R. virginiana. I just ordered it from Ashdown.

I work at an arboretum and have spotted roses here & there-- I think all I have to do is go over this spring and look for r.virginiana. The woods are untouched southern hardwood forest & there's every possibility of species roses in there.. If we don't have it on the property I'm going to recommend we get it. Many people have no idea that species roses exist, much less how diverse they are.

Although these aren't on my current list, they have been recently added to my collection: r. eglanteria, r. palustris scandens, r. glauca, r. wilmottiae (my current favorite species), r. foliosa, r. villosa, r. sericea pteracantha, Rosa Cantabrigiensis, Primula, wichuriana variegata. Needless to say, I like the species too.

Robert

I wish I could grow many of the species roses but in my sandy soil they act like thugs suckering like mad. Half an inch left in and away we go again. Rosa macrantha, rosa polyantha grandiflora, rosa highdowniensis, rosa canbridgiensis and rose micrugosa are th only ones I have succeeded in taming.

The ones i have are r.woodsii,r.pendulina,aurora,r.nitida,r.glauca,r.doncasteri,r.wichurana,the ones i have on order are r.gallica,r.holodonta,r.acicularis,r.blanda,r.eglanteria,r. hugonis,r.moyesii,r.spinosissima,
i'm not sure if these are considered species or not, r.gallica officianalis,la mortola,venusta pendula,golden chersonase, suzanne. I like some of the species crosses such as corylus, rugosa and nutkana or nitida i think. but some roses i have chosen over the species, such as baltimore belle and long john silver over r.setigera.

This makes exciting reading, thank you Robert, Lynette & Len. Here is some from my favorite rose-grower RU: R. banksia (lutea, normalis, Purezza), r. bracteata, r. gigantea, r. laevigata (Cherokee & Ramona), r. Moschata & r. moschata plena, & Temple Musk, r. Palustris plena, R. roxburghii plena, and r. wichuriana variegata (1982). OK some are not "just" species but that's right off p. 42. I'd like to put in a collection of rose species at the arboretum but how to narrow it down???? These aren't exactly dainty little things!!!

Rosa Moschata Plena.

Supporting cast: apothecary, alba, xanthina (from left to right)

I have Cherokee and Swamp rose. I wouldn't classify my Mutabilis as a wild rose. Lady Banks will grow in your area and so would Seven Sisters. I would like gigantea, but even in zone 9a, it's ify.

I really would like to have r. Palustris, r. Doncasterii and r. Moyesii, esp. Highdownensis or Geranium - but those would probably not be happy here. I have a handful of species roses at present and they *do* need elbow room (or is that "foot room," being so prone to suckering!) I think it was Ann's species rose garden in TN that got me thinking about the great variety of species roses and I started paying much more attention to them. There is a lot of beauty in that class of rose and they don't need pampering!

I may be all wrong on this, but I would have thought in z4 to 6 you'd be fine with the moyesii's and that they'd have trouble down here due to heat. But that's why I posted here, to learn more about the different species roses that others grow! If I were up north again I'd grow r. dupontii and r. glauca/aka rubrifolia, & r. alba!

I'd like to have at least one plant of one of the R. moschata varieties. Can anyone suggest the best to try for So. Ca.? I live about 25 miles inland from San Diego at 1500 feet. Would love to have one with the longest rebloom and greatest fragrance (if that's not being too greedy). I hadn't really thought about the suckering problem with wild roses. Is R. moschata prone to this?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Ingrid

There are always many species on my want list and half the challenge is finding these. But, I do have the good fortune of happily giving as much elbow room as necessary to quite a number of species roses. Those, that I think might be content in VA and have not been, so far mentioned are:
Rosa gentilliana (from Pickering and I do think this is correct) which is super healthy and a mite tender here which makes me so sad!
The other that I highly tout is Rosa hirtula, which is simply the most amazing species and here, at least very contained.

It would be cool to have a r. palustris in the garden some day.

Randy

Randy, my friend grows r.palustris near lake and it is spectacular in spring. Very healthy too. I hope you can grow it one day.
I love species, but don't have enough space. So currently have less then 10 different species and no plans to add new species this year.
Olga

After getting the email from Vintage about their current sale, I am intrigued by 3 of the on-sale species roses. Anyone grow Mt. Everest, Rosa forrestiana or Rosa holodonta?

Olga, I'll bet that is a nice sight, with its arching habit, growing next to a lake. I've only seen r. palustris one time, last year at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. It wasn't spring, so it wasn't in bloom at the time, but I still was fascinated by it.

Randy

I HAVE A BED WITH MISCANTHUS IN THE FOREFRONT WITH WHITE BONESET IN THE BACK. I'D LOVE TO PLACE A ROSE IN THE MIDDLE, TO DRAPE AND MINGLE. IS THIS A GOOD IDEA? OR DEATH TO A ROSE? THERES PLENTY OF SUN AND WATER WITH GOOD SOIL. WHAT TO DO?

Rosa 'Highdownensis' and 'Geranium' both do very well in zone 4. Here is a picture of 'Highdownensis'. Just for a size reference, the R. eglanteria hybrid to the right of it is between 5 and 6 feet tall.

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Wow wow wow. Is that both Highdownensis and Geranium? Or just one rose?

That's one 16 year old 'Highdownensis' that is mostly self supporting. It is climbing an apple tree on the left that is about the same age as the rose.

This is a very cold spot. If you look closely you can see that there is a lake about 100 yds from the rose. That is north and the prevailing wind is from the north and really builds up as it screams across the lake. Not much can live in this spot. You can see a few pathetic flowers on 'Madame Plantier' which is the same age as 'Highdownensis'. I am going to have to move it this year or I will lose it as it has been declining for the last few years.

The only near species rose on my wish list is R.x dupontii, one of the most beautiful white single rose I have seen. I grow very few true species roses apart from the natives Rosa canina, R. dumalis and R. majalis that grow all over my woodland. I keep them for the hips, for me and the birds. The species I have actively chosen are R. pendulina, R. maximowicziana, R. stellata var mirifica and R. nutkana var hispida (or R. spaldingii). But I have quite a few near species, selections and species hybrids, among them 'Geranium', 'Louis Riel', R. x nitida 'Defender', 'Freya' and R. glauca 'Nova'. If I had more space I would get more American species as they usually bloom later that the Eurasian species.

Oooh, I have spotted a large pink single rose blooming in the wetlands near my house and grrrr cannot figure out how to get to it. Have to borrow some waders. The blooms look larger and a deeper pink than r. virginiana but I won't know til I can get closer.

My guess would be r. setigera, the prairie rose, though i suppose it could be r. palustris

Ingrid, Rosa moschata doesn't show any inclination to sucker at all - most roses in its section don't, so I think you are more than safe planting it, even on its own roots.

The species that has most impressed me as a new plant this year, just because of its absolutely gorgeous, ridiculously healthy, thick growth is R. forrestiana (from Pickering). I absolutely cannot wait to see its flowers next spring, because it would be worth growing as a background plant for its beautiful vegetation alone. It seems to be as tough as nails here so far.