I purchased Nancy Lee from Rose Petals Nursery a few years ago, and it is definitely a smaller growing, old hybrid tea (one that doesn't open well- grr). I don't know if what Rogue Valley sells is also the pink hybrid tea or not, but I've wondered the same thing!

Thanks Brittie. I saw your pictures on HMF and hoped you would chime in. Funny, the references, even the older ones, admire the flowers and fragrance but not the plant. They all complain about how small and wimpy it is. Makes you wonder how it ever got introduced in the first place.

What's the fragrance like?

Some expert may chip in, but it seemed those old HTs were grafted in the past which gave them more strength. Now own root they are frail.

Thanks, Shelia and Roseseek. But that is what is so strange. It was introduced in 1879, but the earliest references in HMF already remark on it's weak growth habit.

The earliest one (1882) says, "an exquisite little rose, with lovely buds, but in habit of growth so dwarf and delicate that our commiseration is excited along with our
regard." (LOL) And another (1883) says, "such delicate habit that they will never be useful for general culture."

Masha of Rosomanes blogspot called it her "worst purchase to date" among the early hybrid teas she collected.

Not only do I wonder how it got introduced to begin with, but I wonder how it has remained in commerce so long. Three U.S. nurseries currently have it in stock. It's amazing and funny at the same time.

Edit: Of course there's always the possibility that the real Nancy Lee perished a long time ago, and what's being sold under that name now is something else entirely...but we'll never know.

Agreed, bellegallica. Way more than just this one has been kept around through our "unnatural selection".

Despite all my grumbling, I was buying other roses at RVR so I tossed a Nancy Lee into the cart as well. :-)

I have to admit I'm curious about this dog of a rose that has managed to hang on for 140 years. (And of course I always dream that I'll be the one to have success with a problem rose.)

"The earliest one (1882) says, 'an exquisite little rose, with lovely buds, but in habit of growth so dwarf and delicate that our commiseration is excited along with our regard.' (LOL) And another (1883) says, "such delicate habit that they will never be useful for general culture.'"

Those descriptions smack of pampered greenhouse pot pet to me! Probably disbudded until at least 10 years old, nurtured hourly by a full time gardener, hidden when out of bloom and when in bloom it was admired during short strolls through the conservatory. :-)

Please DO post photos when your arrives. My curiosity is on fire! Carol

Thanks, Carol. You are so right! This one probably hasn't done much living outside a greenhouse.

I can give it pampered pot treatment, but only outside.

I will take pictures if it does anything. I'm just hoping it lives. A couple of days in a cardboard box could be too much for this delicate diva. She might decide to expire on arrival.

I don't recall if there's fragrance or not, even though the description says there is. I guess because it doesn't bloom often, and when it does they rarely open. This rose opens less often than Homere, if that tells you anything. I have noticed a slight case of powdery mildew on occasion (we don't get much of that), but I don't think I've ever seen blackspot on it (and I don't spray). I'm reworking the bed that it's in, so I don't know if I will keep it or not. It's planted at the back of the border, and luckily hasn't had anything tall in front. I want to maximize the space there, so I don't know what I'll do. I've had it five years, and it's still under three feet tall and only about a foot wide. I might pot it. I should add though, that she's lived in an area of the garden that only started getting supplemental water last year, so the plant itself, though small, is actually pretty tough.

UPDATE:

I have Nancy Lee in too much shade, but it has still bloomed a few times, and remained short, upright and shrubby despite needing more light.

It's definitely not yellow, but pink. I doubt very much that it's a tea rose. Early Hybrid Tea seems right to me. No nodding whatsoever here. The shortish stems are very stiff (and somewhat prickly).

The tea/hybrid tea confusion may come from the look of the flowers which are in the style of very full teas like Baronne Henriette de Snoy or William R. Smith. Actually, what it really looks like to me is a pink version of Alliance Franco-Russe (pic by Rogue Valley below) with lots of folded, spiky petals. It looks nothing like the Rogue Valley picture or the picture by Reverence for Roses. The picture by Rose Petals nursery is the most accurate so far.

No disease whatsoever for me, and the flowers opened easily. But needs deadheading as the blooms dry right on the plant.

All the descriptions say it's fragrant, but it has zero fragrance to my nose. The lack of fragrance is the only disappointment so far, and I've though more than once of giving it away on that count. But it's such an attractive plant, that I think I'm going to hold on to it for a little longer.

I really need to try and get pictures during the next bloom cycle. In the meantime here are the borrowed ones.

Nancy Lee by Rose Petals

The flowers I've had so far make me think of Nancy Lee as a pink version of Alliance Franco-Russe (pic by Rogue Valley)