Rose Hybridizers Association Forum

... l am avoiding writing an introductory apoplectic comment except to say below is the “right OC picture” of clean fall leaves that did not make in ... the two above are of the 4 CSR plants the bottom being the large single plant ...ik

David,

I had a few crosses take using CS pollen and OP hips set but maybe too late in the season. Health is very good here.

The pollen of 'Chinook Sunrise' is relatively fertile it seems. I used it on a number of females and the seed set is pretty good. When I tried to use it as a female parent there weren't any hips that formed or any op hips either. Someday I'll try to count its chromosomes to see if it may be triploid. I like the strong branching habit and large clusters of blooms.

Do not spray fungicide ever in garden only sprayed last couple of summers the mortar free wall joints for ants that have riddle the raised bed over last 20 yrs - high biting annoyance when working garden....

Leaves of OC and CSR today and after a couple heavy snowfalls and freezing temps ... can’t see any late season PM or blackspot ... not an issue in garden except for one very bad relearning of hitting your head with your spade in year 3 of SdO ... peat protection for backsliding to out of zone gallicas for pollen donations.

Interesting update - OC in Calgary had 3 bloom cycles with last cycle finished 2 weeks ago producing deep orange blooms unlike previous two.

CR was almost a continuous bloomer from multiple examples (4) plants but alas boring and washed out color - will be given a couple more years to improve as occupies premium garden real estate.

OC (3yrs) remains clean and of excellent garden value but needs to produce more breaks to rate an exceptional grading in this garden from a lenient marker.

I didn't think the quality of 'Chinook Demise' er 'Sunrise' could get worse but apparently it has. At least regarding shrubs of it growing in the St. Albert Botanic Park rose garden (located near Edmonton, Alberta) that were all chlorotic, and this is a rose garden where the shrubs grow the best in any Canadian Prairie public rose garden.

Wait! It gets worse.

From the first part of August well into the latter part of September these three shrubs produced a pitiful amount of flowers. It's only the first year, of course, for growing this rose cultivar in this rose garden so perhaps there will be an improvement next year, but I expected much better.

'Olds College' at the SABP rose garden had exceptional quality this year. But apparently it is sprayed with a fungicide because this rose cultivar can be very prone to mildew.

Another from garden ... slight bias as this rose is my colour of first suite first viewers like Prairie Peace

Especially when superior modern Prairie origins successes exist for bloom form, bloom colour, bloom longevity, attractive foliage and health. Need better and more aggressive marketing after science efforts and pass grading completed in my opinion ... just need to tune up something more about name selection

It seems to me that 'Chinook Sunrise' is an example of the danger of focusing on flower colour (unique in this case, but very underwhelming in appearance) and not considering all aspects of the flower. It doesn't have good flower size (although there can be a place in the landscape for roses having small flowers if they have other good characteristics), good form and they fade quickly. Furthermore, I suspect cold hardiness of the shrub is going to be a problem when growing this cultivar in a Zone 2 - 3 climate.

The breeder should have asked: "How is this rose going to compete in the market with many other available shrub roses in a wide range of colours semi-hardy to a Zone 2 - 3 climate, especially when today's home landscapes have limited space to grow roses?" It appears the question wasn't asked or if it was the negative answer was ignored, because clearly this rose can't. The first rule of a commercial flower breeder is there has to be a market for a development in a particular species.

Looking at it another simpler way, an alternative question to ask would have been: "Is this a rose that, for example, Dr. Griffith Buck, the developer of so many high quality shrub roses, would introduce? People that know his roses would likely say he wouldn't have.

I think 'Chinook Sunrise' is an example of culling ruthlessly when seedlings are small. If they aren't, they can get away from you and end up unnecessarily maintained for several years and possibly even getting mistakenly introduced like this cultivar was.

In the Twin Cities area there is a special school fundraiser plant sale Mother's Day weekend that is huge now. They bring in a lot of plant material from Jeffries in Canada and many other nurseries too. I got an 'Olds College' last year and 'Chinook Sunrise' this year. I love the double warm colored blooms of 'Olds College'. With still getting garden beds in at the new home, etc. I didn't get to crossing with it yet and it still is in a pot. 'Chinook Sunrise' is growing on me due to its vigor and abundance of blooms so far. I have it in a pot yet and just used it a little bit as a male. It'll be great to compare notes with you later Rob on how good it is as a parent. Hopefully it is hardy and healthy. I was surprised later this spring to see CS for sale at Home Depot! They got a lot of Ag Canada roses in through I think Pan American out of Canada and the Windmill sub-brand.

I purchased on to see if it will be useful as a breeder and for disease resistance. So far it's healthy and the jury is still out as to being useful as a breeder. So far it's not looking good.

I haven't actually seen a flower in bloom since I'm trying it out as a seed parent and take off the petals. I did notice that the bud is on the small side which means I'll have to pair it up with something with larger blooms. I'm disappointed about the negative reviews about the color palette. Health and fertility could make up for the color for me.

I wish Olds College was obtainable in the States.

Four in ground including advanced local one going through bloom cycle 2 ... not too exciting and color pallete a let down ... Olds College more appealing to my color tastes and shook through 2 winters and about to bloom again

I had to try out Vineland's 'Chinook Sunrise' introduced this year, of course. Major disappointment! Small, essentially single flowers of light orange/yellow with a pink tinge that fade to white within three days. A "riot of colours"? Maybe a riot at the garden centre with customers demanding their money back. What was the point of introducing this dog of a rose? It's embarrassing that Canada's only major rose breeding institution would do this.

I potted up my 'Chinook Sunrise' to a 5 gal. container but it won't make it to the garden. It's now met its sunset.