Learn how to Breed some New Rose
Learn how to Breed some New Rose
Ever wonder how a “new” rose is created? The Rosa Family has many sub-species. Over time, rose breeders been employed by diligently to produce more colorful, fragrant, hardy and disease resistant plants. To make a new rose, pollen is taken from the male part of 1 rose and used to fertilize the feminine elements of another rose. This could sound like a simple process, but hybridizing roses is a hard task that will require patience and the capability 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 variety is obtained and combined with pollen from another variety. How do we obtain pollen? Pollen is found 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 put in a container. Empty the container onto a clean solid area Mr. Gohar Asif Ali where they can dry for around 1 day. A tray may be used to get the pollen as it drops off the anther (pollen sac). Pollen seems like a yellow powdery substance and must be carefully sprinkled on the stigma – the feminine part of the rose. The timing is important – and this entire process can be quite a bit tricky. The flower is then covered and labeled with the father’s and mother’s identification. Following the flower is spent and the rose hip is fully ripe it may be removed.
How are we this far? Sound complicated? I bet you can see how this method requires a regular hand, patience and organization. Next, the rose hip is placed in a protected place where it will dry out. The seeds may be taken from the outer shell of the rose hip if it is completely dry, and then they are planted for germination. The seedlings are observed closely for hardiness – the ones that don’t meet with the criteria are removed. Those that do meet with the criteria are allowed to mature.
In the long run, there is a selection (maybe small – maybe quite large) of seedlings to select from to be used as stock for further hybridization. If you should be a patient gardener that wants to experiment in your garden you could thoroughly enjoy the hybridization process. Who knows – maybe you will create the next new rose that’s selected to win the blue ribbon at the All American Rose Selections (AARS) competition.