October 1, 2024
For a hobby and something to do, I just bought 3 roses to breed. 2 from Heirloom Roses; Golden Celebration (David Austin variety) and Poets Wife (David Austin variety). 1 from Healthy Harvesters; Swamp Rose (Eastern North American Native variety). The idea is to make a more disease-resistant David Austin style rose more suited to my climate. Basically put a David Austin style rose on better foliage. I expect to need multiple generations which is why I have 2 similar David Austins I expect to need to breed a David Austin with the Swamp and then the offspring again to another David Austin. Here is to hoping that they all bloom relatively at the same time so that this has a chance to work. Will update you when I have more information.

October 3, 2024
I discovered another spot for another rose bush, so I decided to purchase Fairytale® Lion’s Rose. However, after souring everywhere, I found that I could not buy it in the USA. I decided instead to purchase Sunbelt® Soul Sister™. I purchased it from Heirloom Roses. I will add it to the breeding experiment.

October 13, 2024
The Swamp Rose came to me covered in black spot from top to bottom. Almost every single leaf was infected. This was supposed to be disease-resistant foliage that likes humid, wet climates. I am very disappointed. I have decided to replace this rose with Fun In The Sun. This rose has no known descendants but it is still pretty new and it interests me a lot so I'm going to try it out. The Poets Wife and Golden Celebration were shipped defoliated and new growth is coming on fast. Both roses look very healthy and have a bunch of new leaves I've only had them about a week and a half.