Roses of Excellence • Rubies 'n' Pearls

Roses of Excellence • Rubies 'n' Pearl

'Rubies 'n' Pearls'
Miniature Rose

The "Father" of all my other Miniature Roses

Name:	‘Rubies ’n’ Pearls’ , Mander 1992
Type:	Miniature, m
Parentage:	‘Rise ‘n’ Shine’ x ‘MANpurple’ (HT)
Introduced:	In Canada by Select Roses in 1994 and in the USA in 2001
Blooms:	Purple/cream bicolor, very attractive with 25 petals, dia. 6.5 cm, eye catching, decorative form.
Fragrance:	Slight
Foliage:	Medium, dark green and glossy.
Disease Resistance:	Very good. It can go at least 2 months without spraying a fungicide. Will get blackspot thereafter.
Winter Hardiness:	Very winter hardy, to zone 4.
Plant Size:	50 - 60 cm tall and 30 - 40 cm across.
Flowering Period:	Blooms continuously until the first frost.
Additional Notes:	This is my first miniature rose. See my miniature gallery for several photos. Available in Canada and the U.S.A. See my Nursery Links for information.

Description

It took me 15 years of trial and error to finally have this miniature inherit the colour of 'MANpurple'. (See MANpurple photo in the HT Gallery) This rose has a unique new ruby-purple/cream bicolour. The ruby colour intensifies to purple with age and sun. Long stems with large buds, great for arrangements. Very vigorous and winter hardy. A must for those who collect unusual plants. Very mildew resistant, but it will get blackspot if not sprayed every 6-8 weeks. Plants will grow 50-60 cm high, with larger blooms than most minis.

Some History

In my first 20 years of hybridizing I worked with H.T.'s, FL.'s, Cl's, shrubs, and our native Rosa NUTKANA. Without a greenhouse all my crosses were done in the open and a small paper bag was put onto every cross for about a week.

Encouraged by the success of 'Rubies'n' Pearls,' I turned my attention to breeding miniature roses. Finding I could keep my potted miniature seed parents under my fiberglass back porch during pollination allowed me to give up the paper bags. It also helped increasing my percentage of takes because of our frequent rain showers during June/July in some summers.

But, before I really went into hybridizing minis and now using 'Rubies'n'Pearls' as a seed and/or pollen parent, I made myself about 65 plants of it and again went to as many shows as possible, here in the Pacific N.W., exhibiting 'Rubies'n'Pearls'. In 1992 it won three trophies and in 1993 it captured four. I was thrilled with the results. Encouraged by this success, I went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea of using the mini 'June Laver' and to cross it with 'Rubies'n' Pearls' in both directions.

George Mander
January 2003

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