these days, doing my own budding makes good sense. And, I have access to so many varieties of florist roses it would be silly not to try. Many of which may not even be hardy here, but it would be worth trying. I've got friends in warmer zones I can share with too! I keep thinking how many scion buds I threw away today of White Ohara and Esperance!

Neal, glad to hear that I too am able to inspire you to try new techniques with your roses - I can say the same with regards to iris. If it wasn't for this forum I would still only have two plants.
BTW I am still learning and experimenting - I air-layered a 2.2m cane last season on which I grafted two different roses. Over-wintered in the garage because it was too tall for my storeroom and it survived and the grafts are growing!
Don't know where I am going to plant my mega-standard but I still have time to think about that

I'm waiting for any seeds to sprout.

Keith, nice to here that some else is also waiting patiently for the babies to bloom! Look forward to seeing the results.

sunnyvalley said:Keith, nice to here that some else is also waiting patiently for the babies to bloom! Look forward to seeing the results.

All of my hybrid rose attempts seemed to produce sterile seed, the hips matured and seeds were normal but so far none sprouted! I'm hoping some do soon!

I am presuming this is not your first attempt at hybridization - what crosses did you do?

sunnyvalley said:I am presuming this is not your first attempt at hybridization - what crosses did you do?

Hybrid tea rose with Multiflora rose.

Keith, now that is something I haven't tried. Have you done the cross previously or is this the first time?

sunnyvalley said:Keith, now that is something I haven't tried. Have you done the cross previously or is this the first time?

3 years I've been trying with no seeds ever sprouting, I've only gotten hips to set and seed but no germination. I even reversed how I pollinated (switched who is pollen donor or seed parent) and same results.

Sorry can't give you any advice there. I think I would have given up after the first year. My crosses are all modern roses - never tried with a species rose - and last season quite a few OP's because the weather didn't play along when I have time to do crosses at end of May/beginning of June. I like to do my crosses early so that they have time to mature.

sunnyvalley said:First of my seedlings to bloom this year.

Deborah x Arthur Bell - has a bit of proliferation but the colour is so striking and it has a slight scent so I am going to wait.


Two open pollinated Christopher Columbus - the colour very similar to the mother however lower petal count and quite different in size to each other. To my nose, neither are scented but my husband disagrees.


Now this one is a real surprise! I planted Stephen Rulo last November and when I got the bare root plant there were a couple of hips so I decided to plant them. Well, colour very similar to the pics I have seen of Stephen Rulo and it is strongly perfumed. I will have to wait and see how the parent and seedling compare, still I just love this colour!!



I didn't do that many crosses last year but still have a few seedlings which I am eagerly waiting to see bloom.

Anyone else with seedlings? Would love to see!

That last one is a beauty!

Thanks Keith - I think it's a keeper!
On the other hand a sister seedling opened today - no sign of Stephen Rulo in it though. Last night it was a tight bud, was opened this morning, and blew completely by this evening. The colour also paled quickly but the scent is delightful - smells like candy!






(click on the picture to expand and see the bloom progression)

Lovely, even if rather temporary..

Update on Stephen Rulo seedling - second bloom. The first bloom was indoors under lights - this one outdoors. The colour is a much more intense mocha touch with pink.


The lastest seedling to bloom is Deborah (Playrose) x Arthur Bell - very slim bud which indicated the low petal count. Also a rather untidy bloom once fully opened but it has taken on the scent from AB. Very healthy shiny foliage! Going to wait for the second bloom before deciding on this.

Beautiful - and impressive!

Very lovely