I did the research on the Florigene (originally Australian owned but bought by Suntory) transgenic rose for an article that never got written (sorry Paul). The gene transfer technology just about killed me. For the record THE ROSE IS NOT BLUE! It is LAVENDER with a distinct bluish ting. Yes, it gets its color from delphinidin, the blue plant pigment. Florigene was able to transfer the gene for delphinidin production from the pansy (not the petunia) to a pink Hybrid Tea rose. The rub is that the pigment (delphinidin) expresses itself differently based on cell pH. The natural cellular pH of the rose is acidic enough for the delphinidin to express itself in the purple end of the color spectrum, BUT NOT BLUE LIKE WE SEE IN DELPHINIUMS & HYDRANGEAS. More work still needs to be done. On a positive note this advance will allow us to have electric purples that are a whole lot more colorfast than the mauve (or Murray as the late Graham Stuart Thomas would say) roses we currently have, which-by-the-way whose color is created from a completely different biological process involving Cyanin depletion and the natural purplish hue of cell vacuoles. Still with me? If so there are lots of interesting articles on the transfer technology involved. Go to PubMed (available free through the National Library of Medicine) and do a search for blue rose. I should warn you that you'll need a degree in biogenetics to understand the terminology. I spent months and months reading through the literature before giving up. Best wishes, Patrick The color of CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU is due to the natural hue of the cell vacuoles. As the cyanin pigment bleeds out the color changes from dark crimson to a muddy grape purple, finishing off a soft dove gray. Cardinal de Richelieu along with Veilchenblau and Rhapsody in Blue all represent the extreme end of this biological process. Image by Cnetter at Hortiplex. Here is a link that might be useful: PubMed

It took me a long time to find out which roses worked for me, in an admittedly difficult environment, and then a rose that worked well for some years, like Burgundy Iceberg, suddenly decided to have blackspot and pass it on. I wish I could start over again with a clean slate and with the knowledge I have now. With roses being taken out or moved, I've often been left with spots to put new roses that are too close to other roses or not right for that particular rose, and glaringly empty spots. The whole thing strikes me as a hodgebodge which is further removed from my dream garden than ever. I hope that with six new roses to plant soon I can try to alleviate some of these defects. The bottom line is - roses are indispensable to me but they're not easy. Ingrid

Henry, I've talked with Alma and her major professor about her thesis. It's one of those written as chapters suitable for publication. Both told me that the two (of four total) that deal with RRD (then) are the two published in Weed Science with several co-authors. Can your library access Weed Science? If not, let me know. Cutting off an infected cane HAS to be done before the virus moves down into the roots (assuming stem meristem infection) and back out. I've saved several roses from different classes in my yard by catching the problem when only a single leaf node (or three on one side of the cane) were infected in fall. I saved an American Pillar in spring when it was out on a cane about ten feet from the roots. I've never saved a HT, and I've only seen RRD on HTs in spring. That may have something to do with the transmission times in fall to late fall. The one thing that (I don't think) has been addressed is what it is about RRD that ultimately kills the host rose. Epstein and Hill reported a lack of sugar to starch conversion in long infected canes. The odd thing that I watched this year was that some roses I've watched for four years finally got down to scrawney, skinny leaves often with PM and then they died in May (which was not a time of drought or too much rain- just really nice weather.) We know from Glen Viehmeyer and Percy Wright that both saw RRD overwinter in the colder parts of Canada. I don't think we know much about temperature and the whole batch of EMARviruses.

Thanks for all of the positive comments..You are all way to gracious as I'm really not a writer..I always have all of this stuff in my head but I hate to write or type so it never gets down on paper too often..I suppose one of these days I'll write some sort of memory type book before mine(Memory) has diminished to the point where it's all fuzzy..It's funny, this little thing we call life..How when your young you wish it would hurry up and as you start reaching into middle age, you wish nothing more that it would slow down..LOL..I feel in my heart where I differ from the "franchise" is that I would do it anyway whether I made another dollar from it or not..I really do enjoy it..I do not like the business aspect of it that much as far as the filling of orders and dealing with habitual complainers. But that's part of it and it goes with the territory...I do not want to be known as someone who just introdused a pretty face or another mauve with a eye and matching edge...LOL..Not slamming them..Just think that the eye and edge thing has run amuck..I would love to see even bigger full forms up to 10" or so on statuesque plants in the 4-6 foot range..That would be a worthy path I feel..Instead of clogging up the 24-30 inch height range with more of the same..(we still hybridize full forms btw) I just got off the phone with Brian Mahieu earlier tonight telling him how excited I was to see such good plants in our intro's...Plants, not just a face...As I have filled hundreds of orders this spring it has become evident that both Brian and myself have taken the right path in selecting for the plant before the bloom. Details such as mature clumps that just fall apart instead of having to hack up woody type clusters of crowns..Things like beautiful cool mint green foliage that almost has a waxy look to it, and foliage of different colors of burgundy and purple and a few stable variegated ones as well...I loved digging a clump of Svenska today..The fans were spaced apart far enough to lay your fingers in between them on mature clumps..And then to discover this mint green foliage with burgundy pink edges on every leaf was a nice treat as well..I noticed a clump of a select seedling that was completely chartreuse in color..The only one in the field. Not sick or iron defficient, just a very healthy chartreuse...Can't wait to see it bloom..This is a few of the reasons I do this..To really try to get "plants" out there..I lopve trying to figure out why a cross isn't taking..I did probably 30-40 attempts with Scandinavian pollen on Brushed By Bluebirds with not one pod...on my last attempt I selfed BBB and it pulled the trigger and all 20 of my BBB pods with Scandinavia pollen took giving me 96 seeds..Things like that is why I do it...To try and get pods on plants that are pod infertile is a goal for me..I have had some luck doing everything from spraying different sprays to just pleading with the daylily Gods..LOL..Another thing Brain and me play around with is utilizing Tet. pollen via unreduced gametes..We have alot of luck with this and what better way to get Tet genes into your programs..I love good buds and branching..Someting I'm getting better at than when I started...I have some insanely branched and Budded seedlings with amazing increase and rhisomates growth like Kwanso that have come out of crosses like (Citrina X Linda)X (Galaxy Explosion X Hankow)X (Jungle Fowl X Thorhalla) X (Species X Species)..Once you get a line of breeding like that, you can then be assured of a total plant and then have an aweful lot of fun playing around with the blooms..I dont do it for recognition..I dont do it to conform to the standard..I dont go to shows, and don't have time to visit other gardens..I don't care about awards or ribbons..My fulfillment for this is rather simple and I am rewarded every morning I get to see the sunrise and watch all the Bluebirds we have, to watch our little pygmy goats and donkeys play..To have my faithful sidekick cat Mango come to me and love on me without judgement..and to be able to see that seedling bloom for the first time..And of course my family whom without my wife Laura, I would in no way be able to get it all done..My boys are a big help as well...I love all the people I have met..I love seeing peoples faces when they see a bloom that is speacial to there eye and then laugh when they leave with a yellow nose without telling them..I hope all of us who enjoy gardening and daylilies in particular can reflest like this from time to time and not forget why we do this...Antway, enough of my ramblings...Hope I didn't bore the heck out of ya..Later Taters...David.