An interesting thing I've noticed at least with this variety is that the flower tends to contract at night and open during the day, which could be a fun trait to use in breeding, but I agree with a comments here. I have it in my front yard and so far it's just kind of ok. The foliage is really nice.
Does anyone working with persica hybrids know if the 'splotch' is a dominant genetic trait, or is it recessive? Do you need persica genes from both parents to get that typical central zone, or can it be inherited from just one side, as the parentage of this particular rose suggests? Just curious. Thanks in advance to anyone who might know.
It can be inherited from one side, but you also have the issues of how large the "blotch" is; how intensely colored it is; how heat stable it is; and likely other issues. Jim Sproul has demonstrated that the blotch in the hybrids frequently fade and often disappear in high heat, reappearing when the weather cools. I have raised seedlings using a "blotched" parent and one with no blotched lineage with varying levels of blotches, as well as seedlings from the same parents with no blotches.
Thank you, Kim, that's very informative and helpful. And thanks too for reminding me it's a blotch and not a splotch lol. I couldn't think of what to call it when I posted. I botched that one up haha.
I asked mainly because I recently used pollen of 'Esther Queen of Persia' on a couple of non-persica roses without giving it much forethought, so it will be interesting to see any results.
You're welcome, Hubert. You're probably not incorrect calling it a splotch. I don't think there is an absolutely correct term to describe it. You may or may not obtain any blotched offspring from the cross. It seems a lot of that depends upon whether the mate has any inhibiting factors against the dark petal base. Some seedlings can have enormous dark bases while others can show nothing or just a slight hint. I've seen photos of seedlings whose dark petal bases covered nearly the entire petal. They looked like dark colored flowers with a lighter picotee, except when opened under high heat, the dark area nearly disappeared.
