Do you think it could be a climber like Madame Anisette?I suppose you could probably tell by the smell, if it was lol. I have a small own root MA that I am still waiting for it to bloom.

Maybe Honor?

Pascali? Tineke? Whatever it is , it is beautiful!

JFK?

How old do you think that rose is? My neighbor has a White Knight about 5' tall. I took a cutting from her and It rooted. Sadly it doesn't do well in my garden. I think it needs more sun to thrive. There is a nice photo though.

I don't have a positive suggestion, but I can say that I'm 99% sure it's not Tineke. I have two and it has more petals, and doesn't usually have that apricot-ish center. I don't grow Honor any longer, but I remember it as being pure white, although IIRC it was tall and bloomed one to a stem. I don't remember Pascali's blooms as being as big as 5".

I appreciate the input, everyone!

I had narrowed it down to two varieties myself, Honor and JFK. I thought it might be JFK because another rose planted near it is guessed to be Camelot, so maybe the former owner wanted a ’theme garden’. JFK has an elegant long bud like this rose, but it other places it grew ugly bunched clustered once heat set in, which this plant never does. I went to the nursery and their JFK has a bit different foliage, more pointed and serrated.

I grew Honor many years ago and the plant habit and foliage are similar, very verticle but well clothed in foliage. What I remember most about Honor is that it didn’t have many petals, but each one was very thick and wide so the early stage bloom had a elegant, sculptural quality. Honor did had that pink center and slight apricot ground in early spring in the early stage flower, but finished very satiny white. The local nursery’s plant’s foliage was somewhat similar. So I think Honor remains the best guess. I very much enjoyed Honor when I grew it, so I’d welcome her back into my garden. Different enough from my other white HTs (PJP, Sugar Moon, Full Sail, Queen Mary 2, Classic Woman) that I’m honored to inherit a plant and grow her again.

Feiy Lo,

I did consider White Knight which I think is very beautfiul, but not enough info on the variety. I do think the foliage on your plant looks a bit different from mine.

Kathy

Thanks for mentioning Tineke, i had to look that one up. I had eliminated Pascali because these blooms are much bigger.

Sultry

I grew Mme Anisette, mine was very different from this rose, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy Mme A.

Helen

I agree JFK is a good guess.

Ken and Susan

I am glad you thought of Honor as well. It’s still very popular in this part of California. Some of the other older J&P varieties like Intrigue , First Prize and Olympiad are still super popular here and they look absolutely spectacular.

Hi Ben - take a look also at Crystalline. it was another white rose popular in California.

I recall Honor as being a pure white with very little peach or yellow tones, but i’s a good guess. I also remember Honor as being very thorny.

For what its worth, my guesses were Pascali, Crystalline, JFK and Honor 🙂

Jo

Thanks Jo, I did grow Crystalline many years ago. My plant always wanted to bloom in clusters, and growth habit was not nearly as vertical as this plant. I’ve seen Ken’s pics of Crystalline and they so look much better than mine ever was, so maybe Edmunds sent me the wrong variety. I think of Pascali as this tiny, tightly held , highly reflexed bloom, but perhaps being in California sets it free and produces a bigger bloom. I appreciate the info!

The rose is HONOR (Hybrid Tea, William A. Warriner, U.S., 1976). The last photo is the tell. Honor has a very distinctive bud. It isn't pointed but tubular. Honor also has a light but definite fragrance which is very fresh smelling in character. The foliage and growth habit also match.

JFK has an asymmetrical growth habit, green tones to the pointed bud, and fully open blooms possess a strong fragrance, which doesn't match what you describe.

Crystalline is pure white. The only hybrid tea that can rival it in color purity is Pope John Paul II, which has a very strong fragrance. Crystalline is also a grandiflora and blooms in clusters, which doesn't match what you describe.

Ken and Patrick,

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis, I agree the rose has to be Honor. What held me back was that the bloom seemed to have more petals , and as Patrick said, Honor has a very distinct clean pleasant fragrance. Today was a humid day and Honor smelled just like I remembered her. I think the difference is petal count could be explained by California’s kinder climate, so Honor she is!

Yay, the mystery is solved or as Inspector Clouseau says the mystery is sol ved .