I'm guessing it's the bourbon, Mme. Cornelissen, a sport of Souvenir de la Malmaison. What a beauty!

Sue

I tend to think it's not Madame Cornelissen, which should stay fairly short, and the flower form doesn't look typical for her. A brief thought was Madame Ernest Calvat, but I think that's a darker pink and more sumptuous-looking rose. I give up!

Ingrid

It is not Madame Cornelissen nor Mme Ernest Calvat. Good Guesses though - Sue and Ingrid. To narrow the possibilities down:

- it is not a bourbon rose.

- Another Clue - The name of the rose is linked to it´s coldhardiness.

Guess again - don´t be shy! This rose is a challenge! More clues will be giving - as the guessing goes on!

I am not an expert but I think is Maiden' Blush (Alba) a rose I can only dream to grow here in my zone 10 garden.
Simona

Simona - everyone can participate, not only the experts. A guessing game trains the ability to look for the specific charecteristics of various clases of roses.

The rose is not Maidens Blush. The sepals look different on Maidens blush and when the buds show colour is a light yellow color, before they turn white. Also Maidens blush does not repeat bloom like this one does, which also could have ruled it out. No wonder you would like to grow that rose in CA - just like I can only dream about growing most tea roses!

It is not an Alba rose (but just as - or even hardier!). The pink parent from which the rose sported was very popular and planted all over. Enjoyed for it´s strong old rose fragrance.

Another clue - David Austin used the pink parent and another very fragrant rose (in this rose's ancestry) in his early hybridization programs. It is fair to say that many of the very fragrant Austins - became so popular because of that!

Sport of Comte de Chambord?
Olga

'Conrad Ferdinand Meyer'?

(Happy Birthday, by the way!)

Paul

Ohh I wish Olga, but no - a blush pink almost white sport of Comte De Chambord would be a wonderful rose. The flowers of this rose is not as fully double as Comte De Chambord, but have a lower petal count. It is however just as fragrant as Comte de Chambord. But it is not a Portland rose.

Clues so far:

-sport of it´s pink parent - more than 100 years old

-Hardy to zone 3

-repeat bloomer

-very thorny

-very fragrant

-growth habit - upright to arching - can be grown as a low climber to 10 feet tall.

-David Austin used the pink parent and another very fragrant rose (in this rose's ancestry) in his early hybridization programs. It is fair to say that many of the very fragrant Austins - became so popular because of that!

Ruled out so far:

- not a bourbon, alba or portland rose

Another Clue.

Look at the underside of some of the leaves and notice the texture.

wow Paul!!! You are so close as you can get - now you just have to name the sport!!!

Last Clue: see link

Here is a link that might be useful: Tsar bomb - biggest nuclear bomb ever

That would make it 'Nova Zembla' then?

That is correct - it is the rugosa hybrid 'Nova Zembla'. Like it´s parent Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, a very hardy rose repeat
flowering rose that more in cold zones should grow.

David Austin wrote that Conrad Ferdinand Meyer is prone to BS. That might be true in a very wet, mild and humid climate like England. But here and many other places I see the rose and this not so wellknown sport grown it is very clean.

Rugosa hybrids may be a way to hybridize more very hardy, repeat blooming fragrant roses for those in cold climates.

So Kudos to Paul - Thanks for the birthday wishes.

This was so much fun. It had me researching all over the place. Please do not wait so long to do it again! Thank you, Niels! It is a great way to learn about new roses.

Does anyone know why Nova Zembla is so hardy when Conrad Fredrick Meyer is definitely not hardy? When you said "hardy to Zone 3" I was eagerly waiting to hear its name. The snow has finally melted and I can get close enough to the roses to see which ones are starting to show life and again it is the rugosas that are furtherest along. But CFM is never listed with the hardy rugosas.
Leo

Fascinating post and beautiful photos.

The youtube clue also illustrates the crazed gigantism that permeated Soviet planning in so many spheres.

We really should this more often Joanne. It is fun and interesting to learn about interesting roses this way.

The other interesting rose in this rose's ancestry is Gloire De Dijon.

Good Question Leo? HMF list Nova Zembla as hardy to zone 3b. Most list it's parent CFM as hardy to zone 4. All reviews from zone 5 say it is hardy. I hardly believe a color sport is more hardy than it's parent. It could be possible? Some color sports like Kathleen Harrop/ The pale sport of Zephirine Drouhin is definitely less hardy than it's parent in my experience. (or maybe less vigorous)?

Not sure things has really changed that much over there Michael? Somehow old Russia seems to cling on to it's elusive superpower status. I will upload the pictures to HMF. Always good to have nice pictures of a rose there.

It is also interesting how many US vendors list the rose as Disease-resistant. While David Austin murmurred about the roses resistance to BS.

I do however know that the rose is worth growing for the fragrance alone. To quote the Antique Rose Emporium:

"The perfume of this roseÂs silvery-pink blossoms can make you feel like you have truly found paradise. Its flowers are large, full, and slightly cupped and the foliage is large and leathery like most other Rugosas. We have trained this moderate climber on a pillar. Make sure to plant it where you have easy access to its delicious fragrance or you will end up with a well worn path leading to it".

The rose has been mentioned before one the forum in this thread about it's parent Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, that more may have experience growing

Here is a link that might be useful: Conrad Ferdinand Meyer on GW

Niels, wonderful photos of a wonderful rose! I am too new to ORG's that I could make a adequate guess, but I enjoyed reading and learning about this rose new to me.

I am really glad to see you posting here on GW, again. I always looked forward to your previous posts and I enjoy reading your rose blog.

If you have the time, I would be happy to see you as "a regular" here on this forum, again. Some spring photos of your awesome rose garden would be nice, too!

Good thing they rated it to zone 3b and not my zone 3a as conrad did not make it, and nova is probably gone this year.

I have hesitated to get Conrad Ferdinand Meyer after seeing it in Sangerhausen, probably the sickest rose I've seen anywhere. It had both rust and BS. The climate in that part of Germany is continental but I don't know how humid it might be in summer. It happened to rain when I visited. I'll check with Swedish growers to find out how it fares in Sweden.