some of my babies

It also depends on the climate, Simon. What are disease ridden weaklings for you and me will thrive somewhere else. I can never forget the first time I saw old HTs growing at my brother-in-laws place in Mildura. Never sprayed, slashed with a cane knife, canes as thick as terminators biceps and just might get a touch of BS once a year. The flowers scorch in high summer, but there's lots more blooms to come. Actually Icebergs are great in that climate in mid-summer because they're white (minimal scorch) and have lots more coming out the next day. Look at the old, old roses at Bishop's Lodge, on the Hay plains.

Last year at the Inland Botanic gardens I saw 2m high "newer" "inbred?'' roses like Abe Darby smothered in hips from the spring flush and simultaneously covered in over 200 blooms and counting. Believe me, better than anything I've seen at Shropshire.

I wish the Tea ladies had subtitled their book "for warm Mediterranean Gardens." While the Teas do well here, their thin petals ball easily, so we don't have as much fun with them as those who live in dry summer climates (A vast area of Oz)

Having said all that, I've got an Apricot Nectar now 35 years old. Reliable flushes all year, a great survivor of disease, drought, wet, etc

Stay with us Ozroz. Your work is amazing!

I knew it would be taken the wrong way... I don't want you to leave. I love seeing the roses. It's just my own opinion and as such should just spark discussion and be food for thought. If you think about rose breeding on a political scale I'm pretty far left. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate other people's work and I sure know I don't represent the 'norm'of thinking. Please don't go. I don't want you to and I love our discussions. I'm not having a go at you or anyone else. We need a blance of opinions here instead of jjust one radical view.

Dave, sure... climate plays a part. That's why I said you can't hope to breed roses that do well everywhere and roses are the great survivors too... jjust trying to think which one my odlest one is... I think it's my Dorothy Perkins who I have moved with me all over the country from Moree to Tasmania and it was old when I rescued it from an old farmstead about to be demolised. It grows well in the early stages of the year and then mildew takes hold and it looks terrible.

These are the two threads on RHA that contain the links have greatly shaped my rose breeding philosophies:

1. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

2. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That's Dorothy Perkins for sure Simon. My Gran had one growing as a weeping standard ; it was simply stunning in the spring . I don't remember it getting particularly mildewy , just that it looked pretty ordinary for the rest of the season but where she had it planted it sort of blended in with the rest of the garden when it wasn't flowering so if it was mildewy it wasn't really conspicuous.

Teas don't do well here for me either , I don't think they like the frost in winter. Weren't tooooo bad down in Donnybrook but didn't make me wildly excited , not like the D.A's which did very well as they do here.
*shrugs* it's very much horses for courses lol.
Be interesting to see what The Little Girl's Rose makes of a trip over the water .

Warren,
Listen to everyone. Please stay on the forum.
You grow such lovely roses, I so enjoy looking at them.
I have tried crossing roses (& will still keep trying) mine all come out as singles. Not what I am looking for. Never mind - if at first you dont succeed try, try and try again..On the other hand I could just give up

Howdy Carole, Those roses which you crossed where both parents doubles/ semi doubles? What could be happenig is there are singles close to the last generation bred on both sides and that is why you are getting singles.

When I breed with Charles Austin , I have to carefull as to what I am going to cross it with , other wise I would get a stack of singles , but mind you singles that come out of Charles Austin are usually pretty good looking.

What were the roses you crossed and I will track down some information for you and explain

The last ones were Camp David with Bonica.

Howdy Carole, Camp David parents are not listed for me to make a judgement there, but Bonica has a few single flowering species and a couple of semi doubles thrown in for good measure in its breeding.

Hi there Warren,
Thank you so much for that. Silly me didn't even think of going back through Bonica's ancesters. I used her as she is a very pretty rose and for me anyway very prolific with probably as many hips as she has flowers. With many seeds to the hip. I guess what I was trying to achieve was a red bonica.
It is lovely to see you back, you grow some fantastic roses.

Thanks Carole, what other red roses do you have, a red D Austin would probably give you a good result. I did three crosses with Bonica using some of my own roses, all a big petaled roses from 50 - 90 petals.

I have the Dark lady Warren or how about red pierre ? do you think either of those would work with bonica?

I dont think you would have any problems with The Dark Lady, with Red Pierre it does have a single two generations back , but R pierre has a huge petal count (well over 100), I would give both a go.

They are both different reds , The Dark Lady fades to a blue red, while Red Pierre seems to retain its pure red colour. I would say you would end up with some seedlings being in two shades of red.