1	Rose Hybridizing A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Your Own Roses!
2	Presented by the American Rose Society
3	Have you ever thought about creating your very own rose?
4	"A totally new rose variety" A totally new rose variety that never existed before?
5	That’s right! Your seedlings will be different! Roses grown from seed are not like cuttings. They will be different from their parents! Sometimes a little different… …and sometimes very, very different!
6	Let’s do it! It’s easy and it’s fun!
7	There are 5 Basic Steps 1. Pollinate the flower. 2. Let the hips ripen on the bush. 3. Harvest the seeds and give them a cold treatment. 4. Remove the seeds from the cold and let them germinate. 5. Plant them!
8	Step 1: Pollinate the Flower
9	First, let’s look at the rose flower.
10	All rose blooms have BOTH male and female parts.
11	Female Pistils in the Middle The female parts are in the very center of the bloom, and are called “pistils.” At the top of each pistil is a little knob-like structure called the “stigma.” This is where you will place the pollen.
12	Male Stamens Surround the Pistils The male parts are the “stamens” and they form a ring around the pistils. At the top of each stamen is an “anther” which produces the pollen.
13	Here you can see the many stamens with their anthers on top. Look at the stamens on this bloom. They’re all trying to get their pollen on the stigmas in the middle!
14	Here you can see the many stamens with their anthers on top. Most of the seeds produced by this bloom will have the same mother and father, having used both pollen and ovules, or eggs, from the same bloom.
15	But we want more diversity! We want to cross two different varieties of our own choosing, right?
16	Hmmmm…. What would we get if we cross these two roses?
17	Or these two??
18	Expect to be Surprised! Just like in humans, your seedlings will show certain similarities to their parents, but also many differences. You might even cross a yellow hybrid tea with an orange floribunda, and get red mini’s for offspring! That’s part of the fun! You just never know what you will get!
19	How to decide on the parents you want?
20	Choosing the Mother The mother, or “seed parent” will produce the hips and seeds. So the mother you choose should be a rose that you know tends to develop hips. Not all roses do.
21	Choosing the Father The father you choose is less critical, since most (but not all) roses produce good pollen. You can collect pollen from roses in your own garden, or from a rose in someone else’s garden… …with their permission, of course!!
22	Now, what traits do you want? Then consider the traits you wish to see in your seedlings. Do you want a hybrid tea form? Cup shape? A climber? Do you want to breed for hardiness? Disease resistance?
23	"So," So, now that you’ve chosen the parents you want to use…
24	…you are ready to prepare to do your cross…
25	…but timing is very important!
26	Pollinate Early! Pollinate early in the Spring before the weather gets very hot and when you are not expecting rain for a few days. Hot sun can damage the pollen and the rain can wash it off.
27	Pollinate Early! If you live in an area with a short growing season, that may have to be the first bloom cycle, since the hip will need to ripen on the bush for at least 3 months, before your hard frosts begin.
28	Pollinate early in the morning.
29	Now, let’s start with the father or ‘pollen parent!’
30	Day 1: Collect the Pollen from the Father For the father, choose a bloom that is in the “loose bud” stage.
31	Day 1: Expose the Stamens Remove all of the petals to expose the stamens. The stamens should look plump and fresh, not shriveled up.
32	Day 1: Remove the Stamens With your fingers, a tweezers or a scissors, gently remove the stamens from the bloom.
33	Day 1: Freshly Removed Stamens And set them aside in the house on a piece of paper or in a small open jar. Keep them dry. Leave the paper or jar in a warm spot overnight. On top of a hot water heater is good. Tomorrow, you will use the pollen to pollinate the mother.
34	On the same day you removed the pollen from the father, you will prepare the mother… …but you won’t pollinate her until Day 2.
35	Day 1: Choose a bloom to be the mother Choose a bloom in the ½ open stage. The bloom should be fresh, and the pistils and stamens should not be visible.
36	Day 1: Remove the petals and stamens from the mother Gently remove all of the petals and stamens from the mother bloom. This will prevent her from being self-pollinated by her own stamens. Leave the mother bloom attached to the plant. Wait until the next morning to pollinate her.
37	Day 2: Pollinate! The next morning you will see that the stamens you put in a warm place have burst, and their pollen is on the paper or in your jar.
38	Day 2: Put the pollen on the prepared female With your finger or using a small brush, wipe up some of the pollen and gently brush it on top of the stigmas of your prepared female. Save some pollen and repeat the process on Day 3.
39	To summarize: It’s a 2 or 3 Day Process On Day 1: Collect the stamens from the father and set them aside in a warm, dry place. Prepare the female by removing the stamens and petals. On Day 2 Pollinate the female. On Day 3 Pollinate the female again. This will increase your success rate, but is not essential.
40	Naming your cross Tradition dictates that the mother is always listed first. So if you used “Tropicana” as the mother, and “Double Delight” as the father, your cross would be: “Tropicana x Double Delight”
41	Now, Label Your Cross!! Attach a waterproof tag loosely below the bloom. Include the father’s name and the date of the cross. Since the tag is attached to the mother plant, you don’t need her name on the tag! Why date it? You’ll see soon…
42	Step 2: Now wait…………..
43	Your hip needs to ripen. If your pollination was successful, your hip will start to swell in the next 3 or 4 weeks. The seeds are fattening up inside.
44	"Relax and enjoy the summer" Relax and enjoy the summer. It will take 3-4 months for your seeds to mature.
45	Step 3: Harvest your seeds and give them a cold nap
46	When you see color, your hips are ripe! Well, generally. Many hips will turn red, orange or yellow when ripe, but some may stay pretty green. How to tell? If the hips are turning color, and it has been about 110 days since you pollinated, you can harvest them.
47	Hips still green? Hips on some varieties just never turn color. So how do you know if they’re ripe? You dated your cross, remember? If your hips are still green 4-5 months after you did the cross, they are probably ok to harvest.
48	Remove the hip! It’s finally time! Cut the hip off the bush.
49	Open the hip to expose the seeds Cut into the hip with a knife or scissors. Don’t worry about damaging the seeds, they’re very hard! Your fingers are not. Be careful!
50	Is the pulp inside, yellow or orange? Great! It’s probably ripe enough! Inside you will see from one to many seeds.
51	Remove the seeds You can separate the seeds from the hip with your knife, or with your fingers. Discard the empty hip.
52	Clean the seeds Now remove any excess pulp that is still on the seeds, by rubbing them around in a strainer under running water, or by using your knife to scrape it off. Clean them well. Pulp left on the seed may inhibit germination and will encourage mold.
53	Side Note: The Float Test If you put your cleaned seeds in water, the “bad” ones will float. The ones that sink are said to be “good.” This is not a totally reliable test, as some seeds that are good will also float. Use them all!
54	Soak the seeds Now, to kill off some of the bacteria and fungi, soak the seeds for 24 hours in straight, store bought 3% hydrogen peroxide.
55	Side Note: Bromelain Some hybridizers use enzymes to help clean and break down the seed coat bonds. If you wish to do this, you can buy the digestive, Bromelain, in tablets at the health food store. Use ½ - 1 tablet in an ounce of water and soak the seeds for 24-48 hours before you do the peroxide soak. This step is not essential.
56	Is it Winter? After the bath, give your seeds a long, cold nap in the refrigerator so they think it’s winter. Make little beds for your seeds using quilted paper towels. Cut one towel in half or thirds.
57	Make a moist bed Fold and dampen the towel with hydrogen peroxide or peroxide and water and wring it out moderately. The towel should be well moistened but not sopping wet.
58	Wrap the seeds Fold the paper towel around your seeds…
59	Put it in a baggie And place the little bed in a plastic baggie which is marked with the names of both the seed and pollen parents, and the date you are placing them in the refrigerator. The label below shows there are 16 seeds inside.
60	Lots of Seed Crosses? Place all of your baggies with their precious cargo in a box…
61	“Stratification” …and place them in the rear bottom of the refrigerator, or in the vegetable bin. 35 – 45 degrees is great. This is “stratification.” The seeds will remain in the cold for 8 weeks or more.
62	Check on them occasionally You will want to check on your seeds after they’ve been in the cold for 4 weeks. Are they getting moldy? If so, you can clean them off and re-soak them for 24 hours in peroxide. Then put them back in the cold.
63	Mold is common A certain amount of mold is ok, but too much will damage your seeds.
64	Seeds germinating in the ‘fridge? Some seeds will germinate while still in the cold. Great!! Skip ahead to Step 5 and plant them as shown!
65	Step 4: Awaken the Seeds from their Cold Nap
66	Is it Spring Yet?? After about 8 weeks, trick your seeds into thinking that spring is coming. Remove them from the cold and keep them at room temperature, twice a week for 24 hours. Rose seeds germinate best at around 50-55 degrees, but 65-70 is ok too. Keep them out of the sun.
67	Now, check your seeds often! Soon you will see your seeds splitting, and a little root poking out! Your rose baby is trying to emerge! This may happen as soon as 8 weeks from the day you began stratification, or could take up to 2 years. But typically, it happens in 3 or 4 months.
68	Step 5: Germination! Time to Plant Your Babies!
69	Your baby is born! When you see the root emerging, it’s time to plant! You can let the root get longer than this, but if you wait too long, the root will grow into the paper towel.
70	First, a quick bath Give your little seed a quick bath in hydrogen peroxide, for a minute or two while preparing your pot and soil.
71	Be gentle! Prepare a small pot with store bought seed-starting mix moistened with water, or make your own with sphagnum peat, sand, vermiculite and perlite. Make a little indentation in the middle of the soil and place the seed, root pointed down, in the indentation, then barely cover the seed with soil.
72	Put the pot in a bright spot Label the pot and put it under a fluorescent plant light, a plant bulb (not too close) or on a bright windowsill. Keep the soil damp but not wet.
73	Pass out the cigars! In a few days to a week, you will see a little, tiny seedling pop up from the soil! Your new rose has been born! Congratulations!!! You have a rose baby!!
74	Water gently… Water your new baby very carefully as she is very fragile. Watering from the bottom by dunking the little pot in a bowl of water for a few seconds is safest. Try not to saturate the soil, but keep it damp.
75	Let there be Light! If you can provide morning sun for your babies, that’s perfect for the first week or so. Or you can continue to grow them under plant lights. You can keep the lights on all day, or even all day and night.
76	Increase the sun gradually After the first week, if you can, add some afternoon sun which is stronger than morning sun.
77	Buds! Now, the most exciting part of all!! You may see flower buds forming within 6-8 weeks! Some may not bloom the first year though. Don’t give up hope!
78	And Blooms! It’s so exciting to see the first bloom starting to open! Future blooms will probably have more petals and be bigger. Even the color or scent may change.
79	Fertilizing your seedlings After the seedling has produced several sets of real leaves, you will want to feed with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ strength, every 2 – 3 weeks. Feed less if the seedling is a slow-grower.
80	Pot them up! Some of your seedlings will outgrow their little containers quite quickly. Some will grow slowly. Pot the vigorous ones, as needed, into larger pots using a good quality potting soil.
81	Pests! If the plants are outdoors, you may need to use a fungicide or miticide if you are having bug or mildew problems. Indoors, aphids can be washed off or removed with a toothpick or small brush. Spider mites can be washed off with a mild solution of soapy water in a spray bottle.
82	Mildew If you have mildew problems indoors, the following solution will work and is non-toxic: To a 1 quart spray bottle, add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup milk. Fill the rest of the container with water. Spray leaves lightly as needed holding the plant sideways. (You don’t want to add salt to the soil). Keep the solution refrigerated.
83	Evaluating your Seedling Is it healthy, vigorous? Is it hardy? Is the color or shape unusual or striking? Are the leaves interesting? Is the growth bushy? A potential climber? Is the bloom form good? Does it have scent? Does it blow open quickly in the sun?
84	Too many seedlings? If you don’t have a lot of space, after a number of blooms, you may have to “cull” or eliminate some of the seedlings that are unhealthy or have been producing poor blooms. This is NOT easy to do with your first babies!! If you have the space you may want to watch them for a year or so. Some will improve and surprise you!
85	Their first Winter Protect your seedlings from heavy rain, wind, snow and hail during their first year. Cover them or bring them inside if you are expecting severe weather.
86	Do you have a “Winner?” Think you’ve produced a great rose? It could happen! If so, you will need to learn how to propagate your seedling for further evaluation by bud grafting or by rooting cuttings.
87	And test your rose The American Rose Society has a test garden for evaluation of roses produced by amateur hybridizers. Contact them for further information: Ground Supervisor American Rose Center 8877 Jefferson Paige Road Shreveport, LA 71119-8817
88	For more information There are several internet chat groups that can help you with questions, including: The Rose Hybridizers Association forum at www.rosehybridizers.org Rosarian’s Corner at : www.rosarianscorner.com
89	Learn more! Join the RHA Join the Rose Hybridizers Association at www.rosehybridizers.org! They have several excellent publications available on hybridizing roses, plus a terrific quarterly newsletter.
90	And of course…
91	Join the American Rose Society! Join the American Rose Society at www.ars.org or by contacting them: American Rose Society P. O. Box 30,000 Shreveport, LA 71130-0030 E-mail: ars@ars-hq.org Phone: 318-938-5402 Fax: 318-938-5405 The many benefits include a test garden and registration for your seedlings, a full color monthly magazine and an annual packed with lots of great information!
92	And most importantly…
93	Enjoy the new roses you’ve created!!
94	"Presented to you by the" Presented to you by the American Rose Society Content and Photography by Judith Belsham Singer ©2004