Shrub roses were not widely grown in the 1970s. If it was extremely fragrant, it might have been Perfume Delight, a vigorous HT with lots of large, matte leaves. Or possibly Electron, a smaller and thornier plant.

I too cannot think of shrub roses being grown in the 1970s, but a HT that certainly qualifies as "hot pink" is Peter Mayle.

Perhaps what you saw, sivy, was a climber. Sometimes gardeners let them grow without tying them up to a trellis or arbor. As a result, they grow looking more like a shrub rose, or maybe I should say, overgrown shrub rose. That said, I can't think of any hot pink climbers right off hand, although I seem to remember one of those northern type climbers--maybe a Canadian Explorer type rose?--has rather intensely pink blooms. Can't remember a name, however.

Then there is Earth Song--not really a shrub, but grows kind of like one. Its blooms are not quite hot pink, but they do tend to be a bright, full-bodied pink.

That's about all I can think of.

Kate

The first one that springs to mind is Jadis (Fragrant Memory). My next thought was perhaps it was an OGR. Most OGR's have pretty small blooms, but Paul Neyron might fit the bill. Large impressive blooms in the spring with sporatic repeat the rest of the year...No telling how long that rose had been there by the 70's. It could be a rose from any decade up until then, so that's a lot of roses to search out. Good luck to you.......Maryl

Following Kate's suggestion, Cl. American Beauty could fit the description of hot pink.

Yes, Perfume Delight does fit the description.....

I planted Perfume Delight this past spring, and love it. Really vigorous, lots of blooms and foliage, and strong upright growth.

I'll do research on the ones suggested to see if any of them resemble what I recall in my head.

The bush couldn't have been too old. The house was built in the late 60's at the most - the first owner only lived there a few years. We moved there around 1972 if I remember correctly.

I'd be surprised if it was a climber because there were two of those in the yard, one red (perhaps Don Juan? Does that go back that far?), the other yellow. Both were trained properly on the fence. It would be kind of odd that the prior owner would have forgotten let this one grow so upright, plus even as a kid, I remember the legs of the bush NOT being bare looking like the other two - as most climbers tend to be (I must have been a rosarian at heart lol).

Jadis is medium pink, not hot pink. 'Peter Mayle' is a big vigorous plant with big fragrant hot pink flowers. Black spot resistance unknown.

Sometimes memory plays tricks. We sometimes remember something as better than it really was.

Oh lordy, another spammer. :(

Take a look at Perfume Delight video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSYiNmYa0BA

My favorite hot pink is Electron. The blooms are much brighter than Perfume Delight, but is not a big bush.
Another one is Hoochie-Koochie.

Hoov, I totally agree I may not be remembering this rose entirely right, as I was quite young at the time. My memory could be a bit faulty as to the size of the bush.

However, after doing research on all the roses mentioned, I happened upon the Hybrid Perpetual "American Beauty" a/k/a "Madame Ferdinand Jamin". Out of all of them, this seems like it might be it.

For the one thing, all of the others post-date the time that the prior owners were in the home. The house was built in the late 1960's at the most - it was a new housing development. We were the 2nd owners and I remembered we moved there in March of 1970, when my youngest sister was only 3 months old. So, the rose bush could not have originated in it's inception prior to 1969 at the most and most mentioned were after that time - early 1970's and thereafter.

Also - some of the blooms were too light a pink, or too deep and going into red. I do know that the rose was a hot pink, because there were other bushes on the property, including a red one (I'm pretty sure it was a climbing Don Juan thinking back on it now).

I guess if the person who lived there was someone who knew more than a little about roses (there were several in the yard), having other bushes than just regular hybrid teas would not be out of the ordinary. There was some thought put into that backyard; as far as the flowering plants in it.

Anyway, I still could be wrong but this one fits the bill for what my needs are at the moment too. The house I purchased last year is very old (95 years) and my intention was to fill in some spaces of my new landscaping (just done this year) with as many roses as I can fit in - but not anything common. I'm partial to the David Austins, having had good luck with them previously and, other than replicating a few others from my other home that I had to leave behind that worked well for me (Papa Meilland, French Lace, Tropicana); I was hoping to also find a few "older" varieties so a HP would be a nice addition - and since it matches what I recall from my childhood all the better :D

Now I just have a pick out at least two really good climbers and I'm set!

I doubt if the bush form of 'American Beauty' was available in the 1960s. Its heyday was the Gilded Age, and it was badly out of fashion by the later 1930s, although the name remained famous to this day. Non-rosarians tended to call any red rose American Beauty, and probably some still do.

'Cl. American Beauty' is not a sport of AB but has different parentage. It is considered a good rose, though I have no personal experience of it.

However, regular AB might be an interesting rose to try if you plan to spray fungicide.

Look at the newer climbers Laguna, Nahema, Aloha Hawaii (Kordes Aloha), and Papi Delbard.

What do you mean by "regular American Beauty"?

If you mean Miss All American Beauty, that's the one I mentioned in my original post that I had to shovel prune. Awful disease resistance for me in my area. I struggled with it completely from the moment it was planted. I think I got one bloom off of it. Of course, it could have been a bad bush, things happen, but it did come from a reputable nursery (it never occurred to me at the time to call them and place a complaint).

It was too bad because the one bloom was spectacular.

Oh BTW I'm not looking for a climbing version of this rose. Just looking for a climbing rose in general for another place in the yard (probably yellow for where I'm thinking).

TU!

By "regular American Beauty" I meant 'American Beauty.'

Could Bewitched be possible.... might not be dark enough in its pink shade.

I notice from Helpmefind that it was introduced in 1967.

Wow. Bewitched looks VERY similar to what I remembered, albeit a shade or two lighter. But, taking into consideration that I may be just a bit wrong here or there in my memory this one may very well be the one.

Thanks for finding it!

'Peter Mayle' is a big vigorous plant with big fragrant hot pink flowers. Black spot resistance unknown.

For the record, Peter Mayle has fairly good disease-resistance. I have 3 of them, and blackspot is not a major problem although Peter Mayle is sometimes bothered a little bit by BS.

Just love its BIG, FAT SMELLY BLOOMS!

Kate