Rosa hybrida is a large group of hybrid varieties formed through repeated hybridization and long-term breeding among various species or varieties of Rosa (Zhang et al. 2015). This group can be broadly categorized into five main types: hybrid tea rose, floribunda rose, miniature rose, climber and rambler rose, and grandiflora rose. Rosa hybrida is known for its vibrant colors and extended flowering period. It is used primarily in cut-flower arrangements, potted plants, and garden cultivation. Currently, there are more than 35,000 cultivars of R. hybrida worldwide (Zhang et al. 2024); however, the number of independently cultivated varieties in China remains limited. Key ornamental traits of roses include continuous flowering (Lu et al. 2020), double petals (Hibrand Saint-Oyant et al. 2018), diverse flower colors, and fragrance (Schulz et al. 2016). Breeding new cultivars that exhibit superior ornamental characteristics and enhanced disease resistance is a primary objective in rose breeding efforts.

‘Keai Bingqilin’ is a hybrid cultivar resulting from the cross-breeding of R. hybrida ‘Carefree Beauty’ as the female parent and R. hybrida ‘Tutti Frutti’ as the male parent. This cultivar features a compact and upright growth habit, characterized by strong branching and significant growth potential. Initially, the flowers are light pink during the early to middle flowering stages, gradually transitioning to white in the later stages. Each flower typically contains 27 to 32 petals and blooms in clusters. The natural flowering period extends from mid-May to early November, allowing for a continuous display of blooms. In addition, ‘Keai Bingqilin’ demonstrates resistance to powdery mildew and black spot.

Origin

The hybrid parents ‘Carefree Beauty’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’ of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ were planted in the Rose Resource Nursery of Beijing Academy of Forestry and Landscape Architecture. Hybrid pollination was carried out in May 2014, hybrid seeds were collected in October and refrigerated at a low temperature, and seedlings were sown in the same Rose Resource Nursery in Mar 2015. Flowering in July, an excellent single plant was screened from the hybrid progeny population. It has a large number of flowers, and the color of the petals varies throughout the flowering period. After 3 years of cutting propagation, the number of petals, flower color, and other traits of the superior plant remained stable and consistent, and it was named ‘Keai Bingqilin’. In 2019, ‘Keai Bingqilin’ was officially authorized by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China with accession no. 20190121.

Description

At the Huangfa Nursery of the Beijing Academy of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, morphological observation and data collection were carried out on 30 flowering asexual individuals of ‘Keai Bingqilin’, ‘Carefree Beauty’, and ‘Tutti Frutti’. The differences in morphological characteristics among ‘Keai Bingqilin’, ‘Carefree Beauty’, and ‘Tutti Frutti’ are shown in Table 1. All colors were referenced to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart (Royal Horticultural Society 2007). Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The results showed that ‘Keai Bingqilin’ differed significantly from its parent plants in several traits, including plant height, leaf length, leaf width, flower diameter, number of petals, and flower color.

Table 1. Comparison of morphological characters of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ with ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Carefree Beauty’.

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Plant height.

‘Keai Bingqilin’ exhibits a plant height of 112.31 cm, which is significantly taller than ‘Tutti Frutti’ at 82.29 cm, but shorter than ‘Carefree Beauty’ at 134.63 cm.

Leaf description.

The leaf length (8.54 cm) and leaf width (6.19 cm) of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ are significantly smaller than those of its parent, ‘Tutti Frutti’, which has a leaf length of 9.65 cm and a leaf width of 6.97 cm. In comparison, ‘Carefree Beauty’ exhibits a leaf length of 10.65 cm and a leaf width of 9.81 cm. The leaf aspect ratio of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ is similar to that of ‘Tutti Frutti’ with no significant difference.

Flower color.

The petals of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ are light pink (RHS 56B) during the early to middle flowering stages, gradually fading to white (RHS NN155D) in the later stages (Fig. 1A and D). In contrast, the petals of ‘Tutti Frutti’ are either purely white (RHS NN155D) or a blend of white (RHS NN155D) with pink edges (RHS 55B) (Fig. 1B and E), whereas those of ‘Carefree Beauty’ are pink (RHS 55A) (Fig. 1C and F). Notably, the flower color of the parents of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ remains basically unchanged throughout the flowering period.

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Flower diameter.

The flower diameter of ‘Keai Bingqilin’ measures 5.75 cm, which is larger than that of ‘Tutti Frutti’ (4.59 cm) and smaller than that of ‘Carefree Beauty’ (9.32 cm).

Number of petals.

‘Keai Bingqilin’ has 27 to 32 petals, exceeding the number found in ‘Tutti Frutti’ (14–18 petals) and ‘Carefree Beauty’ (15–20 petals).

Cultivation Technology and Application

‘Keai Bingqilin’ is undemanding of environmental conditions and tolerant of rough management. It is suitable for open-field planting in Beijing and North China. It has a strong growth potential, a strong resistance to high temperatures and high humidity, and is disease resistant in summer. ‘Keai Bingqilin’ prefers neutral to acidic soil, is light loving, and slightly shade tolerant. Hand-irrigated spring return water is required each spring, and frost water is required during the frost season. Fertilizer, taking the principle of thin fertilizer frequently, can form a stable and lasting good ornamental effect. It can be propagated by cuttings, and cuttings in full-light fog beds have a survival rate of more than 90%. ‘Keai Bingqilin’ can be used in landscaping such as flower borders and flower beds due to its good continuous flowering, large flower volume, disease resistance, and being low maintenance.

Availability

Information regarding the plant material and research on ‘Keai Bingqilin’ can be obtained from Hui Feng (fenghuiaa@aliyun.com) at the Beijing Key Laboratory of Greening Plant Breeding, Beijing Academy of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Beijing, China.