Many of these Noisettes look disturbingly similar. Undoubtedly there are mislabeled specimens parading under an assortment of names, but who knows which is which, really? I could never sort them out!

It would be very difficult to sort them out.
Per the Noisette Book, DNA testing demonstrated that:

1. None of the plants studied was identical to any other in the [tested] group
2. All of the plants studied showed considerable relationship to each other and shared DNA with "Champney's Pink Cluster' and/or 'Blush Noisette.' These findings support the concept that there is a large "hybrid swarm" of Noisettes in the style of 'Champney's Pink Cluster' in the Southern United States and that these roses were probably the result of several generations of seedlings, often sown by birds, or were otherwise "accidents" in gardens. The findings show that all of the roses in this cluster trace their ancestry to 'Champney's Pink Cluster.'

You can read about all of this in the lovely "NOISETTE ROSES" book, available through the HRF web site.
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My question (which remains un-answered) is ...

As DNA has established many of these plants as unique (tho similar) why can they not be accepted under their Study Names by the American Rose Society??????

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: HRF: To Purchase The Noisette Book

claferg, I had Natchitoches Noisette for over two years and my Blush Noisette was planted in March of this year, I think. BN so far is thinner caned and more fountain shaped now that it has several canes whereas NN's canes were stiffer and even though it had large candalabras of buds they did not bow (curve down) but stood straight out with a fairly round bush shape. BN's buds are deep pink, almost red but the flowers are white. NN's flowers are pink that fade to light pink in the heat. I think the buds are pink as well. BN's flower clusters so far have not been huge like NN's were, but they seem to open so that there are a cluster of flowers rather than one flower at a time over an extended period like NN which is why I don't have NN anymore.

If your plants are still bands or 1-gallons, this probably won't help much, but watch for the buds. BN's are pretty distinct, and the fragrance is stronger. NN's fragrance is sweet but very faint. NN's mature leaves are tougher that BN's. Both are very healthy.

Sherry

BN's flower clusters so far have not been huge . . .

*** Oh boy! They WILL get to be big.
It does produce some smaller clusters, but also makes huge ones.
So does "Jacob Zeisz"/"Placerville White Noisette," and so does "Setzer Noisette."
"Roseville Noisette" may beat both of them, despite being a smaller plant.

For me, "Jacob Zeisz" has a habit almost identical to 'Blush Noisette.' A big round arching bush.
"Setzer Noisette (which was part of the DNA study) makes even bigger clusters, and is an enthusiastic, upright climber.
"Roseville" carries its monster sprays on a little plant of maybe 2.5-3 ft., which I should pull up and grow in a large container.

Jeri

Jeri, huge is not bad, but NN's one-at-a-time business was for the birds. I hope BN doesn't do the same thing.

Sherry

No. The blooms of BN don't open one-at-a-time, tho some blooms open early, and some late. Up close, you can see that some blooms are aged, but the overall effect is of great many blooms.

My only complaint of these roses is that, in my conditions at least, it is not self-cleaning. It needs to be deadheaded, because the petals persist, and turn brownish.

Since we are cutting back rose numbers, I think I'm going to give up my BN, and keep only Jacob Zeisz, which we collected in a Placerville Cemetery.
(That one is available from Vintage as "Placerville White Noisette.")

Jeri

Here is a photo illustration of Natchitoches Noisette's color and example of the candelabra. You can see what Sherry is talking about - the individual blooms are all in different stages as they don't open simultaneously. The buds are almost red, very dark pinkish.

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Wow, Gean, my NN never looked like that or that good. Well, I guess it did back in July, 2008.
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And this year in April it looked like this, but after spring they never opened all at once, only one at a time.
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Sherry

Thanks to all the helpful advise. The plants I bought that were marked blush noisette are still small plants, so maybe when they mature I will be able to see the difference. The pictures above do look like the NN that I have, but the BN roses look just like the flowers above also. They are not in bloom at the moment, so I can't offer a picture.