Rose Hybridizers Association
NEWSLETTER
VOL. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
An interview
with Kim Rupert
Jim Sproul
JOHN JONS
Visit to the National
Rose Trial Garden of
Australia
STEVE FRITZ
Torturing Seedlings
and Curing Thrips
PETER HARRIS
Golden Showers as
a Parent
JIM SPROUL
An Interview with
Kim Rupert
2
RHA Newsletter ■ Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
CONTENTS
3
Editor’s Notes
4
Director’s Message
5
An interview with Kim Rupert
7
Torturing Seedlings and Curing Thrips
9
Betsy van der Hoek
Jim Sproul
Jim Sproul
Steve Fritz
A Visit to the National Rose Trial Garden
of Australia, Adelaide, Australia
John Jons
Rose Hybridizers
Association
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
General Director
Jim Sproul, 15800 Strebor Drive,
Bakersfield, CA 93314 ■ rosesbydesign@gmail.com
Directors
Andy Vanable, 2345 Douglas Pike,
Harrisville RI 02830 ■ rha@vanablefamily.com
Jonathan Windham,1856 Lazy Pines Road,
Darlington, SC 29540 ■ jonathank.windham@gmail.com
David Zlesak, N 8447 1015th Street,
River Falls, WI 54022 ■ zlesak@rocketmail.com
Treasurer & Newsletter Layout
Andy Vanable, 2345 Douglas Pike,
Harrisville RI 02830 ■ rha@vanablefamily.com
Editors
Betsy and Michel van der Hoek, 11678 New Hope Road,
Hampton,GA 30228 ■ rhaeditor@gmail.com
11
Overcoming Technical Difficulties
13
Golden Showers as a Parent
15
Fun with Rosa acicularis
Jim Sproul
Steve McCulloch, 8617 Tobacco Lane SE,
Olympia, WA 98513 (plant propagation and tissue
culture) ■ SMcCull828@comcast.net
The Rose-Growing World Loses an Icon –
Bob Martin
David Zlesak, N 8447 1015th Street,
River Falls, WI 54022 (general, plant breeding and
genetics) ■ zlesak@rocketmail.com
18
David C. Zlesak
Peter Harris
Andy Vanable
Librarian
Ann Peck, 1000 Mitchell Road,
Blaine, TN 37709 ■ abpeck@att.com
Consultants
Representatives
Canadian
Ethel Freeman, 15 Chiltern-Hill Road, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M6C 3B4 ■ roseguys@rogers.com
Cover Picture
Frosty rose hips waiting to be harvested – Photo by Jim Sproul.
Overseas
Dawn Eagle, 414 Trents Road, Prebbleton 7604,
New Zealand ■ rosepeople@gmail.com
NZRBA Editor
Subscriber Information
To join or renew please use the PayPal option on our website:
www.rosebreeders.org. If you have questions, please contact
Mr. Andy Vanable, 2345 Douglas Pike, Harrisville RI 02830,
e-mail rha@vanablefamily.com.
Current yearly membership dues: New membership or renewal – $10.00.
Foreign membership – $12.00.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
Hayden Foulds, 2a Crewe Street, Pahiatua,
New Zealand ■ haydenf@paradise.net.nz
ARBA Editor
David Kenny, Crosslow, Tullow, Co. Carlow,
Ireland ■ dsk@eircom.net
www.rosebreeders.org
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
EDITOR’S
NOTES
Betsy van der Hoek
rhaeditor@gmail.com
M
erry Christmas and Happy 2022, rose
hybridizing friends!
I hope you have had a good year. If you are in the Northern
Hemisphere, you have probably already harvested your
hips and are stratifying your seeds, so that some new roses
will bloom their first blooms for your eyes in the new year.
Here in Hampton, Georgia, I am still fighting the deer (I
lost several promising hips this summer), but I have plenty
of seeds in the fridge waiting their set number of weeks
for springtime to arrive. The only thing that’s new in my
garden: I have gotten into mulch in a big way. It really
keeps down the weeds! I hadn’t used much mulch before
because of the cost. However, a local rose friend uses pine
straw to good effect in her garden, so I decided to rake up
the free mulch provided by our pine trees and try that.
So far, it’s been a great success, giving me more time to
get around to the many other gardening tasks that were
neglected while I was dealing with one weed crisis after
another.
This isn’t rose-related, but I also planted a small
vineyard (28 vines) this year. Most wine grapes succumb
to Pierce’s disease in my climate, dying within two years.
There’s only a handful that have
been bred to resist our special
disease, so I am growing them.
Maybe in a few years I can raise
a glass to toast the RHA!
Peter Harris,
1944-2021
This summer the RHA lost a
stalwart member, officer, and
friend. Many of our members
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
3
knew Peter for decades. I first got to know him in 2009
when he put out a request for help editing the RHA
Newsletter: he had some health problems and wanted
someone to share the work. I got in touch, and we hit it
off very quickly. It was easy to be friends with Peter. With
me, he was kind and fatherly. He gave me lots of advice on
RHA matters and rose hybridizing, and he loved to share
his memories of rose hybridizers of the past.
I soon learned that talking about yellow roses was the
way to his heart. He would call me up and talk about all
kinds of things – I could count on a good hour on the
phone once he got going. Another thing we bonded over
was family. He was very proud of his children, who were
already grown and flown, so he enjoyed nostalgically
hearing about mine. It didn’t hurt that, coincidentally,
we both had a son named Daniel, and my second son is
named Peter. When he’d call, I would say, “How are you
doing?” He would reply, “Well, I’m still alive.” He was a
survivor of so many illnesses and health problems, that it
is still hard to believe he’s gone. He loved the rose ‘Golden
Wings,’ and I will always grow it in his memory. Below is
an excerpt from the obituary written by his children and
printed in his local newspaper.
Dr. Peter Gwin Harris, 77, of Charleston, West Virginia, died
on August 12, 2021. Born in Houston in 1944, Peter grew up
in Lubbock, Texas and graduated in 1959 from Monterey High
School. He earned a B.A. from the University of Buffalo and
M.A. and Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. Peter taught
English literature and composition, retiring as a tenured
professor after eighteen years at West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, and skillfully wrote poetry and prose.
He loved landscapes, plants and animals from the flatlands
of West Texas to his beloved home in the West Virginia hills.
Once an assistant rosarian at the Missouri Botanical Garden,
Peter gardened avidly, bred and researched roses for almost 40
years, and was a member of the Rose Hybridizers Association
and the Charleston Rose Society. He also enjoyed listening to
music, which often played in the background of his home.
Peter is survived by his daughter Rebecca Clark of Austin,
son Daniel (and wife Dana Delger) of Stockholm, daughter
Elizabeth of Rio de Janeiro, grandson Felix of Stockholm,
brother John and sister Irene Crowder, both of Lubbock, and
his former wife Leila Assumpção of Rio de Janeiro. He was
preceded in death by his parents, Gwin and Trina (Miedama)
Harris, and by his brother George.
We’d like to run an article in our next issue with
members’ memories of Peter Harris. Please write to me at
rhaeditor@gmail.com and share what you remember
about Peter.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
4
DIRECTOR’S
MESSAGE
Jim Sproul
rosesbydesign@earthlink.net
I
t won’t be long now until most of
us in the northern hemisphere are looking back to
summer when our roses were in full bloom. While
we still have autumn blooms, today I finally finished
harvesting the rest of my crosses. The last seed parent
harvested was ‘Aptos,’ also known as ‘Doctor Robert
Korns.’ It’s a beautiful hybrid musk with large airy
Favorite mini Hulthemia seedlings
inflorescences of blooms. I purchased my plant from
Burling Leong of Burlington Rose Nursery. This was
a new seed parent for me. It was selected for use in
crosses this year when I learned by planting open
pollinated seeds this spring that it had an excellent
germination rate and sprouted very early. The two
pollen parents that I used with this one were favorite
mini Hulthemia seedlings (see photo attached).
If you have room, you might consider planting open
In case you don’t know, RHA has a couple of great
sites where you can post questions about rose breeding,
or to upload photos to share of your favorite seedlings.
Check us out on Facebook and on our own website
forum.
On Facebook, search for: “Rose Hybridizers Association”
RHA Forum: https://rosebreeders.org/forum/
pollinated seeds to check germination rates of roses in
your yard that set hips easily. Finding good seed
parents is an important step to increasing efficiency in
rose breeding.
While harvesting, I couldn’t help but start thinking
about next year’s crosses. I’ve learned to jot down the
inspirations that I get for crosses into my iPhone. I
keep a list for such things, and try to make notes for
possible proposed crosses when the idea hits me,
otherwise the ideas may vanish.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
*****
2021 has been another difficult year for many. This
year the RHA family has been hit particularly hard.
In addition to losing Peter Harris, just before going to
print we have learned of the passing of our very own
Bob Martin, the RHA Western Regional Director. Bob
touched so many lives in the rose world and will be
greatly missed. Andy Vanable wrote a nice article
contained in this issue recounting his experience
working with Bob.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
An interview with
Kim Rupert
5
Jim Sproul
F
When did you first start
growing roses?
There were always roses around. My
maternal grandmother had a massive
garden. She collected all plant types in
her Birmingham, Alabama garden. She
would choose a plant type and collect
everything she could find for two or
three years, then move on to the next.
She had roses, and those she most
often spoke of were ‘Silver Moon,’
which held a very special place,
‘Talisman,’ and “Cecil” Brunner.
We moved to Los Angeles and
needed some “home” in the yard. I
found my first official job and had
some money in my pocket. The local
grocery store had some “body bag”
bare roots, and a ‘Mirandy’ and a
‘Lemon Spice’ followed me home.
They languished for some years in
too-hot metal containers and refused
to die. When they flowered, I was
mesmerized. I always paid attention
to roses when I was out and about,
though the majority of gardening I
had done was vegetables, annuals, and
the bearded iris, which had followed
us with each job transfer.
Fast forward several decades, and
my dad had passed away. Mom was
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
rosesbydesign@earthlink.net
or most RHA members, Kim Rupert does not need to be
introduced. Kim is a lifelong rose lover and enjoys enabling others in
our rose breeding hobby. His approach is collaborative in breeding,
and he is quick to share with others both of his knowledge and plant
material. Over the years, he has generously given me plants or cuttings
of varieties that have been foundational for my own rose breeding goals,
including ‘Tigris’ and ‘Blue for You.’ Kim is a practical rose breeder and is
driven by his curiosity to find the answers to “what if . . .”
requiring a lot of time and attention.
Caring for her yard was a chore I
honestly didn’t enjoy, so I made the
deal with her I could plant what I
wanted, as long as I cared for it. Her
father had brought home a bouquet
of ‘Silver Moon’ from his friend’s
plant, and my grandmother loved
them. He rooted them and planted
them on a long wire fence used to
shield the chickens and rabbits he
raised for food (Depression era, late
1920s to early 1930s) from the street.
It created a shady arbor that Mom
and her two sisters played under in
the heat. Her father was killed in an
accidental shooting in 1935, and ‘Silver
Moon’ flowered around Father’s Day,
so they took “his rose” to his grave on
Father’s Day.
I had begun collecting roses
and interesting perennials to plant
in Mom’s yard, so I would have
something interesting to share with
her while we spent time together.
It also gave her something outside
of the house and outside of herself
to concentrate on. Mom was
experiencing medical issues and was
remembering ‘Silver Moon,’ so I
began a search for it to grow in her
yard. The “Home Magazine” in the
Sunday Los Angeles Times in spring
1982, I believe, featured a close-up
photo of the new J&P floribunda
‘Intrigue.’ That deep violet bloom
grabbed me! I had discovered the ARS
and bought the latest of their Modern
Roses publications, #8. I read it as I
had all the encyclopedias during my
childhood. “Blue” roses became my
quest. That edition of “Home” also
contained a small blurb about Old
Garden Roses and the ONLY place
to find them, Roses of Yesterday and
Today. I called the number and spoke
with a tremendously helpful and
sympathetic young lady. She reported
that while they didn’t sell it, she had
the Combined Rose List handy. She not
only pointed me to Marissa and Ram
Fishman at Greenmantle Nursery
for ‘Silver Moon,’ but also provided
me with Bev Dobson’s contact
information for the Combined Rose List.
I was in heaven!
Suddenly, there were MANY more
sources of roses to investigate and
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
6
‘Annie Laurie McDowell’
‘Silver Moon’ was actually coming home to my mom’s
garden! ‘Silver Moon’ still grew in her mother’s yard, but
there were family issues preventing us from obtaining it
from that plant. Greenmantle afforded the solution, as well
as a viable source for the elusive, magnificent-sounding
‘Grey Pearl.’ I wrote Marissa Fishman and ordered the
roses. The ‘Silver Moon’ plants arrived that fall with a twoyear waiting period required for ‘Grey Pearl.’ ‘Silver Moon’
began eating Mom’s yard . . .
Mom read an article about a rose festival occurring at
an historic homestead property close to where I was living
and called to suggest I attend. The Homestead Acre is the
last remaining homestead in the San Fernando Valley and
was operated by the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation
Department. Candy and Dean Craig had taken over the
gardens restoration as their retirement project as part of
their involvement with the Chatsworth Historical Society.
They were marvelously funny and engaging. We became
fast friends. Candy and Dean insisted I accompany them
to The Huntington Library and become a volunteer with
them. That opened many doors and began many decades of
wonderful people and experiences.
When did you plant your first rose
seeds?
The more I studied what had created the roses which
intrigued me most, the more I began needing to try my
hand exploring what else might be possible from them. I
had begun collecting the roses which produced those of
greatest interest to me. I was propagating roses weekly at
The Huntington, writing articles which were published in
The Potpourri of Roses, the Huntington Library Rose Garden
Volunteer Newsletter, and reprinted in newsletters around
the country. I was trading cuttings and rooted plants with
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
people and gardens around the country (in the good old
days before nematodes, Japanese beetles, chilli thrips, rose
rosette disease, etc. were as widespread and threatening)
and making more connections all the time.
I had discovered European rose nurseries through the
Combined Rose List and began ordering their catalogs via
mail. Remember, this was all pre-Internet. What wonders
existed overseas! I found how to obtain an import permit
and began importing wonders from Gandy’s, Harkness,
and LeGrice. ‘Euphrates’ was one of the early imports,
and it scared me silly. It broke dormancy and didn’t look
anything like any rose I had ever seen. The first fall when
it went dormant, I just knew I had killed it! ‘Cardinal
Hume’ was one of its import mates. It was (and is) such
an intriguing, wonderful plant. I had to start planting
seeds just to see “what if?”. Fortunately, they germinated
like weeds and produced some really fun seedlings. I had
planted other rose seeds before, and they were mostly
found hips off hybrid teas and floribundas. ‘Cardinal
Hume’ seedlings all smelled good and had interesting
flower shapes and plant habits. ‘Purple Buttons’ was the
one which really intrigued me.
Sharon Van Enoo, Judy Morgan Miller, and I met at The
Huntington as volunteers and also became fast friends and
eventually the co-chairs of the Volunteer Group. I’m not
sure whether it was Sharon’s or Judy’s idea to visit Sequoia
Nursery, but the three of us went and our minds were
blown! Sharon and Judy tag-teamed each other, resting
in the office with Carolyn Supinger, Mr. Moore’s right-
hand person, leaving me to melt in the heat as Mr. Moore
dragged me from greenhouse to greenhouse! That began a
friendship which endured for decades.
continued on page 20
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
7
Torturing
Seedlings and
Curing Thrips
Steve Fritz
s_fritz@hotmail.com
From left to right, Elizabeth’s sister Dina, our silly
niece Anna, and Elizabeth. Behind them is the
garden where my seedlings are evaluated.
I
’ v e b e e n a b a ck ya r d r o s e b r e e d e r f o r
for over thirty years and have developed a couple of
varieties (pictured) that would make fine commercial
introductions. I’ve just been too lazy to make the sort of
contacts necessary to get them to market. I hope I get
around to it while I’m still above ground. Along the way,
I’ve made my share of mistakes and stumbled upon a few
advantageous practices. Here are some of my experiences.
Soil Sorrows
ingredient. My guess was too much potassium. But what
could I do about it?
I stubbornly stuck with it for a couple of weeks hoping
for the best. Finally, I went out and purchased new potting
soil, took my seedlings out one-by-one, washed all the dirt
from their roots, and transplanted them into the new soil.
I did this on my kitchen table and had to endure my wife’s
scolding for getting dirt everywhere, but this did the trick.
They started growing again. None had died, they were all
smaller than they should have been, but they soon caught
up. Was there a lesson to be learned? Maybe.
I had been using Miracle Grow® Potting Mix for years
with satisfactory results. This was my only experience
with any trouble. This year, I’ve changed and am trying
Sunshine Mix #4. And, as always, I am anxious to see the
results.
For years, I used Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix as the substrate
for planting my seeds. I was satisfied with the product.
That is, until one year when my seedlings had begun to
germinate in about the expected number, then grew to
almost three inches tall, and then stopped. They did not
die, but they did not grow taller, although they did seem to
get thicker and tougher. There were no new leaves and no
vertical growth. What could have been the problem?
I watered and watered, but nothing happened. The
leaves and stems thickened, but that was it. Mysterious? I
concluded that since Miracle Grow® Potting Mix has some
fertilizer blended in it, that this year’s batch had probably
not been mixed completely and that somehow I had
planted my seeds in soil with too much of one or another
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Miniature rose “98-180”
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
8
I once tried mixing a large amount
of peat moss into my growing
medium. The consequences were
predictably disastrous. Many seeds
germinated, but they all turned a pale
white. They were being bleached by
the acids in the peat. I took them
out of that soil too, washed them off,
and transplanted them into regular
substrate. Then as before, they all
began to grow normally, and I lost
very few seedlings. Nature, and
Elizabeth, tolerates a fool.
Germination
administration
Thankfully, gardening mistakes, like
gardening successes, are only known
to us. Rose breeding is a solitary
hobby. Neither my wife nor the
neighbors really know or care what
goes on in my yard as long, as I keep
the noise down and things don’t smell
too bad.
One year, I documented every rose
seed that I planted, recording them by
size and color. I graded them as either
small, medium, or large, as well as
black, brown, or cream-colored. I then
noted their germination rates to see
if a pattern emerged. I had predicted
the largest and lightest-colored seeds
would germinate at the highest rate.
Unsurprisingly, I was wrong.
Baby roses sprouted from seeds of
every size and color. But the majority
came from medium-sized brown
seeds. I occasionally come across a
hip that contains one giant whitish
seed. I have yet to have one of these
oversized seeds germinate.
Parched pollen and
midnight marauders
I have harvested soaking wet roses
and, when Elizabeth wasn’t looking,
slowly dried their pollen over the heat
of our stove. I kept track of the crosses
I made using that heat-dried pollen to
see if it was viable. Sure enough, some
of the crosses took, and the pollen
was fine.
One year, I noticed that a large
number of seedlings transplanted into
my garden had been dug out by some
animal overnight. The rose was not
eaten or even much hurt. But some
creature was digging them out after
I had planted them. Why? I couldn’t
figure it out.
I set up a trail camera to catch the
culprit. Sure enough, after a couple of
days, I spotted the bandit and figured
out what was happening.
A family of foxes had moved into
the wooded area behind our home,
and every night the mama fox would
come around looking for things to
feed her pups. Whenever I planted a
seedling rose into my garden, I had
mixed a half-cup of “bonemeal” into
the soil around the young plant. I
concluded that the fox must have
smelled the newly buried bonemeal,
assumed it was something good to
eat, and dug up my rose looking
for it. I stopped using bonemeal
when transplanting my roses for
the remainder of that year, and the
problem ended.
continued on page 23
Elizabeth and
our nephew
with my rose
“00-11”
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
A Visit to the National Rose
Trial Garden of Australia,
Adelaide, Australia
9
John Jons
4015we@gmail.com
W
hile on a tour of Australia in
2020 (pre-Covid), I had the opportunity to visit
the International Rose Garden that is located
in Adelaide’s Botanical Gardens. While visiting the rose
garden, I discovered and learned about the National Rose
Trial Garden of Australia that is a part of the International
Rose Garden.1
The National Rose Trial Garden of Australia, Inc.
was started in 1999. This organization is a joint venture
between the Botanical Gardens of Adelaide, the Rose
Introducers of Australia (RIAUS – consisting of major
rose nurseries, most having overseas connections), the
Australian Rose Breeders Association (ARBA), and the
National Rose Society of Australia. The organization is
managed by a nine-person unpaid council consisting of
representatives of each of the participating organizations.2
The need for a National Rose Trial (evaluation) process
was determined by the National Rose of Society Australia
in 1992. Some 95% of all new roses introduced in Australia
came from overseas. It was noted that many of them either
did not perform well or performed too well – a rose that is
a shrub in England might grow as a climber in Australia.
Trialing or evaluating new roses before they are sold to
the public and collecting objective data on how well new
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Picture of the Rose Trial Garden Section
roses perform in Australia, provides the Australian rose
gardener with accurate information on how a particular
rose plant may perform in their garden. The trial ground
also offers the opportunity to test and promote Australianbred roses.
The published intent of the rose trial evaluation
criteria is: “1) To identify and promote roses best suited
to Australian growing conditions. 2) To develop and
promote Australian Rose Breeding. 3) To provide general
information on roses to the public. 4) To provide feedback
to rose breeders, growers and retailers as to those roses
judged by the public to be the most popular.”3
The trialing of a new rose cultivars consists of the rose
candidate being objectively evaluated over a period of two
years at determined intervals by ten independent assessors,
who have thorough knowledge of gardening and roses.
The evaluation criteria are based upon a maximum of 100
points: General Impression – 30 points (plant, foliage,
vigor, flowering and novelty); Flower – 30 points (blooms,
buds, color, abundance of flowers, recurrent blooms, post
flowering, novelty); Disease Resistance – 30 points (fungal
diseases, pest tolerance); Fragrance — 10 points. Based
upon the final evaluation point scores, successful roses are
awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
10
Picture of the Rose Trial Garden Section
A separate public judging event is also held each
year. The public is asked to cast their vote on the
trial roses that may soon be released for sale. The
results of this public evaluation are valued by the
rose breeders, rose growers, and rose sellers, as
they indicate the roses that are likely to be the most
popular with the home gardeners.
The rose with the highest score is named ‘Australia
Rose of the Year.’ The results of this evaluative rose
trial process are announced annually to the media
and the public and published on the National Rose
Trial Garden of Australia, Inc., website.
As a visiting rosarian and master gardener, it
appeared to me that the results of this rose trial effort
T
All photos by J. Jons ©2020
were apparent in all the rose gardens that I visited in
Australia. The displayed roses looked very healthy,
there were lots of very large blooms, and I saw
minimal evidence of disease.
To see more pictures of the trial garden, go to
YouTube “A Visit to the National Rose Trial Garden of
Australia, Adelaide Botanical Gardens, Australia”
https://youtube/9jSEfoS3M5I.
1 “A Visit to the International Rose Garden, Adelaide
Botanical Gardens, Australia” by John Jons on YouTube
- https://youtube/OxCm2B7RJLg.
2 National Rose Trial Garden of Australia Inc. website.
3 Signage in the Adelaide Botanical Garden.
Call for Articles
he RHA Newsletter
would just be blank sheets of
paper without your articles.
Send us an article of any length and
see your name in print. Here are
some ideas to get you going:
Who We Are – write about
yourself, including how you got
into rose hybridizing and what your
breeding focus is.
Local Attractions – you can write
a piece on a rose garden or event in
your area.
Book Review – have you read
a good rose book or horticultural
article recently? Write a review
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
of the book/article describing its
content and its use as a resource for
hybridizers.
Tips and Hints – don’t have time
to write an article? Drop us a line
and share a handy hint or tip for
hybridizing and growing roses, an
anecdote, a product that works well
for you, a mistake to watch out for.
We’ll put them all together into a
column.
Featured Species – If you have
worked with a species in your
hybridizing, write an article about
the species, its native habitat and
what it can bring to rose breeding.
If possible, describe cultivars
(including your own) bred from
this species.
International Outlook – We
are proud of having members all
around the world. We would like to
hear from you! What kind of roses
are grown where you live? What is
your hybridizing focus? Are there
publications in your country that
may be of use to rose hybridizers
worldwide? If English is not your
native language, don’t be shy – your
writing does not have to be perfect.
Send your submissions to
rhaeditor@gmail.com.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
11
Overcoming
Technical
Difficulties
David C. Zlesak
zlesak@rocketmail.com
C
hallenges often arise no matter what we do — rose breeding
is no exception. Hopefully, we don’t let them get us down too much and can think of them
as opportunities to learn and grow. I’m grateful for the tips people have shared with me and
ideas that have come to mind to help get through challenges I’ve faced. In this new column, I’m
excited to share ideas that will, hopefully, help you too as you face similar “technical difficulties.”
Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats (little flies) can become a nuisance,
especially starting our rose seedlings indoors. The more
potted plants one has, the more easily they can build in
numbers and become an issue. I recognize that as I have
more and more roses under lights by late spring, there are
just more resources for them to survive on and multiply.
They seem to always find a way in, even when during
the summer I may have cleared out every plant on all
the plantstands. They hitchhike in somehow, maybe on a
new houseplant, sometimes with some potting medium,
etc. Their larvae love moist soil, and they feed on organic
matter. They eventually pupate and emerge as adults. In
high abundance larvae can injure/kill especially young
seedlings. The key control method recommended is to not
overwater and let the media dry out as much as possible
between waterings. This can kill the sensitive larvae. I try
to do this, but with lots of trays with small individual cells,
it is hard to manage water well enough to accomplish the
task. For the small cells I use to start out with (72 cells
per standard try), it is especially challenging to manage
water well, as each seedling is growing at a different rate
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
and using water at a different speed. With lots of plants it
is hard to find that perfect moisture balance in each pot.
Ultimately, I find there is always somewhere for some
larvae to live. I feel terrible when I accidently kill/injure
rose seedlings by letting them dry out too much, as I try to
knock back fungus gnats.
Besides trying to be careful with watering, yellow sticky
cards and hydrogen peroxide have been helpful to knock
them back. I also tried putting out apple cider vinegar to
draw them to it where they drown, but it didn’t seem to
work very well. Adults are attracted to the yellow of the
sticky cards and get permanently stuck. The more they
wiggle, the more of their body comes in contact with the
sticky cards and is immobilized. The sticky cards come in
various sizes, but the 3" x 5" are the most common with
stickiness on both sides and wax paper to peel off when
one is ready to use the card. I like to attach them just
under the lights and away from the rose foliage the best I
can – they do permanently stick to rose foliage.
I read about and tried watering with hydrogen peroxide,
and that has helped a lot to kill larvae and knock back the
next cycle of these critters. It needs to be repeated every
week or so, as the current adults already out of the soil can
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
12
knock back in fungus gnat population in the days to follow.
As I examine the roots of the roses after application right
way, and then in the days to come, I haven’t noticed any
browning or other obvious damage. Hydrogen peroxide
and sticky cards can be great and affordable tools with a
modest group of plants to manage.
Sticky card insect traps catch adult fungus gnats
lay more eggs. Hydrogen peroxide has a short residual, so
eggs laid after the treatment likely won’t be impacted. I’ve
tried diluting the common 3% concentration of hydrogen
peroxide sold at the pharmacy using one part of the 3%
hydrogen peroxide to two parts water down to nine parts
water to make it stretch more as I have a lot to water. It
still seemed to work at the lower concentration. The soil
visibly and audibly bubbles a bit after application with the
whole range of concentrations and there is a noticeable
Stefan Lara on the RHA Forum recommended the
biological control Bacillus thurengensis israeliensis. I’m very
grateful for his recommendation. It has proven to be
the best solution for the amount of plants I’m dealing
with, because of how effective it is and that I can easily
mix it into my standard irrigation water. This bacteria is
typically sold as a dry powder in 16 pound containers for
~$400 for greenhouse growers. Thankfully, one can buy
it from some online suppliers in much smaller volumes.
I suspect they purchase the 16 pound size from the main
manufacturer and repackage it. There is also a thick liquid
formulation meant to put in ponds to kill mosquito larvae,
and it is also typically labeled for fungus gnat control. This
biological control agent is very specific to harming just a
limited group of insects (e.g. fungus gnats and mosquitos)
and specially their larvae. It is known to produce a toxin
that uniquely impacts these insects. Bacillus thurengensis
israeliensis is relatively safe for humans and most all other
animals, but there are handling precautions to follow
on the label. I first purchased it as a liquid formulation
from a pond supply company. It worked to some degree.
I went ahead and bought a two pound bag of the dry
granular form, and it was much more effective. Perhaps
the difference may be due to how old the product was.
continued on page 19
Rose seedlings
started indoors
under lights are
vulnerable to
fungus gnats.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
13
Golden
Showers as
a Parent
T
R15-01, Peter Harris’ hardy, fertile 1981 hybrid
between ‘Golden Showers’ and ‘Hazeldean.’
When I began hybridizing roses in 1972, I had many vague
ideas but only three bushes that would set seed readily.
One of these three was the pillar-climber ‘Golden Showers.’
As a parent, ‘Golden Showers’ has several advantages. It
repeats well and is vigorous, floriferous, and relatively
thornless, with bright, glossy leaves. The blossom, preceded
by a long bud, is fragrant, with petals of average substance
and fair width in a pleasant daffodil-yellow color that fades
gracefully. An eight-foot bush in full bloom is quite a sight.
Of course, ‘Golden Showers’ has some weaknesses.
It has no-better-than-average resistance to mildew and
blackspot, and is susceptible to rust, too. The blossoms
fade gracefully, but quickly, too, and are of loose – some
might say sloppy – form. Because of the low petal count
(rarely more than twenty petals in summer in Texas), one
is quickly aware that the petals should be wider.
However, for me, the beginning hybridizer, ‘Golden
Showers’ faults were outweighed not only by its strengths
but also by a special virtue: its many flowers would set
seed almost infallibly, even in hot weather.
Although it produces large seeds of better-thanaverage germination potential, these seeds have massive
seedcoats and are slow to begin germination, peaking in
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Peter Harris
h i s a rt i c l e , P e t e r H a r r i s ’ d e b u t ,
appeared in the Summer 1975 issue of the RHA
Newsletter. He retained a lifelong interest in – or
rather, fascination for – yellow roses. It was only a few
growing seasons later (1981) that he bred one of his bestknown hybrids, R15-01, a bright, pure yellow offspring of
‘Golden Showers’ with pollen from ‘Hazeldean.’ This article
combines the yellow theme with many other characteristics
of Peter’s work: attention to detail, forthright practicality,
and a sprinkling of wit.
the fall of the year. Further, although the blooms are easy
to emasculate and pollinate, one could wear himself out
trying to make enough seeds to provide a good population;
there are only about 15 pistils per bloom, and not all of
these will produce seed. Some of my crosses have averaged
as many as 11 seeds per hep (i.e., x 'Tropicana,' x 'Spartan,'
x 'First Prize'), but most have run lower, about 7 or 8.
‘Golden Showers’ is not a lazy hybridizer’s dream.
And for the hybridizer with limited space, ‘Golden
Showers’ offers other disadvantages. Although its
seedlings are generally vigorous and have glossy, bright
leaves, thy are also reluctant to bloom their first year.
Furthermore, they demonstrate clearly that ‘Golden
Showers’ carries a strong climbing trait; most seeellings
are very tall. Both of these habits are disadvantageous for
one with limited lighting and growing space.
Before I realized that sow seedlings would not bloom
the first year, I had cut them back two or three times
from a foot to only three or four inches high and to this
day not one of those seedlings has bloomed for me. Now
I am more hard-hearted and recognize quickly whether
a ‘Golden Showers’ seedling is going to be a Bloomer or
a Leaf-Maker. The Leaf-Makers go to a cool holding area
until spring (although they probably will be singles and
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
14
should go to the compost heap, I’m a beginner and curious
about their other characteristics of color and growth and
will keep them until I am no longer curious), and the
Bloomers either stay or go.
ranging from magenta and cherry red through rose and
salmon shades (these predominate) to pale yellow and
bright yellow. This cross also has yielded bicolors (bright
pink/yellow and scarlet/deep rose).
Judging also by the low percentage of first-time
bloomers it produces, ‘Golden Showers’ is not a lazy
hybridizer’s dream seed parent. Only two crosses (with
Spartan and Circus) have produced more than 50%
Bloomers for me, and most crosses on ‘Golden Showers’
average only 20% to 40% Bloomers. The crosses yielding
in the 40% to 50% range are these: x 'Tropicana,' x
'Floradora,' x 'Charlotte Amstrong,' x 'First Prize.'
These seedlings grow generally into medium to tall
bushes of open, lateral branching habit and quick rebloom. My best yellow seedling is from this cross.
Beginning with only 12 petals and almost no stamens or
pistils, it has matured steadily, and I hope to use it as a
parent this year. It resembles ‘Golden Showers’ but has a
few more petals. It does not grow as tall and repeats more
quickly, but its petals are slightly narrower.
During the two-year period 1972-73, ‘Golden Showers’
germination percentages ranged from 14% (x 'Golden
Gate') to 78% (x 'Eclipse'), with most in the 35% to 50%
range (x 'Circus,' x 'Tropicana,' x 'Queen Elizabeth,' x
'Spartan,' x 'Charlotte Armstrong'). x 'Floradora' yielded
only 22% but x 'First Prize' yielded 57%.
'Golden Showers' x 'First Prize' yields wide petals
and cane growth of up to five feet in the first season.
Obviously, this is a cross for climbers, or so it seems so far.
I’ve observed plants from this cross for only one season
and am impressed primarily by their vigor and colors.
With yellow from Golden Masterpiece in its ancestry, ‘First
Prize’ pollen should give some yellow plants, and it does in
this cross. Colors I obtained from this cross were mostly in
two groups of approximately equal size; light pink and pale
yellow; however, I also got some plants in apricot-bronze,
ivory, chalk-white, and canary yellow, along with some
bicolors: pink-cream and pink/pale yellow. Many of the
petals of the lighter colors were tipped with carmine in the
cooler fall weather. Altogether, an interesting cross but not
one for the hybridizer with a small growing area.
‘Golden Showers’ seedlings are predominantly vigorous
and tall, with glossy leaves and some susceptibility to
mildew. Although there are some singles, most of the
seedlings that bloom the first season are fragrant and
double, with 10-15 petals or more. Most of the buds are
long and thin. Unfortunately these characteristics together
mean that most of the petals are thin and narrow. With
narrowness and poor substance come quilling petals and
flowers that do not hold shape or color well when open.
However, despite these bloom characteristics prevailing in
‘Golden Showers’ seedlings, I’ve been encouraged by four
crosses.
'Golden Showers' x 'Spartan' seems worthwhile primarily
because a majority of its seedlings are fragrant and
Bloomers, repeating quickly. Colors range from salmon and
medium pink through scarlet, with most in the salmonmedium pink range. A drawback to this cross is the high
(20%) incidence of seedlings with albinism, poor leaves, or
other abnomalities. This may be pure chance, but again it
may be related to the cross.
'Golden Showers' x 'Circus' yields generally healthier
seedlings than GS x Spartan, and many of these seedlings
are fragrant too, with colors falling almost entirely into
two equal groups, pale to medium yellow and yellow
blends resembling 'Circus.' Although the leaves in this
cross are especially attractive, many of the buds are short.
'Golden Showers' x 'Tropicana' provides a moderate-tolong bud length and increased petal count. Its seedlings
also reflect the diverse ancestry of 'Tropicana,' with colors
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
Although ‘Golden Showers’ has many desirable traits
and sets seed willingly, and the seeds germinate well,
the extent to which one uses ‘Golden Showers’ in his
hybridizing program will depend on how highly he rates its
desirable features in relation to his goals, time and space
available. If one is interested in compact bushes, ‘Golden
Showers’ is strictly a long shot parent. If one’s time and
space are limited, ‘Golden Showers’ is a luxury. However,
if one is interested in breeding yellow roses, particularly
climbers and shrub roses, he might do far worse than to
consider using ‘Golden Showers’, which is attractive in
bush, bud, and bloom, is vigorous, floriferous, and, among
yellow roses, fairly hardy.
The hybridizer using ‘Golden Showers’ should aim
to moderate its size and increase its petal count, petal
width, and petal substance, while retaining fragrance and
floriferousness and hardiness. If any of us can achieve all
of these goals in a few intelligent (and lucky?) crosses, the
resulting bush will probably be immune to disease and will
have non-fading blooms as well.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
15
Fun with Rosa
acicularis
Jim Sproul
rosesbydesign@gmail.com
My early rose experience growing
up in Fairbanks, Alaska
I
w a s a p l a n t l o v e r f r o m a n e a r ly a g e .
My first encounter with roses was reading about
them on the inside cover of a Popular Science magazine
in the late 1960s, in an advertisement for the beautiful
hybrid tea rose named ‘Peace.’ I imagined how beautiful
it must be, but never did figure out how to order a rose
that way.
My first rose purchase when I was in the 5th grade,
was from the Foodland store, four blocks from our house.
I’m sure that I must have been on a run to spend my
allowance on candy bars. Instead, I was drawn to a pile
Photo 2 - First bloom from rooted cuttings of
Rosa acicularis collected from Fairbanks, Alaska
of waxed roses, each wrapped and tucked into a small
plastic bag with colorful and enticing photos of roses on
the packaging. These, luckily, were in my price range, so I
bought one. Much later, I would learn that rosarians called
these packages “body bags,” since most roses sold this
way don’t survive. I recall that although the plant did leaf
out a bit, it never bloomed. Of course, it also didn’t have
a chance to survive the long, dark and very cold winters of
Fairbanks, Alaska.
Fortunately, the story of my experience with roses didn’t
end there. My first rose to actually bloom was a volunteer
plant that I had spotted coming up between the wooden
slats of our back fence when I was a freshman in high
school. It was a five-petalled pink once-blooming rose I
would later identify as Rosa acicularis.
Description of Rosa acicularis
Photo 1 - This is the species, Rosa acicularis.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Rosa acicularis (see photo 1), also known as the prickly wild
rose and the Arctic rose, is a species of wild rose with a
circumpolar-arctic distribution in the northern regions of
Asia, Europe, and North America. Its canes are densely
populated with straight needle-like prickles, also known
as acicles. It has pink fragrant flowers with five petals.
The blooming period is very early and only lasts twothree weeks. The hips are narrow, being at least twice as
long as they are wide. Though the hips tend to be seedy,
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
16
they are sweet to the taste, and Arctic hares, as well as
other animals, enjoy eating them. I sampled them from
time to time when walking through the woods near our
house. The seeds from this species have a long dormancy
period and may take two or more years to germinate. Rosa
acicularis plants have deep horizontal rhizomes that freely
sucker to produce colony clusters of identical clones.
The ploidy of this rose species is variable. Botanical
authorities have listed it as tetraploid and hexaploid in
North America and octoploid in Eurasia, including China.
Hardiness is listed to USDA Zone 2a: to -45.5 °C (-50
°F). However, seeing temperatures colder than that in
Fairbanks, I suspect that Zone 1a, to -60 °F, is possible.
Using Rosa acicularis in hybridizing
with Hulthemias
Having spent most of my adult life in California, getting
married and raising our four kids here, I had always
dreamed that I would someday take my family to Alaska
to show them where I had grown up. By the time two of
our kids had left home, I thought that my dream would
never come true.
But, in 2016, when
I received the
invitation for my
40th year high
school class reunion,
I decided that it was
time to try to go
back to Fairbanks.
The cool thing was
that it all worked
out, with all the
kids including a
new daughter-inlaw being able to
make the trip. We
stayed in a VRBO
house situated in
the wooded hills just
outside of Fairbanks
and had a wonderful
time.
Photo 4 - Rose bud from
seedling W163, a first
generation Rosa
acicularis seedling
So, back to Rosa acicularis. What do you do when you are
a rose breeder and there are several plants of Rosa acicularis
growing in the woods around the house that you are
staying in for your 40th reunion? That’s right, I took some
cuttings!
The cuttings made the return trip back to our home
in Bakersfield, California. These were then placed on my
propagation table, and two of the cuttings quickly began to
root. Next, to encourage more growth, I transplanted the
rooted cuttings to larger 5 inch pots.
The following year, I was very excited to see that one of
the cuttings produced a flower bud and bloomed on March
7, 2017 (see photo 2). Since it was so early in the breeding
season and there were only one or two blooms on a couple
of my favorite seed parents, I collected the pollen from the
Rosa acicularis bloom and made some quick early crosses. I
then waited to see if hips would form. Unfortunately, all of
the crosses failed, and there would be no further blooms to
use in crosses from my small Alaskan roses for that year.
Photo 3 - Seedling W163, Hulthemia
x Rosa acicularis hybrid first year
growing in the greenhouse
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
In 2018, the following year, the two plants of Rosa
acicularis had grown much larger and produced many
spring blooms. This allowed more opportunities to attempt
crosses with three of my most fertile Hulthemia seed
parents. Later that year, between those three seed parents,
I was able to harvest 24 hips, yielding 298 seeds.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
17
In January 2019, these seeds were planted along with the
rest of my seeds from 2018. From the 298 Hulthemia x Rosa
acicularis seeds, only one seedling germinated. It was given
the code name W163. This seedling was easy to identify in
the greenhouse since species crosses generally don’t bloom
in their first year and tend to grow very tall (see photo
3). Another trait that helped identify it were the many
needle-like prickles that grew along its canes. I suppose
that the most likely reason that the other 297 seeds didn’t
germinate was due to their prolonged dormancy period
coming from Rosa acicularis. Though disappointed with the
poor germination rate, I was extremely happy to finally
have a Hulthemia x Rosa acicularis hybrid, even though
I would need to wait until the following year to see if it
would bloom.
In the spring of 2020, I felt very lucky to see flower buds
forming on seedling W163. This Hulthemia x Rosa acicularis
hybrid was distinguishable from the species pollen parent
in that its foliage had a darker reddish coloring rather than
the medium to lighter green foliage of Rosa acicularis. As its
blooms opened, the petals were examined to see if there
was any hint of a Hulthemia blotch, but not surprisingly,
none was present (see photos 4 and 5). It’s actually fairly
common to cross two Hulthemia hybrids with good
blotches and get non-blotched seedlings. Nevertheless, not
finding a blotch was a disappointment. Seeing that W163
seemed to produce adequate pollen though, I decided that
backcrossing it to Hulthemias might still be worth a try.
Accordingly, in 2020 many crosses were made using W163
as both pollen and seed parent. Additionally, I redoubled
my efforts using Rosa acicularis again as a pollen parent
Photo 6: 2021
second generation
Hulthemia x W163
(Rosa acicularis
seedling).
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Photo 5 - Seedling W163 open bloom.
Note that there is no Hulthemia blotch.
(incidentally, I still have yet to see any hips forming on my
two Rosa acicularis plants).
All of the crosses that were made onto W163 used as a
seed parent failed. However, where it was used as a pollen
parent, many plump hips were produced. In the fall of
2020, I collected 18 hips where W163 had been used as the
pollen parent and 52 hips from pollinations made with Rosa
acicularis. This yielded a total of 962 seeds.
As per my usual routine, all of my seeds from 2020
were planted in January 2021. Though germinations were
still poor, in the seedling lots where Rosa acicularis and
W163 were used as pollen parents, I ended up with several
Rosa acicularis hybrids. These included the backcrosses
with W163. Although I was expecting some of the W163
seedlings to be repeat bloomers, not one of them bloomed
this year (although all of them were very thorny; see photo
6). Assuming that these were all tetraploid, theoretically,
1/6 of them should have been remontant. I’m not sure why
that didn’t happen, but the number of W163 seedlings was
low, so perhaps it was just a statistical possibility.
So now the waiting begins again. Will any of these new
W163 or Rosa acicularis seedlings bloom in the spring of
2022? Will any of them have blotches?
Stay tuned!
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
18
The Rose-Growing
World Loses an Icon –
Bob Martin
Andy Vanable
I
rha@ vanablefamily.com
n november, the rose-growing world was dealt a
major blow. Immediate American Rose Society (ARS) Past President Bob Martin
succumbed to a heart attack. It was a shock to our tightly-knit community. Words
cannot even begin to describe the sheer number of rosarians he connected with
worldwide.
Losing an Icon
During his lifetime, Bob touched nearly every aspect of
the rose, from judging arrangements, to classification, to
introducing fifteen roses, to setting the American Rose
Society along a pathway to a bright future full of rosy bliss.
Bob’s last two major
accomplishments
Two of Bob’s last major accomplishments (among the
endless list of major accomplishments — never mind the
minor ones), were co-editing the 2021 ARS Annual, and
winning not one, not two, but four Queens (and best
horticulture entry) at the Desert Rose Society Rose Show
two weeks before his death. Our 2021 Annuals were just
beginning to show up in our mailboxes a few short days
before he passed. In true Bob Martin fashion, the Annual
is an excellent edition filled with wonderful stories about
exhibitors and exhibiting roses, one of Bob’s true passions.
My experiences with Bob
My first experiences with Bob came through the Rose
Hybridizers Association (RHA). He was the Western
Director, and I am the Eastern Director. Together,
we advised the Association on how we thought the
Association should be run. He was part of the old guard
– a guru – the one who literally wrote the book and was
successful in having his roses introduced. I was the newbie
– the one struggling to get seeds to germinate — the one
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
reprinted from
having trouble getting any hybrid roses to survive past
their first few weeks after germination. I was the one
absorbing all that was put forth before me, in hopes of
getting anything resembling a rose worthy to call my own,
and Bob was part of what was being put forth before me to
read and learn.
ARS Vice President, Bob Martin
Bob later ran for ARS Vice President and won. During one
of his visits to the Yankee District, he came to me for help.
At the time he was the Vice President of the ARS. We were
both on the Registration and Classification Committee,
and he wanted me to head the committee after he became
President. I didn’t expect him to ask me to do something
like this. I also couldn’t believe that he thought of me and
my abilities this way. At first, I didn’t think that I would
have enough time to devote to heading the committee.
But, after some reflection, I decided that it would be my
one and only chance to do something like this. I also
figured I would probably be learning something new and
different about roses in the process.
Working with Bob
Working with Bob as Head of the Registration and
Classification committee (as well as in other ARS and
RHA capacities), I learned quite a bit. I also found out how
much Bob was really doing for the rose. I also discovered
some of the depth to which his knowledge of the rose
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
19
extended. Bob really knew his roses. He also wasn’t afraid
to tell you that he disagreed with something you may have
said/written. Emails and email chains were extremely
well written and thought out. It wasn’t uncommon to get
an education on many aspects of the rose just by reading
these emails.
One particular email exchange I can remember, was
where Bob had purchased my ‘President Shanley’ rose.
He didn’t agree with my classification as a modern shrub.
While he didn’t come right out and say it, he intimated
that the rose should be classified as a hybrid musk instead
of a modern shrub. This exchange also brought to my
attention how all classes of roses are equally important.
This fact is something that I have preached for many years,
and I had apparently not remembered. Bob’s words were
an important reminder to me to heed my own teachings.
Just a few short months ago, Bob asked me to serve on
the Registration and Classification Committee under his
leadership during the current ARS term. He wanted me
to advise on the new landscape shrub class and interface
with the RHA. Of course, it was a no-brainer to accept. I
was looking forward to working with Bob and the rest of
the committee to clear the backlog of unregistered roses
during the Modern Roses database reconstruction, and
reclassify many existing roses into their “new” classes
(another Bob Martin accomplishment).
The great rose ambassador
Yes, the rose-growing world lost one of its great
ambassadors last month. So many of us were touched
by Bob, his roses, and most importantly, his teachings.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have known and
worked with Bob. He taught me so much, and will
continue to do so, even though he is no longer with us.
His legacy, while cut short in its prime, will live on
through the work he did throughout his lifetime. It is up
to you and me to insure that we pass his legacy along to
the next generation of rose growers, and they pass it along
to many generations to come.
Rest in Peace, Bob. We shall miss you.
Epilogue
The picture I chose to be with this blog is one that I feel
exemplifies Bob best. It would have been very easy to
put in a picture of Bob’s ‘Butter Cream’ (his most-widely
grown rose here in our district), but the picture I chose
instead, shows him listening intently to a question being
asked of him at one of our Yankee District conventions. At
the same time that Bob is listening to the question, he is
conjuring up his answer. His mind never did seem to be
idle.
In my opinion, education, the sharing of information,
and the making the growing of roses more enjoyable and
simpler to understand, is key to the enjoyment of the rose.
When I was on the ARS Newsletter Committee a few years
ago, Bob’s articles were some of the best-written and wellrounded articles out of all of the articles I read. They hit
many aspects of the rose, not only how to exhibit them.
I’m sure they helped quite a few rosarians throughout the
nation (and beyond) better enjoy the rose and all it has to
offer. They surely did help me.
Overcoming Technical Difficulties –
continued from page 12
Water with hydrogen peroxide or Bacillus thurengensis
israeliensis to combat fungus gnat larvae in the soil.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
Sometimes (not always), we find an expiration
date listed. The dry formulation I purchased has an
expiration date of over a year out, and the liquid
formulation did not have a date listed. Over time
I suspect the bacteria die off, and the toxin may
degrade (especially in light from what I’ve read).
For the liquid formulation I used the recommended
six drops per gallon. For the granular form I used 1
tablespoon per five gallon bucket for initial knock
back and then one teaspoon per five gallon bucket
since for maintenance. Things are very much under
control now. It has a mild odor, but I’ve gotten used
to it and don’t mind knowing the benefits!
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
20
An interview with Kim Rupert –
continued from page 6
Who was most
influential in the
development of your
rose breeding objectives,
and what are they?
Need you ask? Mr. Moore was
starving for people to talk roses with!
None of his family was interested in
playing with roses. None of his local
friends were really all that interested.
The few “professionals” who visited
him were able to spend long periods
of time with him. His two nursery
partners didn’t have time to wander
and talk roses, as they both had to
accomplish all the required tasks to
keep the business operating. I was
fortunate to be able to not only pick
his brain, but be the beneficiary of
all of the information begging to be
shared. I took notes, writing down
everything I could scribble while
melting in the heat. The greenhouses
would be triple digits with a hundred
percent humidity. I was melting and
Mr. Moore, often wearing a cardigan
sweater, would enter the house and
stretch like an old cat!
Mr. Moore encouraged me to “never
stir the pot, but find something new
to add.” Don’t do what everyone else
is doing. Use species no one else is
working with. I theorized that since
modern roses were mostly tetraploid,
the fastest results should come
from tetraploid species combined
with moderns. The sole tetraploid,
“repeat-flowering” species I found
was Rosa fedtschenkoana. Fortunately,
it was also gorgeous! Unfortunately,
no one offered it for sale. It was sad
serendipity, that one of my fellow
volunteers developed brain cancer and
was distressed she couldn’t care for
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
her garden. Sharon and Judy
arranged for the volunteers to
visit Joan on a Saturday meeting
to clean up her garden. Joan’s
daughter provided us lunch,
which we enjoyed with her and
Joan. I found this intriguing
looking plant along the fence
line under the oak trees and
asked Joan if that might be
Fedtschenkoana. It was. I
begged a sucker, and she urged
me to dig out as much of it as
I wanted to ensure it would succeed.
I still grow that Fedtschenkoana and
still fondly remember Joan Kennedy
each time I study and enjoy it.
Mr. Moore listened to my theorizing
about Fedtschenkoana being the
direction I should explore. He was
intrigued, as he wasn’t familiar with
the rose; however, he told me not to
worry about ploidy. While he found
ploidy interesting, he maintained
that crossing roses of differing ploidy
was still worthwhile, because “the
rose will find the way.” There were
some interesting, early seedlings
using Fedtschenkoana, but it proved
incredibly stubborn to breed with. I
found it ironically funny, that once I
accomplished several crosses with it,
DNA testing showed Fedtschenkoana
was already “in there,” and had
contributed to the creation of Autumn
Damask!
By that time, the garden in Newhall
had been created and was rapidly
expanding. Every visit to Sequoia
resulted in another carload of wonders
to bring back to the canyon and study.
Mr. Moore created remarkable roses!
Of course his commercial products
were beautiful and interesting, but
his research plants were even more
so, and I found them even more
instructive and inspiring. He raised
two seedlings using his ‘Golden
Angel’ crossed with what he called
1-72-1 Hugonis flore plena
R. californica nana, a dwarf species he
collected near a cousin’s cabin in the
Sierras. It was later theorized what
he found and used was R. spithamea.
There were two seedlings from the
cross. One was a fairly traditional
looking, double pink flower on a plant
with quite blue, rounded foliage. He
retained that one for further study. It
appears now to be extinct. The second
is a repeat flowering small shrub
which greatly resembles Spithamea.
He had no use for that one and gave it
to me. That rose pointed the way for
me to explore with other species.
I have always found American
species intriguing. Not all North
American species in general, but
south-west and California species
in particular. R. minutifolia and R.
stellata mirifica are the most intriguing
to me. Using ideas I gleaned from
studying Mr. Moore’s successes
using his fertile triploid minis, I want
to create the first garden hybrids
of Minutifolia and Stellata. I also
dabble with crested sepals, hoping
to create better, healthier, more
crested seedlings than are currently
available. I am actively using teas
and older modern roses to create
modern repeat-flowering climbers and
ramblers. Paul Barden pointed the
direction for this line when he used
Mr. Moore’s 0-47-19 (Wichurana x
‘Floradora’) x ‘Crépuscule’ to create
‘Mel’s Heritage.’
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
21
How have your rose
breeding goals changed
over the years?
I believe they are more focused on
specific goals, than they once were.
I still make many crosses simply to
explore the “what if?”. I am definitely
more focused on creating roses happy
to be right here where I am, rather
than anywhere else. I don’t focus on
cold hardiness because it doesn’t get
cold here. I want roses which will be
as beautiful, healthy, drought-tolerant,
and productive, as the best of the
antiques suited to my area.
Which species roses do
you like to work with
and why?
I will always grow Fedtschenkoana
for reasons stated previously. I love
Minutifolia and Stellata mirifica,
because they are so unusual and
beautiful, and no one else grows
nor works with them. I also adore
the yellow Chinese species. Hugonis
was my first love in that family, and I
wanted Hugonis flore plena so badly,
but no one had it. Everyone who
once grew it was either dead or lost
it. In the end, that wasn’t such an
issue, because flore plena reportedly
contains Spinosissima genes which
result in mid-summer “stem crud” in
my climate. I’ve been able, using Mr.
Moore’s yellow minis, to raise several
double Hugonis hybrids which thrill
me. I don’t miss not being able to
grow the previously available double
hybrid. I think my fascination with
it was likely triggered by the 1920’s
ARS Annual photos of ‘Dr. E.M. Mills’
and the inability to obtain it for
years. Now it’s again available, and
here I love it, but I like my hybrids
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
better. They are listed and illustrated
on HelpMeFind-Roses. I continue
playing with Hugonis, Xanthina, and
Primula, in hopes of creating double
forms of them, also. Hopefully, a
healthy, repeat-flowering double
seedling of each one will germinate
and flower here. I appreciate Jim
Sproul’s generosity in sharing his
useful seedlings in my quest. I find
it interesting to combine them with
the species, then add in the teas and
chinas which are so happy here along
the coast.
What does the most
perfect rose look like
in your imagination?
What are its
attributes?
A rose as durable, graceful, floriferous
and “unkillable” as ‘Iceberg’ is in
Southern California, but which
resembles each one of the species I
love playing with. Imagine a double
yellow Hugonis-Iceberg . . . or a
double Stellata mirifica-Iceberg which
flowers incessantly and can’t even
be stopped by a deer attack. Perhaps
a mini version descended from
Minutifolia?
What are your favorite
commercially available
roses that are useful as
seed parents?
Most of my seed parents aren’t
commercial varieties. I do like seeing
what comes from using the fertile
triploid ‘Blue for You.’ It’s rudely
healthy, incredibly scented, and
produces the most remarkable colors.
I also like using ‘Faith Whittlesey,’
‘George Washington Richardson’/
‘Mlle de Sombreuil;’ ‘Mme Antoine
Mari;’ ‘Golden Angel;’ and several of
my own seedlings, and some shared
with me from friends. I am also still
using Mr. Moore’s 1-72-1, the sister
seedling of his ‘Rise ’n’ Shine’ and
0-47-19, his Wichurana x ‘Floradora’
rambler. With what both have created,
and how healthy they are in my
climate, why not? I’m not breeding
for “market.” I haven’t the room, nor
patience for dealing with supplying
dozens of seedlings at a time and
dealing with nothing happening with
them for years. I will make things
which please me, and if they please
others, I will usually share the rose
with them.
What are your best
named seedlings?
Why do you like
them?
I think my favorite will always be
‘Annie Laurie McDowell.’ It resulted
from open pollinated seeds from
Ralph Moore’s ‘Renae.’ The plant
flowers constantly; I have only
found one prickle on the large plant
I grew in nearly twenty years; it
has a remarkable scent; it scoffs at
most fungal issues in the Southern
California climates, and it’s simply
drop-dead gorgeous, even if I do say
so myself. It roots easily, but as with
a number of roses, it will try to flower
itself to death instead of growing if
not prevented. Own root, you have
to keep it disbudded until it produces
the root system needed to push the
thick, vigorous growth you want. In
that way, it’s very reminiscent of all
of the tea-noisettes. Own root, they
are glacially slow to develop into the
vigorous monsters they want to be.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
22
‘Annie Laurie McDowell’ was the birth
name of Candy Craig, who, with her
wonderful husband, Dean, introduced
me to The Huntington Library, Peter
Schneider, and the Los Angeles rose
scene. It was my honor and pleasure
to give the rose her name with her
permission.
‘Lynnie’ is a wonderful landscape
rose. Mike Lowe reported it was
hardy in his New Hampshire winters.
Ashdown Roses reported years ago
that four-inch pots of ‘Little Butterfly’
and ‘Lynnie’ survived four nights of
nine degree Fahrenheit ice storms
on exposed tables with no damage.
Also, four-inch pots of ‘Lynnie’ flower
heavily. She roots easily and grows
vigorously own root. Most of her
canes are prickle-free. In many places
she grows, the only fungal issue she
experiences is very late fall rust,
which is appropriate for deciduous
American species. Nature appears
to use rust to tell American species
when to defoliate and harden off
for approaching winter cold. She’s
incredibly fertile and a triploid, so
some really interesting crosses are
easy to create in either direction. She
was one of the earliest commercially
available hybrids using ‘Basye’s
Legacy,’ and she is named for my
favorite aunt. Add the beautiful
orange fruit that’s freely produced
and the autumn foliage coloring she
provides in colder areas, and what’s
not to like?
I have to mention the double
Hugonis hybrids as favorites. They
are all quite well-scented and have
the look of the species but with semidouble to fully double flowers.
What are you currently
working on?
I continue mining the Minutifolia line
in hopes of creating a modern rose
with the looks of the species. I also
continue working the yellow Chinese
species line in hopes of creating more
garden-ready versions of their double
forms. I am also now having success
in raising hybrids from Stellata mirifica
and can’t wait to see where those
may lead. There are small seedlings
currently developing from what
‘Nessie’ x ‘Annie
Laurie McDowell’
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
may well be the first Hesperhodos x
Hesperhodos cross, R. Stellata mifirica
x R. Minutifolia.
As I mentioned earlier, I am crossing
the more successful teas with Mr.
Moore’s 0-47-19, in hopes of following
along the lines of Paul Barden’s ‘Mel’s
Heritage.’ I believe there is a place in
modern gardens for healthy, vigorous,
beautiful, ever-flowering climbers
with an “old fashioned” feel to them
but without the stiff “root stock” type
growth of today’s OGR-look moderns.
I’m also continuing to explore the
possibility of adding crested sepals to
modern roses.
I have raised a series of seedlings
based upon “Nessie” [(R. brunonii x
R. gigantea) x ‘Mlle Cecile Brunner’],
with teas, my own tea hybrids and the
micro mini ‘Tom Thumb.’ They range
from larger bush types to polyanthatype plants. These are also being
worked into the 0-47-19 breeding.
What advice would you
give new rose breeders
to increase their
success?
First, experiment with all the self-set
seed you have available to learn how
to successfully raise seedlings. Why
waste your time and energy trying to
generate seeds from your own crosses
until you know you have a good
chance of raising them successfully?
Find what grows well where you
are and appeals to your eye. Don’t
deadhead, but allow them all to make
hips and seeds if they are able, then
sow what you allowed them to create
to determine what germinates easily
where you are from what you grow.
Then start adding what you want to
incorporate to your goals.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
23
Torturing Seedlings and Curing Thrips
– continued from page 8
Where worlds collide:
Japanese beetles and
thrips
I may have inadvertently stumbled
upon a remedy for thrips.
When I first began this rose hobby,
I scattered roses around my front and
back yards. A couple of years into
it, the local Japanese Beetle problem
exploded out of control. They were
everywhere. I used chemical sprays
to knock down their numbers with
marginal success. I eventually had
to try something more effective. I
was forced to try Milky Spore fungus
granules.
Milky Spore is a naturally occurring
fungus that attacks the larvae of
Japanese Beetles. I had avoided trying
it, due to its cost. But after watching
my roses being chewed to pieces year
after year, I bit the bullet, bought
Elizabeth fewer Christmas presents,
and used the money I saved to
purchase 120 pounds of Milky Spore
fungal treatment.
The instructions said that I either
needed to dig holes about a foot
deep and about a foot apart and fill
these holes with the milky spore
granules, or that I could put down
a few tablespoons every four feet
in a checkerboard pattern around
my yard. But I was too lazy to go
through all that work, and I couldn’t
talk Elizabeth into doing it, so I just
applied it all with a broadcast spreader
in and around my roses and all over
my lawn. I did this, fall and spring, for
two years, and the Japanese Beetles
disappeared. It worked great!
After two years, I cut back and
spread the milky spore granules only
in the spring. And it still seems to
keep the beetles in check. However,
and completely unintentionally, I
noticed that my thrip problem had
almost completely ceased as well.
For me, as for everyone else, thrips
used to be a real headache. But after a
couple of years with the milky spore,
they are all but gone. Wow, maybe
my laziness had paid off! If I had
buried the milky spore as instructed,
or only applied it here-and-there in
a checkerboard pattern, it probably
would have never come in contact
15-177, the flower was beautiful, but the plant
was so susceptible to disease that I had to hold
back my tears and get rid of it.
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022
with all the thrip eggs laid near the
surface of the soil.
Mildew Musings
Over the years, I noticed that some of
my seedlings were prone to powdery
mildew, and most others fell prey
to the dreaded black spot. However,
those infected with powdery mildew
often did not seem to suffer much
from blackspot. I wondered why?
Were roses that were genetically
susceptible to powdery mildew more
inherently resistant to black spot? It’s
possible. But then I began to wonder
about the competition between fungal
species. Could it be that the reason
I was getting less black spot on the
roses suffering with powdery mildew
had little to do with the genetics of
roses and more to with the genetics of
the fungi?
After all, rose leaves are a
common battleground for all sorts
of pathogens. And if one strain of
fungi can claim a leaf surface and
not have to share it with another, it
would be that much better off. Might
it be possible that fungi defend their
leaf-surface territory in the way other
creatures defend their land territories?
Maybe, once a leaf is infected by one
type of fungus, it alters the area to
keep all other types of fungi away
from its territory. Maybe the fungi
themselves put out a natural barrier
that wards off competition from other
fungal species?
Only a researcher like Dr. Zlesak
at the University of Minnesota, can
answer that question. I hope he looks
into it and publishes some results.
We use the naturally-occurring fungi
in Milky Spore to attack insects. It’s
not unreasonable to predict a future
where gardeners will use fungi to
attack and kill other fungi as well.
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
24
(’Salmon Blush‘ x ’Soleil d‘Or‘) x
’Old Yellow Scotch‘ - Andrea Braun
’Abraham Darby‘ x ’Burgundy
Iceberg‘ - Sue Longhini
‘Basye’s Purple’ x ‘Always Hope’
Andrew Barocco
‘Edith Holden’ x ‘Blue For You’
Rolf Sievers
‘Seashell Sands’ seedling
Stephen Hoy
Hulthemia seedling
Joseph Marek
‘Elfinglo’ seedling
Stephen Hoy
Seedling - Sharlene Sutter
Rose Hybridizers Association Newsletter
Seedling
Joe Bergeson
Vol. XLVIII ■ No. 2 ■ Winter 2021-2022