Most Plants are Genetically Modified
A while back, there was an initiative in California to ban genetically modified foods. A young man asked my aunt to sign the petition. "Honey," she said, "practically everything we eat has been genetically modified!" The former farm girl knew what the activist didn’t: humans have been genetically modifying plants and animals for centuries. Those Fuji apples weren’t discovered growing wild on Mt. Fuji; they’re a hybrid of various different apples. Likewise, most roses are hybrids of other roses. Now that modification can be done in a laboratory instead of using square miles of land, we’re just better and faster at it now (human genes being inserted into other life forms notwithstanding). Since customers asked me about it yesterday at the nursery, here are a few terms that apply to the genetics of roses.
"Hybrid" means that a plant has two different parents. Take Harison’s Yellow, for instance. It’s a hybrid foetida (FEH-ti-duh, Latin for "stinky"—no joke). Yet once it is established, it can outlive—without tending--the gardener who planted it. "Hybrid" doesn’t equal "tender." Perhaps people are thinking of hybrid teas, which are, in fact, tender.
Tea roses aren’t the same as hybrid teas. Teas are old garden roses, descendants of China roses and ancestors of hybrid teas. They’re winter hardy in zones 6 or 7 through 9. Hybrid teas, in general, are more like florist roses, and a little bit more cold hardy. So if you want a hybrid tea, don’t ask for a tea rose. If the person you’re asking distinguishes between teas and hybrid teas, and assumes you do, too, he may show you tea roses, or in colder climates, simply tell you the nursery doesn’t carry any.
Species roses are those that grow wild. They are genetically the same as their parents. They’re tough, usually large, most have small blooms and a short blooming period. There are hundreds of species roses, but only a few are suitable for gardens. Rosa glauca, R. rugosa, and R. foetida bicolor (aka ‘Austrian Copper’) are a few.
"Grafted," as opposed to "own root," means that the top of one rose has been attached to the roots of a different rose, usually Dr. Huey. This is to make the plant grow fast. Grafted roses have a knot, or bud union, near the base of the plant. This does not genetically modify the plant.
If you are interested in further reading on genetically modified plants, this article may interest you.
"Hybrid" means that a plant has two different parents. Take Harison’s Yellow, for instance. It’s a hybrid foetida (FEH-ti-duh, Latin for "stinky"—no joke). Yet once it is established, it can outlive—without tending--the gardener who planted it. "Hybrid" doesn’t equal "tender." Perhaps people are thinking of hybrid teas, which are, in fact, tender.
Tea roses aren’t the same as hybrid teas. Teas are old garden roses, descendants of China roses and ancestors of hybrid teas. They’re winter hardy in zones 6 or 7 through 9. Hybrid teas, in general, are more like florist roses, and a little bit more cold hardy. So if you want a hybrid tea, don’t ask for a tea rose. If the person you’re asking distinguishes between teas and hybrid teas, and assumes you do, too, he may show you tea roses, or in colder climates, simply tell you the nursery doesn’t carry any.
Species roses are those that grow wild. They are genetically the same as their parents. They’re tough, usually large, most have small blooms and a short blooming period. There are hundreds of species roses, but only a few are suitable for gardens. Rosa glauca, R. rugosa, and R. foetida bicolor (aka ‘Austrian Copper’) are a few.
"Grafted," as opposed to "own root," means that the top of one rose has been attached to the roots of a different rose, usually Dr. Huey. This is to make the plant grow fast. Grafted roses have a knot, or bud union, near the base of the plant. This does not genetically modify the plant.
If you are interested in further reading on genetically modified plants, this article may interest you.
posted by Lori Miller at 11:55 AM
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