Roses and the Hybridizing Hobby

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Robert J. Dolezal

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Rose breeders first strip immature blooms of their outer petals and pollen-laden anthers to avoid self-fertilization.

Have you ever wondered how all the wonderful new rose varieties are created? Do you want to see the result of combining your two favorite unpatented rose varieties? All it takes is a little hybridizing!

Virtually every commercially available, non-species rose owes its existence to an unpredictable act of nature or the hand of a hybridizer. Many hybridizers – even award-winning ones – are actually amateurs. And you can easily make hybridizing roses your hobby, too.

A few new roses are created naturally when a growing plant spontaneously develops mutations (rosarians call them “sports”) that change their genetic makeup. Rose breeders notice these sports and nurture those that are attractive or bear desirable traits, such as disease resistance.

Of course, many more rose varieties are created when growers carefully cross-pollinate specific parent plants and collect the resulting seed in a process called hybridization. The process isn’t too complex: Immature blooms are stripped of their outer petals and pollen-laden anthers to avoid self-fertilization. Then they’re bagged to block pollen from nearby plants.

Warnings

Remember, it’s illegal to asexually reproduce patented roses (or any patented plant)! Always check the plant tag to make sure there’s no plant patent protection before you attempt to hybridize.

Facts

Each year, the All-America Rose Selections® announces its award-winning picks for newly hybridized roses in several categories. Each winner spends two years in trial gardens to ensure they’re worthy of the award. The organization has more than 130 public test gardens around the country.
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Tips

Don’t get discouraged if your hybridized roses don’t turn out the way you had envisioned. Remember, not all roses make the grade. Half the fun is just learning how!

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