Pacific Northwest District Hybridizing John & Mitchie Moe Master Rosarians Pacific Northwest District American Rose Society ‘Seattle Sunrise’ Photo by Rich Baer [(‘Pristine’ x ‘Selfridges’) x ‘Finest Hour’] February 15, 2012

Acknowledgements Photos by authors, except where credits are shown Excellent sources Rose Hybridizing for Beginners, Rose Hybridizers Association Rose Hybridizing “The Next Step”, See www.rosehybridizers.org for details on these booklets.

The Concept of Hybridizing Definition – to produce or cause to produce hybrids; to crossbreed So then – to hybridize, take the pollen from the stamens of one flower and apply it to the pistils of another

Genetics? By permission of Jason Kottke under the Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Creative Commons license Photo by Jason Kottke

How it Really Works! A cross of these two……. ‘Love & Peace’ Photo by Rich Baer Credit - Photo Files ‘Love & Peace’ ‘Blue Peter’ A cross of these two…….

Produced These Seedlings ‘Barbara’ ‘Lynn’ ‘Judie’ Seedling Seedling

But, Before You Start Stop and picture your ideal rose Now – what characteristics should it have? Some possibilities include; A particular form – e.g., HT, Fl, Mini, etc. A specific color Fragrance Disease resistance

Choosing a Trait of Interest The possibilities are endless because of DNA Thus – focus on your interest before you begin! Do your research, and then select your parents

A Good Place to Start Are the parents healthy roses? Are the parents of those parents healthy? Are other combinations of its parents healthy? You need a good reference book for parentage – e.g., Modern Roses or Helpmefind.com Then plan your crosses!

The Anatomy of a Rose Roses are capable of self fertilization as each has stamens (male organs), and pistils (female organs) Texas A & M Rose Breeding & Genetics Program

(35mm film, baby food jars, etc), Gather Your Supplies Tweezers, camel hair brush, pollen containers (35mm film, baby food jars, etc), Q-tips, tags Note – With so many digital cameras, 35 mm film canisters are getting hard to obtain, but check places that still develop and print film. Most places will give them away. It is easy to see the pollen in a black container!  

Selecting the bloom Stamens should be starting to show, so anthers are mature The more petals, the more it must be open Timing can be critical!

Emasculating the bloom Remove petals to expose the stamens and pistils

Pistils surrounded by the anthers containing pollen Emasculated Bloom Petals removed Pistils surrounded by the anthers containing pollen Anthers

Carefully remove anthers with tweezers or fingers Removing the anthers Carefully remove anthers with tweezers or fingers Stamens with anthers removed Stigma Note: Some hybridizers do not believe in using fingers here. They say that the oil on the skin can damage the pollen.

Collecting Pollen Let mature anthers drop to a sheet of paper for drying to release pollen

Drying Pollen Most pollen will be released by the next day The powder-like grains of pollen will be visible on the paper

1 – 2 weeks, or refrigerate up to 4 weeks Storing Pollen Store pollen in a covered container away from sunlight at room temp for 1 – 2 weeks, or refrigerate up to 4 weeks Freeze for long term

Applying Pollen Apply generous amount of pollen by clean fingertip, Q-tip, pipe cleaner, or camel hair brush Again note: Some hybridizers do not believe in using fingers here. They say that the oil on the skin can damage the pollen. If hybridizing outside in the northern part of the US - do it the first bloom cycle!  

Label your Cross Label should be weather- proof List seed parent first followed by the pollen parent Include date!

Hip Developing If pollination was initially successful, the hip will start to swell in a few weeks

Hips Maturing It takes 90 – 120 days so the seeds that are inside are mature and ripe for harvest

‘Gemini’ x ‘Seattle Sunrise’ Hips can be any size! R. acicularis One of my crosses ‘Gemini’ x ‘Seattle Sunrise’

Hip cut opened Dried stigma Connected to ovary Seeds

Hip and seeds Harvest the hip and cut open to remove the hard, bony seeds Wash to remove all parts of the fleshy hip

Soaking seeds Soak for 1-2 days in a mild fungicide solution to prevent mold that can kill the embryo in storage

Stratifying the Seeds Store in moist Perlite for 6 weeks at room temp, followed by 6 weeks in fridge before planting

Sowing the Seeds Use a 2 inch deep tray with drain holes and plant ¼ - ½ in deep in sterile potting soil (peat/Perlite 1:1) or Sunshine #4 Add no fertilizer! Rose seeds usually germinate in temperatures between 45 and 60°F, with 50 to 55°F as the ideal. Germination slows significantly when the temperature rises above 70°F. Some hybridizers believe that fluctuating temperatures are more helpful than a constant temperature.

Seedling sprouting Once sprouted, give tray 16 hours of light per day Keep moist! Mist weekly with mild fungicide to prevent damp-off

Seedling after a few weeks In 5 – 6 weeks you should see some buds The waiting seems forever!

Waiting for that first bloom Watch growth for vigor, disease resistance, etc. Here are a couple of nice, healthy buds!

Now, wasn’t the wait worth it? The first bloom! More waiting, but a nice one! Now, wasn’t the wait worth it?

The Next Step Wait for next bloom – how many petals, how long to repeat, etc. If a keeper, take some cuttings to see how it propagates Plant some to check vigor, disease resistance, etc. Evaluate – did it meet your goal? Note: If it is diseased, e.g., very mildew prone or an albino, it is better to discard it rather than spend a lot of time messing with it, as it most likely will never improve.

Questions? Thank you ‘Hot To Trot’ ‘Klima’ x ‘Freisinger Morgenrote’ Photo by Corinne Brown ‘Hot To Trot’ ‘Klima’ x ‘Freisinger Morgenrote’ Thank you