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Hybridising - The Next Step

By Richard Walsh, President, Australian Rose Breeders' Association

 

If you have taken the time to make some crosses, hopefully some will be starting to show signs of success. The receptacle will be swollen, green and smooth. Signs of failure are yellowing, shriveling stems and no apparent swelling of the receptacle (eventually falling off). The successfully hybridised heps will continue to develop and ripen until the green starts to change to yellow, orange or red. They are then ready to “harvest”. Harvesting may also take place if the stems start to shrivel before they have fully changed colour, as they will not ripen on the plant any more once this occurs. Depending on when the pollinating was done, this may be any time from April to June.

To harvest, simply cut the heps off the plant, open them and extract the seeds. There will be an overage of eight to ten in each hep (the range can be from one to about thirty). I then place them on a piece of paper towel (kitchen paper) and spray lightly with a fungicide like Fongarid, which I keep in a little squirt bottle. It is essential that the seeds do not dry out as they form hard shells if so and the embryos find it difficult to break out of their casing if it is too hard. I wrap the seeds in the damp (not wet) paper and seal in a sandwich bag, which I then store in the crisper tray in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks or until the seeds show signs of germinating (you will need to check periodically to see whether or not this is happening. There will be a label written on paper and also wrapped in the plastic (separated from the damp paper.)

I plant my seedlings out when they are ready because I do not have to contend with frost here. You need to remember they are frost tender, so if you live in an area where frosts are likely/possible, make sure you keep you seedlings under cover until September or when frosts are no longer very likely. The seeds will start germinating after about two weeks and about 25-60% will germinate (an average again of about 35-40%) depending on the seed parent. I plant in foam tomato boxes, with good quality potting mix in the bottom, and a thin layer of seed-raising mix on top of that. The seeds (up to about 400 in per box) will be scattered and covered by about one centimetre of seed-raising mix. Mine began flowering on ten-centimetre-high plants during September.

The new seedlings need to be protected from snails and slugs as well as perhaps from mildew or damping off early in the season when they are young and susceptible. They can also be watered with a weak solution of Miracle-Gro or Phostrogen to help promote growth. Start the selection process immediately you see flowers. Weak, diseased plants, singles often or vegetative centres are usually not worth keeping. Promising plants may be carefully pricked out and potted up separately. At all stages relabel and keep records. Some without commercial potential may be kept for breeding future purposes.

I have to point out that my methods are not the only ones. There are many variations and you can do what suits you. These notes merely serve as a starting point for you. Good luck and I hope you get a lot of satisfaction from this interesting and challenging aspect of rose growing. Warning! Do not start if you are impatient. You need to be prepared to wear lots of failures and find ways to achieve success.

 

© Richard Walsh

 

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