another sport of Margo Koster has decided to climb after 20 years!
jacqueline9CA
last year
So, when we moved into our house in 1989, there was a tiny orangish peach rose growing in deep shade near a huge barberry bush. My FIL said that he remembered it from his childhood, and that it was a "good rose". So, eventually I took pity on it and moved it into the sun. It got to be about 18-24 inches high, and turned into a nice, rounded, repeat blooming bush with small blooms. I discovered it was the polyantha Margo Koster. Over the next decades, it sported twice to stable sports - one was a dark raspberry color, and one was pure white. I planted all three roses in a new bed we dug out of the lawn. The roses all did very well, with the white one being a bit larger than the other two. 15-20 years after I planted them, I just noticed that the white one has decided to be a climber! I know the MK family is famous for sporting, so I guess it has just done that again. Got to watch what they get up to! For your amusement, here is a pic I just took of the one new climbing cane on the white one. It has achieved about 7 ft. so far. Do you think if I root a cutting from it it will make an all climbing plant?
Jackie
P.S. the tall bush it is climbing up is made up of Peach Drift and Lauren
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Comments (7)
Meg-zone8aOR
last yearRelated Discussions
Climbing Crimson Glory
Comments (22)Thanks for all of your nice comments. I just wanted to comment on Ingrid's, re disliking red roses, but liking this one because it tends towards the purple side - that is exactly how I feel! I only took a cutting of the original of this because I also like climbers very much (solves my deer problem). I know that rose hybridizers spent decades trying to develop red roses that did NOT fade towards purple, but I don't like those kind nearly as well - boring. This one goes great with the purple clematis (which was a total accident - I had planted the clematis years before, and forgot about it, because it didn't bloom, until it suddenly burst into bloom on the arch one Spring) because of its color. It wasn't until it rooted that I realized what a marvelous fragrance it has - really strong "old rose". To answer Nancylee's question, I never cut that clematis back (I am lazy, and therefore cannot be bothered to remember which clematis is a I, or a II, or a III, or what the different pruning instructions are for those different types - I just let them grow without pruning) at all until last Fall, when we had to seriously prune the Sombreuil, as it was lopsided, and was threatening to bring down the entire large arch, and/or snag/injure passersby. So, I pruned the clematis down to about 2 feet, not realizing that clematis, like roses, have growth nodules along the stems...Anyway, it showed no signs of life early this Spring, so I decided I had killed it. To my joy it eventually re-emerged from its roots, and by now has achieved about 5 feet in height, and climbing still - I have managed to direct it so that it will climb up the arch again to join the Sombreuil and the CG. Here is a pic of a bloom of my CG which was taken before we knew who it was. Jackie...See Morebi-colored sport of Margo Koster
Comments (4)Michael, I looked up 'Dick Koster", and my sport bush looks exactly like it - thanks! Jeri- Thanks for the good info, as usual. I have put cuttings of my creamsicle rose in bags for rooting, but I will not be surprised if they just turn out to be Margo Koster after all. Both of the weird flowers were on one new cane coming up out of the ground, as was ANOTHER Dick Koster flower on that same bush - it sure likes to sport! It is in deep shade - I have dug it up and moved it twice, and each time the transplanted plant flourished, but low and behold, the original plant came back from roots I must have missed - so I left it there, in the dark, under the giant barberry bush, and now it is making all of these interesting sports! Nice rose! Jackie...See MoreA Sport in My Garden
Comments (59)Theoreticaly, you could be right. However, some viruses may induce mutations. Phyllody can be viral or other phytoplasmic infection. Most mutations are degenerative. Not all, but most. Climbing mutations often are degenerative in bloom production compared to their original bush forms. Frequently, they are once flowering and require selection to sort out those which repeat. Cl. Iceberg is an excellent example. When first released, there were several strains of the climbing form, many of which didn't repeat and some which didn't flower much at all. Of course people wanted the more continuous, heavier flowering version and that's what has become the standard in commerce. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: Phyllody...See MoreTrying to identify Margo Koster sport
Comments (6)Perhaps this would be more technically a reversion to Dick Koster since it was the sport parent-but it could be a new sport since Dick is a sport of something-well I think it goes back 3 or 4 generations of sports to Tausendshöne. Polyanthas are famous for sporting but are seldom stable. How very fun that you got one to stick. I had Dick for awhile and it was very cherry syrup pink. It did not survive the dirt mover guy who could not resist taking out the tree it was growing next to. What is it with guys and earth moving equipment? patricia...See MoreMeg-zone8aOR
last year
librarian_gardner_8b_pnw
last year
mmmm12COzone5
last yearVery cool. I have Dick Koster but it has never sported.
Planted 8/18 so maybe isn't old enough? It has been a slow grower but is in partial shade.
jacqueline9CA
last year
intwilight z6a KS
last year
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jacqueline9CAOriginal Author