Hi, more info will probably be needed unless you luck out. pictures,leaf structure, thorns, number of petals, does it sucker, is it in shade or sun, and anything else you can think of will help you get your rose I.D. However it does sound kinda like my darlow's enigma.

Thanks, I'll be glad to supply the information, but I was actually offering the cutting to someone in order for her/him to identify it when it eventually bloomed. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear! I was told that the only way to get an absolute identification was to compare the blossom to a known blossom. (Although, now that I think about it, I believe that was about irises.)

Anyway, I'll try to take a picture of the flowers tomorrow and then try to figure out how to upload them.

The rose is EXTREMELY thorny! Barbs all along the main underside vein of the leaf, and all along the stems. It's presently growing past a second story window on the east/southeast corner of a brick row house in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. It gets hacked back every couple of years, but regrows quickly. I believe it is in an old bed that also has the most vigorous wisteria in the world! My shop is inf the house with the window--the rose & wisteria belong to the neighbor. He doesn't mind if I steal his flowers, but I've never been in his yard to see what the bed looks like. And I can't lean out the window and look because the roses would tear me to shreds! I suspect it suckers because the area that the bush covers is huge.

The rose was probably planted about 25 years ago when the neighbor had the back yard landscaped by a very well-know landscape architect. It seems to get very little care and does not seem to have any problem with disease. It seems to take care of itself.

Someone once said it might be Darlow's Enigma, but some customers of mine who are landscapers said that since it's a rebloomer, it can't be an heirloom rose.

It gets full sun most of the day. It grows against a brick wall & there is a brick courtyard to its east that reflects heat and light.

The flowers are miniature, creamy yellow opening to almost white when full blown. It's such a great rose, except for the thorns, I'm rooting cuttings so I can plant it at home. That plastic baggie trick really works!

Ginny

WoW, sounds like a awesome rose bush planted in the right spot. You'll probably get your I.D. once you get those pictures posted. Darlow's enigma does bloom all summer long but is not that vigorous at least here in z4.

I've taken some pictures, but can't seem to edit them down to 61k in order to post them on the Rose Gallery. And I don't have an account with any place that I could upload them. I'll gladly email them to anyone who is interested.

I managed to post one picture of the blossoms at the rose gallery. I'll try to put up a picture of the bush next.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miniature rose blossoms

Ginny,

I checked out the picture. From that one photo and your descriptions I would venture to guess it may be Alister Stell Gray.

Check out this link

http://helpmefind.com/plant/pl.php?n=144&tab=1

robert

I think that's it! Many thanks!
Ginny

Hi Ginny I think your rose is called Golden Rambler. Please let me know if you think this is what it is. Thanks Brenda

Golden Rambler turns out to be another name for Alister Stella Gray, which is what rjlinva thinks it is. Everything about the description sounds just about perfect, except the issue of thorns. The descriptions of ASG that I've read mention that it doesn't have many thorns, but this plant is the thorniest rose I've ever seen.
Ginny

I have been thinking that maybe your rose is a thorny sport of Alister Stella Gray, or maybe the descriptions aren't real accurate because it sure does seem to be a match otherwise. Maybe some gardeners that have this rose will have some input.

Often the descriptions of the thornyness of roses is not exceedingly accurate. I read somewhere (in a rather reputable rose book) that Felicite et Perpetue is a pleasure to work with because it is nearly thornless...PeF is far from thornless. Sometimes the writers don't even grow the roses!

Robert