It is now the time for you to try some crosses for this
year…any time, in fact, from the first flush to about
the end of January. If you are a first-timer, start
simply. Prepare your flowers a day before you plan to do
the cross. You need dry weather, and then select two
varieties that tend to set seed initially on their own
(for a likely first success). In the morning, before the
petals are fully expanded, remove all but one (to act as
a flag on the chosen variety), then remove the stamens
(male part of the flower) and place them in a glass
container. They will ripen and release their pollen over
night. The next morning the stigma (female part of the
flower) will be receptive and you can brush pollen from
another rose on them after removing the flag petal. The
flower head should be labeled with the pollen parent and
if you have been successful, the bud will swell and
seeds will form in the hep (seed pod).
Crosses are
labeled using the seed (female parent) first and pollen
(male) parent second…isn’t that always the way? For
example, if it seemed desirable to fertilise seed of
Pimprenelle with pollen of Marilyn Monroe, the cross
would be listed as Pimprenelle x Marilyn Monroe.
There is no problem with selecting single roses. There
will always be a number of insignificant singles anyway,
whatever parents you choose and you CAN get full blooms
from two singles, but normally if I choose a single (for
colour or seed setting) I tend to choose a more
substantial bloom for the pollen parent. Please note
that if you are specifically chasing red, you do not
necessarily have to choose two red parents. I find the
more interesting colours come from two different
coloured parents.
Naturally set heps may also be used for collecting
seed…or for eating when ripe, but please note some are
richer in vitamin C than others and some taste sweeter
than others. After your crosses have been made, you have
nothing more to do than wait for nature to take its
course.
© Richard Walsh
