Welcome and question about sorbus hybrids :)

Hi! I have been following this forum for some time and I am impressed by the vast knowledge of the people who contribute here.
I see that there are a few hybridization enthusiasts here - like me :).
I’ve been tormented by a question for a long time that I can’t find an answer to:
why does the genus sorbus (rowan / mointain ash) have such a high capacity for intergeneric hybridization?

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So that we can have many interesting plants to grow. Take Sorbaronia mitchurinii for instance. It is much more popular that the original Aronia melanocarpa. Sorbopyrus tatarova is very good on its own but has a potential for further crossing. Granatnaya is a sorbus cross with hawthorn and it is much more pleasant to eat than any of its parents. I am very fond of this group of plants.

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I know these species! At home I have Granatnaya and Miczurinskaya Diesiertnaya (I’m from Poland btw, I’m a guest on the forum). It is incomprehensible to me that no one has tried to cross sweet rowan trees, e.g. with Amelanchier (serviceberry), to obtain even better fruit and more resistant trees. After all, we know crosses between the ordinary, bitter rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and Amelanchier, under the name Amelasorbus. Similarly, Sorbupyrus should give interesting combinations with Aronia, etc.

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I think your question is answered, in part, by this paper (sorry it wouldn’t let me upload the actual paper PDF. PM me and I’ll figure out how to get it to you).

“Hybridization is of high evolutionary importance in
Sorbus, as many taxa are considered to be interspecific hybrids (allopolyploids).”

The sorbus shows high variability in reproductive pathways, which adds to the diversity of the genus and possibly the promiscuity in hybridization.

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Good point. There is one hybrid made by Michurin or his pupils where Sorbus aucuparia Moravica was used as one of the parents. It is called Alaya Krupnaya. The parentage is:
(Sorbus aucuparia x Pyrus communis) x Sorbus aucuparia Moravica
It has very large fruits that are not bitter with good taste. I will be grafting it this spring.

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Couldn’t find any information on Miczurinskaya Diesiertnaya. Is there another name?

I’ve seen it as just (Sorbomespilus) Desertnaja. Described here:

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Indeed, I cannot find any information in English. Try the Russian search engine Yandex and use the translator: www. yandex. com
Detailed information is also available on the website of this Polish breeder, use the translator again:

Regards :slight_smile:

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Look up :slight_smile:

“Ivan Michurin described this hybrid as one of the best he had ever bred.”
A cross from 98 yrs ago in Poland and still not available in the USA as far as I know. Sad.

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In Poland ?.. you gotta be kidding.

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Now that I’ve done some reading about Ivan Michurin I’ll try "A cross from 98 yrs ago in Russia and still not available in the USA as far as I know.

There are other things more recently bred in Russia that I never expect to get my hands on to graft. For some reason the relations between our countries have been a bit strained for the last century…

Hopefully something like this eventually becomes available!