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New life breathed into former Agriculture Canada Rose breeding program

Early Prairie rose breeders like Percy Wright, George Bugnet and Frank Skinner made important hardy rose introductions, some of which are still available. However, the better-known Canadian hardy roses came from two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC; then Dominion Department of Agriculture) breeding programs that produced the Parkland Series (e.g. ‘Morden Fireglow’, ‘Winnipeg Parks’) and the Explorer Series (e.g. ‘John Cabot’, ‘John Franklin’, etc.). The goal of AAFC’s program was to develop hardy, long-blooming and disease resistant climbing and bush roses that resembled tender European hybrid tea and floribunda roses. The Parkland roses were especially adapted for life on the Prairies, while the Explorer roses were better suited for hot, humid Central Canada (i.e. ON and QC); there were several cultivars that would survive in both regions.

Sadly, due to changing mandates, retirements and reduced budgets, the AAFC rose breeding programs were discontinued. Fortunately, all was not lost. The rose germplasm or breeding stock was not discarded. In the early 2000s, the germplasm was initially licensed to the Rose Consortium under the direction of two former AAFC rose breeders. They evaluated the 1000s of hybrids and selected superior plants that were disease resistant, suitable for across Canada, more fragrant than previous selection and great performance. These were the first of the Canadian Artist Series with the most recent introduction this spring with the ‘Oscar Peterson’, a semi-double white shrub rose.

In 2010, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association obtained the license for AAFC rose germplasm and then developed an agreement with the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland, ON) to continue to develop hardy and disease resistant roses for the Canadian market with potential for other northern regions (e.g. Scandinavia and eastern Europe). Their program is ambitious, with staff making about 15,000 controlled crosses every year. Seedlings are first screened for black spot resistance.

Read more at yorktonnews.com
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