Not one I'd heard of before, but I found this:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1650342/bourbon-from-lykke-photo?n=8

I wonder if anyone with an old Vintage catalog (or perhaps you have one already) could look to see if there's any sort of description of its habit?

Looks pretty darned gorgeous, just going by the photos posted at the above link...

Virginia

And what is 'Lykke'? A person's name?

Edit: A nursery in Denmark owned by persons of that name, it seems..

Not clear, but it seems that there was (is?) a Scandinavian nursery run by people named 'Lykke', and the rose could have come from there?

Virginia

It's not in the vintage catalog that I could find and when I looked by typing Help me find behind the name it brought up Great Western, which is in the catalog. It's very beautiful. Search for it by that name.

Thank you, everyone for the help and information! I suppose when dealing with obscure varieties it helps to keep better records, lol. Great Western definitely has the appearance of a rose that I would have liked so perhaps that's it. And it is sold at Rogue Valley Roses, where I have bought roses in the past several years. Curious about the label with the name "Bourbon of Lykke". I'll plant it and see what happens!

Take a look at the Lykke site. How does their 'Rose Elen' look to you? Maybe an email to them might be in order?

Lykke Rose Elen

Thank you........I looked :) The problem is that I didn't even remember what the rose was supposed to look like! But the Great Western variety definitely looks like something that I would order; love rosy purples and mauves.

Pretty sure that getting to Great Western by googling bourbon and HMF together does not mean that "Bourbon from Lykke" is "Great Western". Especially since there is no HMF record for the found rose "Bourbon from Lykke", so no way for HMF to make the equation. Sometimes search engine results are a bit too helpful. If I found a plant with a marker saying it was "Bourbon from Lykke", I would assume that's what it was.

I checked Vintage's web site via the way-back machine, and found "Bourbon from Lykke" listed in double quotes, as a found rose. My best guess is that they (or somebody) received something from the Lykke nursery that they thought wasn't what it was labeled, so they gave it a study name. They describe it as purple, with fragrance described as "strongest" and rebloom described as good.

Nik, I think the photo of 'Ellen' that you linked to does look like the photos of "Bourbon from Lykke" in the GW link above, but since it's described as a Lykkerose, I'm wondering if that's their own seedling? Perhaps "Ellen" was a foundling, though, or a sport?

Too bad none of the Vintage people seem to post to Garden Web... it would be nice to know if anyone eventually decided on a true ID for the foundling (or if it was a Lykke seedling, they might know that too).

Virginia

Thanks, Virginia. I rummaged around and found - to my very great delight!!! - my old copy of the Vintage Gardens catalogue. I've been on several cleaning and culling rampages and I can't believe I was smart enough to save it, lol. Looking at it again made me very sad........but anyway, I appreciate your information. (btw, I saw the "Bourbon of Lykke" listed on the old website but it isn't in the catalogue. Strange things!)

So much wonderful information from people here :) :)

texaslynn, I think it wasn't on their website until 2009 or 2010, so if your catalog predated that era, I wouldn't expect it to be in there. I'm a bit hazy about how many catalogs they put out, but most references to it that I've seen were from 2006, so I'd be interested in finding out how many printed Vintage catalogs there actually were.

I only got interested in roses recently, so Vintage was on its way out before I ever had a chance to order from them. I enjoyed browsing their web site before it went the way of all good things.

I keep hoping that in their new incarnation as a non-profit garden that they'll have some fundraising plant sales. so that some of their rarities will have a chance at wider distribution.

The photos I saw of the "BfL" rose were rather lovely, so I hope you can keep it going, and maybe even share it around at some point.

Best regards,

Virginia

It reminds me of my 'Mme de Sevigne'.

:-)

~Christopher

I didn't Google bourbon and help me find together. I googled Bourbon from Lykee and help me find together which bought up Vintage with Lykke as the provence. I was on my way to the doctor when I saw this and I had the vintage book and thought I would help. Also the picture link you posted above looked right with the pictures of "great Western" Here's something I read which I thought sounded like it could have been the rose.

'Great Western'. Hybrid Bourbon. No rebloom. Outstanding fragrance. Habit: No. 1 on page 65. Laffay, 1840. Provenance: Lykke, Denmark. Deep crimson-purple flowers edged with pink, the outer petals flushed with pink, creating a pale aureole of color around the centers and adding extra drama to the deeply cupped, full blooms.

Sorry I din't explain everything in detail just trying to help...but I am by no means an expert. I hope you figure out what it is. This place is full of information!

I got their catalog right before closing BTW, if that helps.

There were a couple of loose pages I can check those. I think they may have been a add -on?

Ohh BTW Virginia , my daughter is going to Boone Hall Plantation on a field trip for school, anywhere near you?

Hey, Alana- Boone Hall isn't far, but far enough that I haven't been there in a long time... It's in Mt Pleasant, which is Charleston metro area, but a different city. From where I live, it's probably a half hour's drive without much traffic.

Speaking of purple roses, that cutting from the thornless purple rose you were interested in did root; it was originally sharing a pot with a couple of parsley plants, so it got it's own pot this week... nice roots. No leaves yet, but it has tiny leaf buds.

Vintage claims that "Bourbon from Lykke" has good rebloom, so it probably isn't 'Great Western', which is a once-bloomer. Both very good-looking, strongly fragrant roses, from what I've read.

Does your Vintage catalog have a date on it? If it was put together after 2010, say, it would seem that they only sold some roses online, and not in the catalog. If the loose pages were some sort of supplement, maybe "BfL" was listed there?

Hope your daughter enjoys her field trip.

Virginia

Hey Virginia

I'm glad to hear of the rose rooting!

I could find next to nothing on Bourbon from Lykke, you found more than I. I just thought it was a good possibility. I don't now because of rebloom .

I couldn't find a publication date, but on the table of contents it has a thank you at the bottom. it said the table of contents were from 2003,2006

illustrations 1993,1999,2003 from Werner, Sagmiller 1995 Lowery 2006

photographs are all 2005

Texaslynn19, why don't you try contacting Gregg Lowery and ask him. According to The Friends of Vintage Roses website, Bourbon from Lykke is still listed as being in their inventory - although the PDF inventory is dated 2012. The website lists an e-mail address for him (he is the curator).

Thanks everyone.....I just replanted the poor thing; it had been languishing in a pot ghetto in a tiny pot :( although it took off this year and looks very healthy. I'm going to wait until it blooms lest it's been playing that weird game that labels play in the middle of the night when they get up and switch places in their pots, lol. If it produces a yellow bloom, I'll know it's been "messin' with me"!

Btw, plantloverkat, I'm north of Houston too.......actually northwest :)

Texaslynn, I am actually northwest as well!

I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the bee-utiful weather these days! Weekend looks good too!

texaslynn, I guess I should be glad my plant markers don't switch places. They just up and disappear sometimes. I blame the squirrels, even though it's occasionally my own fault. But even then the squirrels are ultimately to blame, I'm sure...

Virginia

PS Don't forget to take pix of the blooms!