Help with Identification of Old Garden Roses
Mary Wareham
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I have several bushes that I obtained close to forty years ago here in the Minnesota area. All entirely winter hardy, once blooming. I found some of them growing by abandoned homesites; others were passed along from friends, two reportedly were brought here by their ancestors from Ireland. I'm trying to get proper identification. I will post one here for starters. Hoping some of you will know the names. this one I believe is a Spinosissima but different from the R. spinoss. 'Altaica' which I also have but that is a single pale pink/cream flower. This one has semi double to double flowers about 1-1/2 to two inches across, and fragrant.
Mary Wareham
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Embothrium
4 years agoK S 7b Little Rock (formerly of Seattle)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Climbing old roses with fenced veg garden - need help designing
Comments (20)Hi Carol, I can understand how the idea of building permits ever got started--protection of the public!--and the real needs for that in housing and other buildings. But if it gets applied to pergolas, it seems unrelated to public safety. How much do they charge someone for building a pergola? Perhaps the charge is so low that it's a mere nuisance? The main argument for a pergola is that it's very inviting and attractive the year around. I have seen pictures of posts with chain swags in a famous Paris public garden and the roses look fantastic there. As best I can recall, the posts were large pillars and fairly tall, though I cannot find a picture now. The rub would be what it would look like in the winter and early spring if you're not building large (wide) pillars, but are using wooden posts. If you are headed toward a circle of posts, a circle of tepees might look better when uncovered in the winter and early spring. Our first fence was professionally installed and the fence-builder's suggestion was that posts set into a gravel footing hole would work fine. Anything set up as our do-it-yourself building books suggested, with the posts in concrete, would have been noticeably more money so we went for what we could afford at the time, and that was already plenty expensive. That method did work reasonably well, although not quite totally solidly if you pushed against a post. After about 20-25 years the posts had rotted in the ground, though, and my husband had to do the fence posts over again. At one time, our fencing on two sides held thin "farm" wire mesh fencing (6 feet high) and I loved the looks of it, because beyond the fence were beautiful woodsy areas I liked to be able to see and the fencing didn't detract or distract from that view. I think the sections were about 8' each, as you are considering for yours. I'm no expert at all on rabbits, but I wonder whether a fence that is only 3' high would be tall enough. I think, though I'm not positive as to the exact route the rabbit took, that a rabbit here has jumped up to some landscape timbers that were 3' or higher off the ground (to trim way back our Julia Child roses for us). Rabbits love roses. The best way to make sure you have no deer problems is to prevent deer from finding your roses and vegetables in the first place. I'd suggest that you not wait to see what happens, because once hungry deer have a memory of getting food at a certain place, it's much, much more difficult to ever keep them out. There's a book that discusses keeping out deer that's well worth reading now (right now, to help you plan). Your local library ought to have it, but if not, it's relatively inexpensive to buy from Amazon: "Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden" by Rhonda Massingham Hart. Deer aren't kept out by rose hedges, not if jumping them is to a spot they are already familiar with, such as would be the case for them while the roses were growing up. They don't jump into areas they can't see or are unfamiliar with, though. Deer will eat roses, all roses, even very thorny ones, if they are hungry enough. That tends to occur in winter and early spring during some years, but not all. (After a famine, generally caused by more breeding than the land's vegetation can support, the deer don't reproduce well, so the deer population pressure on the land lowers for a few years then; that cycle can mislead you into thinking that you've solved the deer access problem when you haven't.) Your gorgeous front gate with an arch will be wonderful, and so inviting. I've seen many pictures of that being done, and don't think I've ever seen one that looked less than wonderful! Best of luck! Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Phillip Oliver's pictures offer lots of landscaping ideas...See MoreOld Garden Rose for Identification *** PIC ***
Comments (2)I hope you get an answer on this... I think that I may have the same mystery rose. Strangest creature I have ever seen. I planted it bare root last year, and it got well over 6 ft. by the end of the summer. I only got two blooms off of it last year, both looking very much like a double delight. This year, however, this is what the bush is shooting out.. And the same bloom today... Is it the same as yours? If so, then there are two of us with mystery roses! Either way, I'll post a seperate ID request! Holly...See MoreIdentification & care of old rose bush
Comments (3)Your rose looks like 'Cecile Brunner' to me. If it is, CB is a lovely Polyantha that grows well with minimal pruning and without lots of maintenance. As far as caring for the rose now, remove anything that's dead. You can also remove an old cane or two, if they are not healthy or blooming well. From what I see, this rose is very healthy and happy overall. Here is a link that might be useful: Description and photos of Cecile Brunner on Help Me Find....See MoreHelp with ID Old Garden Rose # 2 A White One
Comments (6)Hey, don't undersell yourself, Christopher! This one may have been in your head for the reasons you state, but your follow-up discussion of the influence of its likely heritage shows once again the depth and breadth of your knowledge, which is always such a joy to us here, whenever you drop by. As is Paul's, of course. In fact we don't hear nearly enough from either of you guys these days, though of course we all understand how other things can have more pressing claims on one's time and energy. For those who may be wondering what all this talk of genius and 'love-child' hybrids from uncertain matings is about, Christopher's response was to an earlier comment of mine that I later deleted, fearing in the weary sleepless early hours of the morning I'd been babbling a bit too inanely, even for this tolerant and forgiving forum... :-)...See More
Krista_5NY
4 years agoIt resembles Stanwell Perpetual, but Stanwell repeats. I wonder if yours could be this rose, but not repeating for some reason...
Mary Wareham
4 years ago
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
4 years agoEmbothrium
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
portlandmysteryrose
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Stephanie, 9b inland SoCal
4 years agoMary Wareham
4 years agoMary Wareham
4 years agoMary Wareham
4 years agoI do think my double pink spinosissima looks just like the one pictured on the Husmoderrose Help Me Find link posted above. Now here is a second one that is just starting to open. White with a golden center, fragrant, once blooming, The buds have three very mossy sepals. The flower does resemble Alba maxima but buds are more "mossy" and leaves perhaps not as greyish as Alba m. Tho note the newer growth leaves are slightly more yellow green than the older leaves which I would call more blue green than grey. I call it Rita Corrigan because she said her ancestors from Ireland brought it over and that would have been over a hundred years ago. I had thought it was Mme Hardy or Mme Plantier but there is no quartering at all, the petals are arranged cup like as it opens and there's that fluffy gold center...
I will attach pictures of the flowers and buds.
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mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)