How to Breed a New Rose



Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2009

by Diane Bryson
Rose Care Center

Ever wonder how a "new" rose is created? The Rosa Family has many sub-species. Over the years, rose breeders have worked diligently to create more colorful, fragrant, hardy and disease resistant plants. To create a new rose, pollen is removed from the male part of one rose and used to fertilize the female parts of another rose. This may sound like a simple process, but hybridizing roses is a difficult task that requires patience and the ability to deal with failure. Only a few attempts (out of many) to cross pollinate are successful. Are you up for the task? What do we mean by cross pollination? The pollen from one variety is obtained and combined with the pollen from another variety. How do we obtain pollen? Pollen is located in the male part of the flower called the stamen – we can collect the pollen by cautiously pulling the petals back to reach the stamen. After carefully gathering the stamen – they can be placed in a container. Empty the container onto a clean solid area where they can dry for about 1 day. A tray can be used to collect the pollen as it drops off the anther (pollen sac). Pollen looks like a yellow powdery substance and should be carefully sprinkled on the stigma – the female part of the rose. The timing is critical – and this entire process can be a bit tricky. The flower is then covered and labeled with the father and mother's identification. After the flower is spent and the rose hip is fully ripe it can be removed.

How are we doing so far? Sound complicated? I bet you can see how this process requires a steady hand, patience and organization. Next, the rose hip is placed in a secure place where it will dry out. The seeds can be removed from the outer shell of the rose hip when it is completely dry, and then they are planted for germination. The seedlings are observed closely for hardiness – those that don't meet the criteria are removed. Those that do meet the criteria are allowed to mature.

In the end, there will be a selection (maybe small – maybe quite large) of seedlings to choose from to be used as stock for further hybridization. If you are a patient gardener that likes to experiment in your garden you may thoroughly enjoy the hybridization process. Who knows – maybe you will create the next new rose that is selected to win the blue ribbon at the All American Rose Selections (AARS) competition.
 
  Diane is a fellow rose enthusiast!! She first fell in love with planting and caring for roses when she was 14 years old. It was then that she planted her first rose bush with the help of her dad. Since then she has been teaching herself how to care for and grow roses. www.rosecarecenter.com Getting to know roses- you can visit Diane at www.rosecarecenter.comRose Care Center to learn more.

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