The only species rose I'm familiar with is Lady Banks (Rosa banksiae) but I think she's a rose you would enjoy - if you have a spot for a huge monster. Yellow Lady Banks was the first rose I ever fell in love with, and she has a lot of good qualities - beautiful and bountiful butter-yellow blossoms, completely thornless, drought-tolerant once established, tough as nails. She's a once-bloomer but the bloom is so impressive it's worth the wait. I think she should do well in Southern California, I see lots of healthy specimens up here in Nor Cal and I know that there is a very famous one growing in Tombstone, Arizona.

I've been collecting species too. They're so interesting and there is so much to learn. One reason I started is that they require less care and water. I don't have much more strength, time, and water. Like you I have a lot of room. I say study before you plant. Some get huge, some sucker widely. Rosa Californica suckers, so does R Cinnamomea. I don't know how they would do in pots.

ForestFarm has a lot of species roses that I've always been curious about. Unfortunately I DO NOT have "a lot of space."

Oh well. But I have every other sort of "collection" you could imagine, space be damned.

Here is a link that might be useful: ForestFarm Online Catalog

Do you have acreage?

I smile as I remember my first attempt at collecting. I started a collection of roses by Rudolf Geschwind, an easy task I thought as I knew of only 8 varieties in commerce. When I found out that he had bred about 150 varieties, not all extant, but still far too many in commerce for a half acre garden, I gave up. I have 15 Geschwind roses at present and have lost two, still quite enough. Now I don't collect any particular type of rose but pick individual roses of any class or by any breeder that I like and believe and hope will do well for me.

Marianne in Sweden

I have a very small amount of space but there are many lovely wildlings which are not house swallowing monsters. Yep, R.californica is a good place to start - this can get large but it is also quite an upright rose and also makes a good hedge. R.californica plena is also lovely. You might try the little gooseberry leaved rose - R.stellata var.mirifica as well as the lovely little r.minutifolia. The many pimpinellifolia types are a whole fantastic area for exploration, grown not only for blooms but for foliage, heps and even thorns.
Amongst the US natives, R.carolina is small and mannerly and the double, R.carolina plena is a little gem.There are several forms of R.carolina (foliosa, palustris, nitida) and then there is the virginia rose. The holy rose, R.Sancta is a lovely scrambling pale pink (as is R.macrantha......oh, I could go on. I LOVE species roses more than any other and would happily give up on every hybrid shrub as long as I could keep my lovely wild roses.
I suggest you look for Cass Bernsteins garden on HMF or hope she chimes in here with her usual great advice and encouragement.

My experience with keeping anything except Minutifolia in pots is every one of them "escapes" out the drain holes and finds any source of soil (including other nearby pots!) to invade. Kim

Whether you are a premium member or not you can do an ADVANCED SEARCH by class on HMF and tick the "species/wild class and you will come up with roses that have been classified as species roses in the HMF database. Then you have the opportunity to read the REFERENCES and COMMENTS about the rose and often see photos of the roses grown in site users gardens are public gardens.

Here's a link to r. californica as an example

Here is a link that might be useful: r. califorica on HMF

Wow, you guys are great! I now have a starting point or at least an idea of one - LOL. I've been told R. Californica grows up on Mt. Baldy and since we live in the foothills of the mountain it would be a good starting point. I now also have a list of roses 'recommended' to me by the best enablers I have ever known!

Hoovb- You might not remember when we lived in OC but I was the one with the tiny yard and had a GW party? After that we moved to a ranch but it was too far from doctors so we are now living in an amazing Lemon Orchard in Upland and while I have to respect the trees I can garden to my heart's content. So acres we have, and in the middle of the city too!!

Roseseek (Kim),
Expect for the escaping, how did the Minutifolia do in pots?

Do all of them sucker or just some of them? How do they like being pruned or do they differ based on type like other roses? My soil is wonderfully rich and my roses grow big - I mean really BIG here and I haven't had to fertiliz since we moved in. I truly do welcome all your suggestions, ideas and growing advice. GardenWeb has always been my favorite source of rose information!
Having never grown Species I am now learning something new and exciting. And I thank all of you for your exciting suggestions and ideas. I will go check out HMF and look around. My favorite book botanica's roses got my pulse going and now that I have the space I'm ready to give it a go.
I am starting my "wish" list, feel free to add to it!

Glad you are going to check out HMF. One of the regulars of GW spent hours and hours getting the species roses up on the site with good references and lots of photos. I don't have room to grow them on my property, but there are several growing in the meadow ... probably bird-drops... below me, and all of them seem to sucker. Of course, as always, it depends on the rose.

Smiles,
Lyn