GENERAL GALLIENI - anyone grow it?

Just wondering if anyone grows 'General Gallieni' and if they have ever noticed hips on it?

I grow him but can't answer your question for certain. I snap spent flowers off when I am passing, which keeps him permanently in bloom. However I am not particularly methodical about this and some deadheads - particularly inaccessible ones - stay in place for a long time. You would think I would have noticed hips in these cases if they formed. Amadeus, which blooms cheerily on the fence behind the General, certainly sets hips.

Hmmm... am tempted to buy it but am trying to restrict my purchases to roses that will advance my cause(s) at the moment... the Tea book says it forms hips but there are very few descendants list on HMF... so am in two minds about it...

For reasons of space or money? You are welcome to budwood if you have the room. He would be most beautiful in your climate. In summer here the flowers are small, dark - maroon mostly - and the petals often crisp at the edges. But in winter - and he flowers through most of winter - he is gorgeous! You wouldn't think it was the same rose. Wish I could post a couple of pix to illustrate but I still haven't had time to settle down and experiment with posting them.

Hi,
he's one of my favourites, but I can't say I've noticed hips on it and there aren't any there now.
I pruned him hard last year and he hasn't liked it. This year I won't touch him - even thinking if I can find him a place along our border plantings to just let him go. He's very beautiful.

It was still dark when I posted earlier. I've now been out to inspect the bush (it's about 2m x 2m) and I've found a fertilised deadhead. It is definitely hipping up but it's never going to be big. Probably only one or two seeds.

For reasons of space or money?

Neither really... got plenty of space for it but I am getting just too many roses and I have specific breeding goals in mind and want to target these things specifically. Introducing Tea blood into modern shrub roses is my main goal but there seems to be a lot of Teas that don't form hips or that have reduced fertility which would not allow me to make much progress. I'm just trying to be smarter in what I acquire to assist me towards my goals instead of just buying random roses like I had been. Getting too many roses isn't such a bad thing but when you are trialling seedlings I can have over a thousand roses at different times of the year... it all gets a bit much... culling becomes a prime consideration and I'm back down to about 200-250 roses now that I've culled down to a handful of the better seedlings. One another note... I have about 8 pots of good multiflora understock seedlings (virus-free because they are seedlings) that if anyone wants they can have... just PM me). They would be an excellent way to obtain guaranteed virus-free understocks.

I checked out our Generals. They have just finished flowering but it does not look like there are any hips forming.

We have a couple more down in the bottom garden so I will have a look at them tomorrow.

Barbara. The General does not like being pruned much at all.

Thanks for all the replies... I have 'Monsieur Tillier' growing here (finally - got another flower on the little one last week... such a beautiful rose... letting it form OP hips this year... will use it next season when it's bigger and to 'practice' with Tea seeds) but was looking for another source of red... the general seems to fit the bill. Do the flowers have prominent stamens (does it seem to make lots of pollen) or is the flower so double that most have been transformed into petals?

Nary the sign of a stamen. Masses of tightly furled little petaloids (is that the right name?)

Thank you balinbear. We're going to move him to where he can spread out a bit.
Barbara B

Barbara

Its a funny rose. Ours struggle to get 2 foot high and spread out a bit but apart from the flowers (my wife absolutely loves the flowers) ours are not that attractive a bush.

We went to Laidley (out near Toowoomba) and there is a bush there nearly 2 metre tall growing on a footpath. The soil looks like clay but it is thriving. Maybe it is too humid here cause it would get a lot hotter in Laidley than here.

We picked up a couple of others last year and it will be interesting to see how they grow.

Hi,
I love the flowers too. It's the only rose that has "square" blooms.
Barbara B

I budded some this year but do not have a mature plant.