Some Like it Hot!

Here's proof. It was 41 deg here today. All roses fried to a crisp except ....drum roll... RADIO TIMES. I knew it was good, but not that good in the heat. I suppose with a crappy name like that, it really had to prove itself LOL

That's beautiful, Dave, I love Radio Times, I used to have one and the perfume is divine. Mine died
Don't they give some roses ugly names though???

Hi Dave, thanks for letting us know. Looks like a really good one at last.

Have found the later ones healthier, DA take a bow.

I love Radio Times it is a great rose.

Yes, it certainly deserves a round of applause for its heat tolerance! Even the Teas like Mrs BR Cant get roasted in that sort of inferno. And as you say, Orchid40 , the perfume is great. It does have an awkward, quite angular - sometimes horizontal - growth habit, but will probably improve as it bushes up with age.
So I'm pollinating it every day with the likes of Duchesse de Brabant, Monsieur Tillier etc. dreaming about more heat tolerant Teas LOL

Dave, as you say it is early days for Radio Times with it's horizontal growth, how would it go crossed with a climbing tea, I am not sure which would go with it,but, if a cross was to come from it there could be a lovely smelling climber maybe.

Dave, have you thought of how this cross might work

David (Meers), a lot of the climbing Teas are sports of non-climbing teas. The nature of sports is that it is not usually inheritable (I say not USUALLY as there are cases of climbing sports being able to pass on the climbing trait). Your best bet, if this is something you want to try, is to use one of the climbing teas that are not derived from sported material. According to the Tea book, most of these are the result of crosses between Teas and roses like Noisettes. In fact Noisettes would probably give you a simialr result. Roses such as 'Souvenir de Madam Leonie Viennot' (climbing Tea), 'Crepuscule', and 'Lamaque' (and most other Noisettes), come to mind for something like this. I only mentioned these three as I have experience with these and know they are either seed fertile, pollen fertile or both. I don't know if 'Radio Times' is fertile as I don't have it, have never grown it, and never studied it so don't know which way is best to use it (i.e. as seed parent or pollen parent) and don't know how it breeds... Dave can give you a better idea of this. The other thing to consider is that most Teas are diploid and most DAs are tetrapolid (or triploid). This mismatch in itself is not a huge issue but the resulting seedlings will be mostly triploids. This isn't an issue if you are only looking at one-step crosses but if you are hoping to develop lines of fertile seedlings to develop your own goals and breeding stock (which is always best otherwise you are just stirring the same old pot of genes by using other peoples roses in first crosses all the time) then you are likely to experience a dramatic drop in fertility because in general triploids are less fertile and often sterile. There are lots of very fertile and reliable triploids so in my opinion it's worth the gamble and is a step towards making tetraploids, but it is something to keep in mind.

Thanks for the explanation, Simon.
I've only started using RT this year so don't know how it will go.

Simon, can you tell me what the words diploid and triploid mean ? I have been meaning to ask you for quite some time now.

Have a look at this link Karen: http://www.rosetalkaustralia.com/the-lab-f27/ploidy-levels-of-roses-t721.htm

We had this discussion here just a little while ago... should help clear up any questions

Thanks Simon ! We read it tomorrow when I am not tired.
Dave, I forgot to say how pretty your Radio Times was, lovely pink colourings.

That is a lovely rose, Dave.

Wonder if it stands up to wind as well as it does the heat?