I don't know much about roses but your rose looks a lot like a white climber for sale at Edmunds roses named Cloud 10 that I was considering buying. This is Edmunds description of it: "Spring finds this modest climber heavily flushed with pure white, full and fluffy blooms that resemble English roses. As we now expect from William Radler introductions, Cloud 10 exhibits exceptionally clean, dark green, matte foliage with a high level of disease resistance to black spot, rust and mildew making it especially good for Southern regions. Reblooms throughout the season. It is hardy to Zone 5, but there it may resemble a large shrub rather than a climber - it's beautiful either way. Flower Size: 4-5". Fragrance: Not noticeable. Hybridizer: Radler, 2013"

I cannot say enough about Graham Thomas. It gets a little leggy and can be grown as a climber. The blooms are some of the most beautiful in my garden and it is a very healthy plant. One of my favorites, and I get compliments on this rose all the time. As for Glamis Castle, well, I bought it at my last home because I am an English teacher and I wanted it because it has the same name as Macbeth's castle. It was not as blackspot resistant as I would have liked, and didn't grow very large or bloom very prolifically. In its defense, I don't think it got enough good light where it was planted. I needed a new white rose and went with Iceberg. We'll see how that goes.

Yes, I'd agree that the degree to which a rose hangs onto its petals is more a matter of petal structure and genetics of the rose than the type of rose per se. Stiff, high substance petals (like Dream Come True) can last in their bloom form until the whole bloom falls apart and that can be several days. Anything that is considered good for cutting or a "florist" or "exhibition" rose tends to hang onto its petals longer than those that do not. While more HTs are considered florist roses than other types, that doesn't necessarily mean that HTs as a class are better at hanging onto their petals in general - it's just because the buying public expects that form in their cut roses. One of the most lasting blooms I can think of is Acropolis, which I think is a shrub. Still, the blooms stay on the bush forever and eventually age to a very pleasant parchment tone of pink after maybe 10 days. If you're looking for roses that don't blow quickly you really just have to check around within the types of roses. Like everything else in rose growing (e.g. black spot resistance, bloom frequently), blowing quickly varies a lot among roses within a certain class. Some subtypes of roses like Austins have a reputation for blowing quickly, but as mentioned above they were bred for this so that's not surprising. Even among these, I find that Austins like Molineux or Darcey Bussell hang onto their petals pretty well, at least average times. Cynthia

Thanks for the response michaelg. So the rose petals that fall off the mature bud and onto the ground are called "self-cleaning?" Too funny! Especially since the climbing rose and the bougainvillea are the only flowers I have that I'm constantly sweeping up after. Yes, dying buds are ugly too but I find it easier to just deadhead those. Perhaps I'll think differently after acquiring a few more. I don't have any other flower-types that I can really compare them too. Wait. I do have a gardenia, but I barely can get that to flower at all. I guess the rose petals can be pretty. But now that I'm paying them more attention, I thought having any disregarded materials nearby would be unsanitary and breed pests? No? The other thing is our home sits pretty close to the neighbors. Although I do have the best and friendliest of neighbors, I'd like to keep them that way. I live pretty coastal - San Diego, CA. About a 10 mins from the beach. Thank you for your help!