Today I got this very special envelope in the mail from California rosarian Jill Perry.....inside was a LOT of hips from the Rosa moschata at the San Jose Rose Garden, plus seeds from Rosa gigantea, Fortune's Double Yellow, and "Moser House Musk"! Why would a breeder like me who relies primarily on my own controlled crosses get SO excited about people sending me open pollinated rose hips (ESPECIALLY those from Rosa moschata!!!)? Well, since the early 90s I've realized that entire CLASSES of roses, such as the Bourbons and the Noisettes, came about DUE to open pollinated roses! Plus before rose breeding was actually discovered, people just relied on bees and the wind to create new varieties. I really want to thank Jill Perry, Lee Sherman in Albuquerque, Anne Belovich in Washington, Jamie Jackson in Missouri, plus a rosarian in Thonotosassa, and others for so helping me in this effort! I also wish to thank Mike Shoup at the Antique Rose Emporium for not only giving me many roses over the years to test in both Denver and Tampa, but for selling a few of my hybrids through his catalogs! And lastly, I am grateful to Brent Dickerson, for it was his seminal book The Old Rose Adviser that years ago GAVE me the idea of taking up rose breeding right after I read it.

My 11 year old self sown climbing seedling of 'Blush Noisette' is blooming like crazy here, so I've been boinking it with the likes of 'Cramoisi Superieur', 'Baronne Prevost', 'Mme. Antoine Mari', 'Eugene de Beauharnais' and today with 'Marechal Niel'. Next I will try pollen from "Pink Cracker Rose" and "Barfield White Climber" on it.

I just used the drought resistant Tea Rose 'Mme. Antoine Mari' on my Blush Noisette Climbing Seedling....first time I've ever used her that way as she never ever sets hips. Time will tell!

So far just one pollination today, my (Blush Noisette Seedling Climber X Baronne Prevost). Tomorrow there should be a few more pollinations on that same seed parent, which generally has about twelve blooms per stalk. Since both are repeat blooming and fragrant I hope one of the seedlings turns out to be a fine climber.