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I planted these seeds in July 2018 and just yesterday (16/6/20), after nearly two years, the first seedling popped up.
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Well done HubertG. It seems rose breeding should be commenced when one is 13 years of age. May I ask were the seeds planted in the ground, or in pots, and were they watered during the summer, or just left to themselves.
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#2 of 13 posted
18 JUN 20 by
 HubertG
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Thanks :-).There were 10 seeds in that hip and I planted them in a 3½ inch (9cm) plastic pot in half perlite/half peat moss mix. I left them inside in a relatively cool unused room with natural lighting all that time and watered them well (on the kitchen sink) when the mix seemed to look a little dry on the surface. That mix seems to create no apparent mould issues. I transplanted the seedling into it's own pot the next day with a little bit of slow release rose fertiliser in the bottom half of the pot. I hope that does the trick. My problem with seedlings has been one of damping off. I had some Fongarid fungicide which was excellent for controlling that problem, but it's not available in Australia any more and now I don't know what to use. I'm just going to try to keep the base of the seedlings as dry as I can but still with moist roots. Any tips from breeders regarding how to prevent damping off would be much appreciated!
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Hello, I use a dilute captan mixture that does the trick. For a single pot about 1/4 tsp of powder per glass full of water and dowse the pot. I googled and captan is available in Australia: A brand ad names Adama, although the label doesn't specify damping off. Actually it's good in other seeds such as tree seeds as well. It works well after emergence.
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#4 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
HubertG
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Arturo, thanks very much for that advice. I will look into Captan. :-)
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#5 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
Plazbo
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May be too early to not be a coincidence but anecdotal evidence for me this season.
I've been using a thin layer (roughly 5mm) of zeolite on top, the only germinated seedlings to die for me this season so far have been albino's. Seems to create a bit of a barrier where the very top layer is dry/dries out quickly and no signs of mold/fungus/moss/etc that often occurred on the surface in previous years (when zeolite wasn't layered on top).
Pretty easily found at nurseries or at Bunnings (just it's in the pool cleaning section there, product called Zeo-Clor).
River sand probably would have the same effect but I use zeolite in potting mixes due to it's high CEC and to counteract the weightlessness of vermiculite which often accounts for a 1/3rd of the potting mix (many 50L pots use to easily blow over in the wind...), so it's generally always on hand here.
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#6 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
HubertG
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Ah thanks, Plazbo. Yes, it makes sense that keeping the base of the young stem drier to avoid fungus should help prevent damping off. You put this over your planted seeds too, not just your transplanted seedlings?
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#7 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
Plazbo
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Yes. I need to preface the following with, I take a lazy approach to things, the less I need to do the better :)
Because I'm lazy there's a good chance nothing will be replanted for many months unless a very vigorous seedling presents itself or they've started flowering and appears healthy, by the time they are replanted there's probably not a big risk in dampening off, being several cm or more tall. With that in mind all seed get sown in 60cm planters filled with a mix of compost/coir/vermiculite/zeolite/rock dust/slow release/seamungus/etc. Then on top do a very thin layer of zeolite (about 50% visibility of the mix below), line out/scatter seeds (if seed are big chunky ones firm down), then cover in zeolite. Often they get cramped but that probably just makes it easier to pick out the stronger ones.
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That you got a seedling to come up is encouraging re its true ID.
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Although I was concentrating around the damping off issue, I'm delighted to have understood the purpose of having a sterile 5mm or ( perhaps more thickness) material. Possibly my recent volcanic sand will play the same role. However the damping off complex of different fungi are still inside the soil, so if they may, will try to attack the emerging seedling. So I'm going to keep on dowsing once my seedlings with captan and place that sterile upper layer too. Thank you for pointing this out! Arturo
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#10 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
HubertG
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Margaret, I have had a handful of seeds (maybe seven) from this "Dr. Grill" germinate the last year or so but they all died early on. I only posted about this seedling in particular because I'd made a note that it was from the hip that I photographed and posted. I also have another seedling from this rose (from another hip) that's a few weeks old whose pollen parent is "Agnes Smith". It seems to be doing OK so far, fingers crossed. So my "Dr. Grill ex Honeysuckle" certainly produces viable seed. It's definitely not the same rose as 'William R. Smith'/"Amelia Anderson"/"Dr. Grill (sold as)" on which I can't produce a hip despite attempts to artificially fertilise it. It just doesn't seem to be fertile at all. Whether my rose from Honeysuckle really is 'Dr. Grill', who knows? I'm still inclined to think it is. It would be great if it was.
Arturo, I read a bit about Captan and, although it comes with a few health warnings, it seems to me to be definitely worth trying.
Plazbo, I'll be experimenting with some zeolite too, thanks.
I'm rather desperate to find out the best way to keep these seedlings alive. ;-)
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I've used captan carefully and never had any health issues to deal with. I use gloves when handling and keep the mixing done in the open. I use a plastic cup for the mixture and dispose it afterwards. Always a per pot quantity. I don't spray it, only give it as a watering.
Arturo
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#12 of 13 posted
20 JUN 20 by
HubertG
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Sounds good, Arturo. Do you repeat the Captan drenching after a period of time?
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No, it's a once in a time procedure. Normally captan has about two weeks of action. By then the seedling will have grown enough to withstand the fungi trying to get inside. . Later on seedlings may show other fungal issues such as mildew. Then I change the chemical to something more adequate for a different set of air borne fungi. Damping off is soil borne and the spores are inside the soil. There are about three different genera that cause it. In my experience the captan drench gets rid of them. I'm not a fungal taxonomist or intend to be...
Arturo
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