Some foliage.

A bud.

A bloom.

What are everyones thoughts on the Mystery Roses from Rogue Valley? Worth getting or not worth the shipping?

I have a wish list and am not sure if I should go for it or not

If my yard was best measured in acres rather than square feet, I'd go for it. But since "mystery roses" can be ANYTHING -- including tree-scaling ramblers, or roses too tender to survive my climate -- I prefer to skip the option. I do, however, pick from the free rose list. Even if it's not something I'd want, I can nurse it along in a pot and give it as a gift in Autumn.

:-)

~Christopher

Jay, I have what I think is the same rose as yours. Got it a couple of years ago - it has spent the time in a gallon then a 3 gallon pot. At first I thought it was Harrison's Yellow, then it rebloomed so knew it wasn't that one. They are somewhere in a file I cant locate, but I had photos of it and posted at the Forum. The name Sunny June was suggested to me as a possible name. I sent the photo to RVR but never heard back. You will like the rose - its healthy, a nice shape and pretty blooms. I just put mine in the ground and think it will probably do even better now. Hopefully, someone will recognize it - its a worthy rose!
Judith

Sunny June, which I once grew is a single, and Lawrence Johnston, which I also had years ago, has a different flowers shape, and also a very distinct perfume that can't really be compared to any other rose, so I would say it's neither of those.

Ingrid

Maybe 'Zitronenfalter'?

:-)

~Christopher

Kippy, like Christopher I usually take the free rose and skip the mystery. I already have too many pot ghetto mysteries that are rose order imposters! As he said, if you've got the space and extra $ for shipping, go for it! It could be fun.

Arbutus, I'll do a little research and see if I locate anything remotely like yours that might have come from RVR.

Carol

Sorry for the poor wording on the post pre-edit.

Thanks for the input so far y'all! I'll have to make sure it reblooms, but I had the same initial thought as you Judith re: Harison's Yellow.

I can't speak for the uniqueness of Lawrence Johnston's fragrance being unacquainted with the bush, but I did think the fragrance was hard to pin, albeit a pleasant one FWIW.

I'll keep looking. I had neglected Zitronenfalter before, but I'll check it out.

Jay

Lichtkonigin Lucia sounds like it may be a prime suspect also after some snooping. Both it and Zitronenfalter were mentioned as having red blushing. I'll keep an eye on the mystery rose and hope to run acros the two either at Descanso or The Huntington if they have them.

I'd say it's worth it if you have someone to pass an extra rose or two along to or you don't mind shovel pruning. Shipping is about a dollar or two extra to SoCal, so it's not a bad gamble. I'll dump it if it's a poor performer or not what either my mom or I would like to grow.

Jay

Sunny June has bright red stamen. The foliage looks off for Lucia. Is there any scent to the new growth tips, sepals or peduncles? Anything closely related to Foetida usually has a "fruity" or even "Juicy Fruit Gum" scent to the new growing green parts. What's the scent of the flower like? Fruity to linseed oil also indicates the presence of Foetida genes (as does the brilliance of the red tints to the bud reverses and intensity of the yellow petal color), but plant scents usually breed out within a few generations, so this could help you narrow down the ideas. Kim

The bloom's scent was definitely partly fruity and I had been looking at roses descended from Rosa foetida because of the red tint. I'll have to check the foliage the next time I stop by my parent's house. Thanks for the info Kim.

Jay

This post was edited by ArbutusOmnedo on Tue, Mar 25, 14 at 2:12

Jay, your rose's flowers closely resemble Harrison's Yellow, but I don't see vicious thorns in your photos. Did I just miss them? The oh-so-charming Harrison's Yellow is armed like Freddy Kruger! Carol

It's not particularly thorny! That was one of my initial thoughts as well Carol, but when I looked at pictures of HY, it became clear this likely isn't it. Wouldn't a lightly thorny sport be wonderful though? I'll go through whatever yellows RVR carries that have Foetida in their heritage and report back.

Jay

What about Chinatown?

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.231788

I think the foliage is more appropriate for Chinatown than for any of the near species hybrids. Kim

Topaz Jewel (Yellow Dagmar Hartopp) ?

Interestingly, 'Lichtkonigin Lucia' is a seedling of 'Zitronenfalter'.

:-)

~Christopher

It could be that this is an immature plant, but the bloom did not particularly remind of either of the Chinatowns I saw last year. They were much fuller. I didn't smell either Chinatown so I don't know how similar the fragrance of the two are.

I haven't yet checked the foliage's fragrance of this mystery rose, but that should help when I do.

Jay

If there are any scents to the plant parts to be perceived, Jay, they will be most discernable early morning when it's just warming up and there is plenty of humidity remaining in the air. About the same time you would expect the flowers to be their most fragrant is when you should be able to notice any scents the growing and flowering parts may have. Choose the most tender, succulent new growth; sepals and peduncles; rub them gently and smell both your fingers as well as the plant parts. If there is any scented oil to be released, that should help you smell it. Some roses are intensely scented. Many others have little to absolutely none. Kim

I just checked photos on HMF to see if I remembered correctly that Topaz Jewell is armed with closely spaced, long thorns. Thorns, not prickles, whatever botanists may say they are. I don't see the thorns on your rose. TJ also tends to bloom in clusters.

Just a guess, but the mystery looks like Sun Flare to me, except for the red flush.

This post was edited by rbehs on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 18:52

rbehs, it looks quite a bit like Sun Flare to my eyes, too, but I think I remember that my Sun Flare had more petals and slightly darker stamens. I looked at internet photos and there were some pics of flowers with lighter stamens, too. Petal count can also be lower on immature specimens, of course. Anyone else have thoughts on Sun Flare as a possible ID? Does RVR carry this floribunda? Carol

My mom has an established Climbing Sun Flare that is doing quite well. So far the foliage of Sun Flare is much darker and glossier than that of the mystery rose. The blooms are similar but the mystery rose is much more fragrant from my memory. I'm not sure if the shrub is more fragrant than the climbing form of Sun Flare. The prickles are less abundant on the mystery rose than Cl. Sun Flare, but that too could change with maturity to some extent.

Jay