If anyone wants to breed Damask types, or anything which is even close, I urge them to take a look at Marbree as a potential seed parent. Most Damasks, Portlands and Centifolias don't set hips very reliably, many hips will contain no seed, and those which do rarely contain more than 2, but in my first year trying Marbree, every flower I pollinated set, and the first hip I opened had 16 seeds in it! While it's more like a reblooming Gallica than a true Damask, the choice of pollen can take it in whatever direction you like. Though breeding reblooming Damasks is famously difficult, Paul Barden got one rebloomer among a mere handful of Marbree seedlings, so even that may be within reach, if you use pollen from a Damask Perpetual.
A fine rose in general, and a truly exceptional mother. If you love OGRs and want to give breeding a try, but your favorite roses don't set lots of big hips, Marbree might be just what you're looking for.
I entered this in an ARS rose show and got marked disqualified for saying Marbree was a "Portland" on the entry tag. The judges maintained it is a Damask. The people I bought it from (The Uncommon Rose, a few years ago), said it was a Portland. Can anyone enlighten me -- did the class get changed recently, or have I always been wrong here?
The Modern Roses database reports it is a Portland. I think you need to refer your questions to the Judges. It's easy to check HMF and the Modern Roses database using an iPhone.
