~photoblog of a WNY zone 6 gardener

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Sometimes You Get Lucky When You Though You Were Not


Unidentified Old Rose

So 6 years ago on a warm day in Feb. I dug up my Bowl of Beauty peony to relocate it in my garden. I had it next to the front walk and it is much to tall for there. I posted on GW for trades of the extra when I dug it. I did a few trades.

One lady offered me a piece of an old rose she had. Her description was this, ""my heirloom rose which originally came from my husband's grandmother's house in Binghamton NY so it should thrive in your location. It has very fragrant double yellow blooms about 2 inches across, very thorny stems and shoots up new growth from the ground up at least 6 feet high--then with blooms all along the stem." So I said sure.

She sent me a dinky hardly rooted rose stick for the beautiful many eyed piece of peony I sent her. I was disappointed to say the least, but I didn't complain. Others sent better quality plants, and it really all works out in the end with trading. You always seem to end up with more than you wanted.
I managed to keep the stick alive. It grew a bit and the next year, I knew it was more of a species type rose. It never bloomed. The next year again it didn't bloom, but I posted pics of the bottom canes and foliage on the Antique Rose Forum on GardenWeb.



Everyone agreed it was probably Harrison's Yellow. This is a nice bright yellow rose, but not on my list of wants. So the next few years grew some and didn't bloom. I was getting quite annoyed with this little rose. I even contemplated ripping the darn thing out. But it had been so tough to stay alive, I didn't have the heart.
A couple days ago it finally started to bloom. I was expecting those bright Harrison's Yellow blooms, but that isn't what happened at all. The blooms are a pretty buttery yellow brushed with red giving an apricot coloration to them.


They fade to a creamy pink color.


So I posted these pics and a couple more on the Antique Rose Forum for ID. No one so far knows what it is besides that it is a hybrid spinosissima. I searched through the list on HelpMeFind.com to no avail.
It is ok though. I have a pretty rose I could of never bought in a garden center or even mail order it seems.


If someone comes along and IDs it, I'll let you know.

1 comment:

Tom'sGarden said...

That's very pretty.I love the old roses.No idea on an I.d. for you but it sure was worth the wait..

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Plantaholic, from annuals to perennials, from tomatoes to roses. You name it; I love it! I often get very busy with my business and life and don't post as often as I would like.