... growing and hybridizing all kinds of plants in zone 6b Maryland since the 1980's.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

First open bloom - Rosa glutinosa x palustris

Some sort of night insects (beetles???) are stripping the foliage on uppermost branches of this seedling and also other roses and cherry trees. But even so, it's opened its first bloom!!! Very similar to pure glutinosa but maybe a little darker pink. I've no doubts about the hybridity though because the flowerbuds gland hairs are scented almost exactly like palustris. Glutinosa flowerbuds smell just like glutinosa foliage. I'm sure it won't repeat but it's still a fun one - very fragrant even when not in flower.

2 comments:

  1. Quite pretty, Tom, congratulations! Your insect is probably a grasshopper. They strip all the tops off the roses out front every spring into summer. Nasty critters!

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  2. Thanks roseseek! (Kim?)
    I've seen a few small grasshoppers so that's possible, but I also saw a bunch of some kind of beetle swarming around the flowering cherry and other cherries as it started to get dark one evening and those cherries are showing the same type of damage and "calling cards" left behind.
    I just hope whatever it is, that their season comes to a close very soon!

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