Roses growing in Dunedin Botanic Gardens ~ Jan 2013

Hello Rosebuds, while in Dunedin, NZ, for work last week i took time out to visit the Botanical Gardens and, of course, to inspect their roses. I have uploaded some pics below. While the gardens are beautiful and very worthy of a visit (and the rose gardens were laid out very nicely), many of their roses were suffering from BS. However I took the opportunity to photograph NZ bred roses in particular. Included are photos of Big Purple and Old Port, both NZ roses, which were being talked about on this forum before I left. My top two roses were "Outta the Blue" (a USA breed) and "Grand Prix" (Matthews, NZ)[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Certainly looks very scenic Harriet , what did you think of Old Port ?

Looks like a lovely place to spends a few hours/days in. I've never seen some of those roses, Harriet, they all look beautiful. Big Purple and Old Port I love.

thank you Maree and Silkyfizz - yes an enjoyable couple of hours.. I was surprised to see the Old Port and Big Purple doing so well actually.. very healthy with large flowers and considering so many of the stock roses we all talk about had black spot and they didn't so much (actually Old Port did have a bit but not as much as some), i have renewed interest in planting them again here.. they actually looked quite good together as well, along with "Outta the Blue" nearby it was very eye catching... meanwhile while i was away the rain hit hard (which we needed) but have a lot of dead heading of the balled roses to do

Good luck with all that dead heading Hariet. Do you have many roses?
Thank you for that information about Old Port and Big Purple, they are both roses I'd like to have. Can you comment on the size of these that you saw. My notes suggest OP is small, so I'm assuming it was grown in front of BP.
Also, what's the climate of Dunedin. Would it be comparable to temperate areas (eg Melbourne) or colder (eg Tas) or warmer? Thanks

Great Pics.National Trust flower looks so nice.Love the colours of Specks and Matawhero to.

Very taken by your excellent in situ shots, Hariet. Those insets are GREAT. We should all do them, but it;s a time-consuimg step. Much apprecated that you made the effort.

Old Port seems to ineterst a fair few of us. Certainly has the colour du jour that appeals to a lot of us this season (and last). This rose seems to crop up a bit in breeding. Who among us here actually grows it?

Thank you all for the feedback.. i always worry that i am over doing it with the shots but i shouldn't worry should i because i am with kindred spirits! I use powerpoint to construct the photos and then i save each slide as a jpeg.. the time consuming part is loading them up onto this forum if truth be known.. possibly some trick i am yet to learn to make it quicker..Silky you have got me thinking about Old Port and Big Purple some more.. you know the bushes weren't large in Dunedin and actually the ones I have grown of those two weren't large either - and here i was blaming my dereliction of duties with them for their small stature.. however I should have looked after them abit better and am going to give them another go.. along with "outa the Blue" which has the pop factor from afar (a bit like Fiona's wish at the Adealide Bot gardens) they will hopefully be some acquisitions this winter.. Silky the climate in Dunedin was similar to Armidale (4 seasons in one day), cool temperate but with a maritime influence.. . i think i might have to find that matawhero Dannyboy because like you I found it very interesting... i finished the dead heading here and I have about 230 roses silky. my top balling roses from this rain was the childrens rose and red pierre

Thanks for that Hariet. 230 roses? Phew, that's a lot of deadheading.
I hate balling, it's ugly and a waste of roses but at least the ground has replenished moisture, so they should all grow gangbusters now.
OK Old Port and Big Purple both not big. That suits me just fine, easier to find a spot for them I hope. Love their colour and form.
Good tip about using powerpoint to format pictures. I'll try to remember that. I'll look forward to seeing more of your roses in the future. You're right, never overdoing things where roses are concerned, not here anyway. Lol

Thats right Hariet , this is certainly a great site for learning about roses and everything to do with roses , can't overdo it here lol ....

I'm sorta stuck on the part where you mention 230 roses. Do you have special favourites, hariet? Multiples therof?

well i have a lot of singletons.. and a couple of multiple clumps (Graham thomas in one area and the childrens rose in another) but the faves vary with the week.. i am anxiously awaiting rosa bracteata to start flowering.. and last night i was quite taken with white cecile brunner, a small shrub with very elegant small flowers .. can never have too many roses (except solo Dr Hueys)!

hariet, from the photo's I like the form of "Speks Yellow'. "My Girl" has lovely colour. "Grand Prix" has the markings of "Just Joey", ruffled edges to the petal and the colour. Might have to check the pedigrees to these 3 I think.
As for "Fimbriata" I purchased it a couple of years ago to breed with, I have not worked out what to put it with as yet. What do they say 'work in progress'.

hi roseman, grand prix was a tighter concoction that JJ, more like a DA, and with a great perfume. How about Fimbriata x Zephirine Drouhin? Might be lucky to get a thornless climber with carnation like flower with a great perfume.. not sure about the chromosome compatibility on that combination though

hariet, if I get a chance that is one I will do, what should we call it, would the name 'hariet be in it. or one closer to you.
the chromosome thing isn't my go, will ask more learned than myself.

There are several Grand Prix roses in HMF, but here is the Matthews (hariet's) one in case anyone is baffled

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Looks like a definite candidate for the Fat Ladies file I've got going.

In light of recent comments, I was amused to see that its alternate name in South Africa is "Jealous Joey" .

"How about Fimbriata x Zephirine Drouhin" from hariets post.
Here is the early background to the cross
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Both are triploid. Fimfriata has no known decendants, Zephirine has nine
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aren't some of the descendants of Zd sports? Roseman (like Kathleen Harrop and Marthe) so no crossing involved...anyway triploid x triploid should give 25% diploid, 50% triploid and 25% tetraploid offspring ..but apparently (have been doing some reading) you get a deadlock or a 'rapid return to an even polyploid level' but success also depends on the types of chromosomes at play..so give it a go! and yes you can name it after me unless it looks like R. viridis