Yup thats it, thank you! That page describes it so well. "can form impenetrable thickets", lol..that was the back 1/3 of my yard! Thank you! Daniella

Thank you so much Jeannie -- We live not far from the water but up on a hill not too far from the Verazzano Narrows. I so feel sorry for the poor people in Staten Island and on the Jersey and Long Island barrier islands who lost everything. And also downtown Manhattan. The darkened skyline was so very sad looking, when we walked down to the pier to look. It reminded me of 9/11. There was noticeable debris -- chairs, and wooden boards washed up on the rocks, but people were fishing and jogging unconcernedly. Another walk -- to Sunset Park in the other direction --revealed the same unearthly sight of a darkened skyline and Statue of Liberty. But even there there were children on swings, as usual. Nor was Halloween affected. For our part, we didn't lose power and our basement miraculously didn't flood. We had cleaned out the gutters, filled the bath tub, made chili and brownies and brought the houseplants plants inside. My shrubs and perennials in containers (many slated to be gifts for friends) stayed outside and weren't affected. An exception was my little plastic greenhouse that blew up to the top of the retaining wall, despite the cement block I had put in it to keep it down. Otherwise, our garden, an eternal work in progress, appreciated the rain very much. Starting Tuesday, Verizon took away our cell-phone and internet for 48 hours. I suppose they needed the interchanges for other people. And there is no gas -- it was like a zombie movie. But one doesn't need a car here. For the most part it was not the wind but the tidal surge in low areas and then the gas shortage that have been disruptive. The gas stations are still closed, but most subway lines are running. There is a nip in the air, though, and tomorrow we are going to have another storm.

Thanks petaloid. These roses were actually sold by a small sidewalk vendor who bought them from a friend who bought them from a florist who bought them from one of the cut flower farmers somewhere in Baguio City, Philippines. As you can see, the vendor herself or her friend or the florist or the contract farmers don't have any idea. She just calls them big 'pink'roses and big 'white' roses. I would really appreciate an ID from others even just a guess as I like to know the names of the roses I buy. I buy these same roses for my vases 1 to 2 times a week so I would really like to know what their names are, having lived with them for years. tropical

Embothrium, yeah the leaves too, look alike there. Portlandmysteryrose, thanks for the comments on Perle d'Or and Cecile B., I love CB, wish I could find it here :( I tried to find some common link between them and Old Blush, but there seems to be none. Still, I wonder what makes them produce leaves like that. All of the bushes, in different locations, are easily recognizable by the foliage alone. As a matter of fact, when I collected cuttings of it, I collected of some others too and had them in a vase for a day or two without flowers, when I got time to plant them, I tried to sort them by varieties. And these were the only ones I can say with 100 percent certainty are well-sorted. I have found and collected Mrs Dudley Cross before, and in most sources describing it in depth, they make note of the unusual foliage. But it's not the case for Old Blush, it seems. Nik, I'm curious, what makes a china rose? I'm not saying it isn't, just want to know so I can identify others when/if I stumble upon them. It does seem to be Old Blush, now by several people's criteria. Thank you guys!