Rosa glutinosa X palustris

Here are three early morning flowers opening on Rosa glutinosa X palustris. It's especially nice to see this hybrid maturing because of the effort involved to get it. I had to freeze pollen of the very late-blooming native Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris), in order to be able to pollinate the next season, the relatively early blooming European Pine-Scented Rose (Rosa glutinosa). It was well worth all that effort though, because the hybrid still has plenty of foliage fragrance but with a scent closer to the sweet resinous scent of palustris flower buds. The plant habit is looking like it's going to be a little more vigorous form of glutinosa and the flowers are a notch better than the pure species too. When they first open like this, the darker pink of palustris is more noticeable. You can even see the pink-tinted stigma pads in the centers of these flowers - another trait palustris contributed. I hope it sets lots of seeds so I can see how the second generation might vary.