I don't know about the side roads but The Gift is certainly rather monstorous. I believe it comes from my neck of the woods having first appeared in the garden of Joyce Demits in Fort Bragg California.

The Gift is similar to R, multiflora, but mine are more different than similar. The blooms are similar but the gift has longer lasting anthers (they stay yellow more than a day).
In our garrden, The Gifts have deeper green leaves and have a different way of putting out new growth, not the new growth at sharp right angles. TG doesn't overgrow the blooms with new leaf and cane growth. TG repeats freely and without dead heading.

Both become big. Multiflora becomes wider sooner. Both can be hard to dig out after four or five years.

When we bought The Gift, we expected polyantha-ish size. That put us in a rose brotherhood that stretches across this country of folks who've learned that sometimes rose class names need asterisks.

The Gift was a seedling in Joyce Demitt's garden. She showed it to me many years ago when I was visiting.

I'm surprized to hear how large it is in some gardens. In her's it was a mannerly size shrub. Roses certainly have a mind of their own.

Diane

I finally had to give in and remove it.
I couldn't deal with it.

Jeri

Its a wonderful rose. Not the same at all as the wild multiflora. I know its supposed to grow about 4 feet but it does get larger. Its the perfect shrub rose. Just do some prunning in the spring if you don't want it to grow too large. Mine are about 5 feet tall now, never cut back. It does not throw out long canes like the mutiflora will.

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close up of flowers

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shrub

Rita -- It's A LOT bigger than that, in Southern CA.
Mel Hulse called it The Gift That Keeps On Giving. I thought I had it contained on a tripod, but it tended to escape.

Jeri

At Mike Lowe's in Nashau, it stayed under 5 ft. Very nice, manageable rose that I always assumed would freak at my soil.

OK definitely not a candidate for underplanting the pink/mauve/magenta roses in my new garden.....I think maybe I need that mini Popcorn...?

Yes, but sunnysideuphill and I are not in California. In your growing conditions I guess it grows really large. Not here. It does get taller each year of left unprunned but it doesn't grow out of control, doesn't put out long canes like multiflora. Its easy to prune if you want to cut back each spring but I am sure it could be prunned anytime. The leaves are a rich glossy green and it is healthy as a horse, totally, totally no spray. I absolutely love, love, love this rose.

I don't think popcorn is a mini shrub, just a mini bloom. I saw a shrub of it about 3-4 feet tall once.

Sunnysideuphill,

For a shorter white rose for planting with pink roses I'd suggest 'Katherine Zeimet' which was used to breed 'Popcorn'. K.Z. is a very white Polyantha, with dark green leaves, it stays short in Northern California, where I've never seen it grow more than 2 and 1/2 feet tall. In colder climates, I'd expect it to range between 18" and 2 feet. K.Z, is one of the most disease resistant roses in our area. Its' growth habit is upright, but it is well clad with foliage.
'Popcorn' was bred from Katherine Zeimet'X Diamond Jewel, and it is a larger plant. Where K.Z. grows to be 2 and 1/2 feet tall or smaller, Popcorn grows to be closer to 4' tall.
'Gourmet Popcorn'is a sport of 'Popcorn'. G.P. is a pretty shrub here, where it grows to be c. 4 feet tall and stays mannerly.

Hope this info.is of use
Lux.

All of the roses in my garden (*except one) grow taller and larger than they are "supposed" to. (Zone 10 now, Mediterranean cllimate - warm, totally dry Summers, wet mild WInters, clay based loam soil which has been actively gardened for 121 years). *EXCEPT 'Little White Pet', which has adorable small white blooms. I have 3 plants of it, and even in the best conditions, they never get taller than 2 1/2 feet, which is so nice in my garden where everything gets ENORMOUS.

Jackie

That honestly sounds pretty nice! Mine is arriving today..Can't wait