A Walk Through The Garden, 2008

"Monster" and her sisters; or, How To Drive A Rosarian Crazy

Will they be mosses? Will they be purple? Will they be spotted?

Here are the only three seedlings which grew from my 2006 collection of seeds. They are "Nightmoss" x "Fa's Marbled Moss," an attempt to add more color to my spotted roses. Number Two, a perfectly normal roseling in all respects, kept slowly growing, adding about a leaf a week after this picture. Number One, whose leaves were a curious mottling of light and dark green, grew somewhat more slowly. "Monster", after this picture was taken, began growing laterals.

On 1 April 2007 I planted the roselings out in the garden. One and Two immediately went dormant (as did all the 2005 seedlings), "Monster" grew two new canes.

Alas, not all went well for everyone. Number Two, by now called "Lefty" because I planted her to the left of "Monster," made a few leaves but showed no growth at all. Number 1, alas, did not survive the summer.

"Monster," on the other hand, not only grew many new canes, she also sent our runners. I have to admit, by the end of the summer she had not grown any more than is usual for my seedlings, but it was better than "Lefty" did. To be honest, I couldn't even find "Lefty" amidst all of "Monster's" new growth.

But while I was digging up these suckers, I got a very pleasant surprise. When I pulled away the mulch and debris to get at the ground, there, no more than an inch tall, was "Lefty", and her two canes were still green!

I potted her up as well, and once in the greenhouse she broke and began growing beautifully! When it came time (mid-April) to plant the 2007 roselings in the garden, I planted "Lefty" in a spot where she'll have plenty of sun and space, and good soil—and be far away from her sister! Here she is (right) on 10 May 2008, looking fit and well. She weathered a sudden, late freeze and hailstorm with aplomb. I seriously doubt that she will bloom this year, but at least I have another chance to get a purple, spotted moss!

As for "Monster" herself, at the beginning of May this year she suddenly burst into leaf, and within a couple of weeks became so overwhelmed with new growth coming up through the middle of the plant that powdery mildew became a problem, even in our high winds. The leaves she makes in the strong High Country sun are very different from those she makes in the greenhouse: they are thick and very tomentose, and a darker, bluer green. They are large and there are lots of them, and Monster is once again reaching for the stars in a hurry! By the beginning of June, Monster was bigger than any of the 2005 seedlings had been at her age.

In the latter part of May, Monster's first buds appeared. The goal of a moss rose has been splendidly achieved! The buds are covered in a mass of red and green, pine and pepper smelling moss. The first bud began opening, with almost cruel slowness, on 15 June, nearly a month later. It looked like there was no purple to be had, at least not at first (I've known roses to bloom pink one year and purple the next—Belle de Crecy, for example.)

Well, ever onward. The weeks wore on. This has been let me say, an awful spring. Very late in coming due to a particularly dark and wet May. Everyone else in the garden, except the Fashionably Late Belle de Crecy and the master procrastinator Nightmoss, caught up and began blooming by 15 June. I soon realized that in the Procrastination Department, "Monster" takes after her mom! That first bud did not open until 17 June.

As with most first buds, the first flower was rather ragged. This is probably because I poked it, prodded it, cajoled it, etc. But the next bud looked very promising indeed.

Until some bug got into the stem and it fell over.

AUGH! I snipped the bud before it died and put it in a bowl of water with Bud No. 1. It perked up almost immediately, and the next day I took this photo:

Nice, right? Oh well. I do like the shading of the color from hot pink to magenta, and there are spots on the petal reverses. So, I got spots. I got moss. Two out of three ain't bad, I told myself. And there was a nice fragrance, too! But just in case, I gave up on my promise not to spray this year, and sprayed against the loss of any more flowers and months of hard work!

Just this morning, 21 June, the first flowers on the bush opened! Beautiful! Just as above, but with spots on both sides of the petals! A lovely thing. Took tons of pictures. Took pollen and saved it. Told myself I had a really lovely little rose and should not worry about the lack of purple, I could just breed her to something purpler for... 2010. Maybe. So, off I went to work. Then I mowed the lawn. Then I went to wander around the garden, and saw this:

Notice the petals between 4 and 6 o'clock in this picture.

Do I see a hint of developing purple?!

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!

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