I need identification of three roses.

Two are obviously the same species, but the flowers are different colors.

1 has bright, yellow flowers.

1 had bright, red flowers.

Now though, the yellow & red have seemed to cross and I can’t find any more pure red.

The plant(s) are briar like, with many, thin, spiky thorns on new growth. The thorns on old growth are more like those of a hybrid-tea. And they are mean.

The leaves are different from most roses. Smaller, lighter green, no 5 lobe leaves below 3 lobe ones. The plants seem impervious to disease and insects. They have been here for more than 30 years. They easily get out of control. A barrier placed 1’ into the soil, still did not stop the rose from sending up shoots, outside the barrier. The approximate size of the plant is 10’ wide by 8’ tall and extends itself by new plants coming up from the roots.

The flowers are moderately fragrant during the day. The are approximately 2-3” wide, cupped shaped, single, and tend to fold closed at night.

The flowers are not on a terminal area of a cane. Instead they cover the entire can, but the flowers are all, in-line. They last for about 1 week, do not have time to change color, before the petals blast/shatter..

The yellow and red flowers are intermingled. The yellow have stayed true to color, while pure red is hard to find—most of the non-yellow flowers have petals that are red, with yellow mixed in.

The flowers appear only once, in full flush for about a week, then are gone. The canes tend to cascade.

Here are a few pictures. Hopefully someone can identify the briar? Both the yellow and mixed red/yellow

My wife tells me she “hates” the plants and wants them gone. I have orders to round-up them.

I don’t want to do this. I’d like to take cuttings and replant these in a different area, next spring

I tried starting cuttings a couple of years ago, but all died. I’m not quite sure how to propagate these, since they have flowers on one side of the cane and thorns on the other. There doesn’t seem to be a terminal growth point.

If identifiable are these roses worth saving? With the flowers lasting only a week, the plants seem more suited to be a privacy hedge, than rose bush.

The other rose is possibly some sort of “old fashioned?” It has also been in place for over 30 years. Its canes are large, thorns well-spaced, flowers double, and fragrant. The color changes from a deep pink to very light pinkish/blue before the petals fall. The flower placement is still, up and down the cane, but not in a row and usually come from a cluster of three on a stem coming out of the cane. The flowers are about 4” across. They are in bloom continually from late spring to early fall. The plants (several canes come up from the ground in a central area—no grafting is visible) are subject to heavy aphid infestation.

Any ideas on these. Are they worth saving? If so, I’ll go to another forum and try to get ideas how to propagate them. I wonder if the seed is viable?

If they are worth saving, but my wife still insists on me cutting them down, I can probably save hundreds of cuttings and send them to any gardenweb members who wants some. I’d rather do that than kill the plants, outright—who knows they may be the last of their species, especially the F1 mix of the yellow and red, thorny roses.

Thanks.

Bob T