Besides telling you I think it's a hybrid china, iding is not really my forte. But the no scent has me stumped. Most of these have scent. I know someone else could probably help id it better. I know Ruth's German rose is found in SC. If it's not that, I would love a piece of it. I live in SC as well. I don't think Ruth's center looks like yours though. These are my favorite roses, check out my hmf page. I grow every single European rose I can get my hand on. Virginia, who used to post here, is I believe who said Hybrid Chinas have that pillow top, fluffed out leaves. Common in hybrid chinas.

It sounds like a Gallica based on the growth pattern you are describing, but the flowers and buds look a bit like Russelliana. That, however, is apparently very fragrant and would probably be a lot bigger than your 4 foot plant. Whatever it is, it is beautiful!

You're right, KS, it does look similar. But I see some stamins in all photos on hmf, does it's center's usually do this? I have Russeliana, but mine is young. So don't know it well, yet. Mary is the original topped out at 4 feet?

I really appreciate your comments, one and all. The Russelliana blooms are most like the blooms on mine. Concerning size and growth habit, the canes on my foundling tend to be then and flexible, a bit floppy. The bush spreads by underground runners and forms a thicket of stems. I know that pruning once bloomers too late in the season can cut of next year's blooming wood. I try to do any trimming in May and June. The bush sends out some long canes 5-6 feet long, so maybe the bush wants to be larger than 4 feet. The canes have sharp, fine stickers, with mature canes having larger stickers. The bush gets fertilizer and manure.

I'll post more photos when the buds open in a few weeks. So far, I find 8 buds on the bush this year. I'll also use a ruler in photos to show the size of the blooms. And I'll make sure to sniff for fragrance.

It is definitely of Gallica origin, very possibly with China genes in there also. It is almost certainly NOT 'Russelliana' because yours has no scent ('Russelliana' is intensely fragrant) and because 'Russelliana' does not sucker, and it displays obvious R. multiflora traits (climbing habit, 3 to 7 blooms per panicle).

I don't recognize the exact variety - there are scores of deep pink/purple Gallicas out there, and many are un-named/lost ID varieties (probably many are volunteer seedlings). It could easily be a no-name volunteer.

looks like my Rose de Rescht, mine grows new plantlets from a root shoot. but they are known for their scent

Noses vary, and weather affects scent as well: could you sniff at different times, and enlist some volunteers to check for fragrance as well?

Mr. Barden is the great expert on rose IDs, but, like Alana, my instant thought was some kind of Gallica-China hybrid, though I have no idea of the specific variety.

I agree the blooms resemble those of 'Rose de Rescht'. However, in my experience RdR is slow to sucker, not running around as your found rose does; and the growth is stiff and upright, the plant tending to form a vase-shaped shrub, which doesn't sound like your plant's habit.

If there's no appreciable fragrance, and no rebloom, then its not 'Rose de Rescht'.

My first impression was 'Portland from Glendora'

The bloom color is very close to what is seen on helpmefind.com, and the one in my garden.

A trait that is uncommon, and I didn't believe it could exist until it showed up in my own garden, but I have had 3 rosebushes that lacked scent for the first few years in my garden and then c. the 3rd year the scent became fully apparent to me and my neighbors. This has happened to 3 rose cultivars among c. 400 bushes. Also scent levels can vary a lot depending on the humidity and air temperature.

Mmmm. now what is your rose?

Please let us know if it reblooms and in which month of the year.

oops forgot to add my name,

Lux.

My first impression was Rose de Rescht too. Mine does have some scent but it isn't that strong to me. Besides, scent is so different from person to person. Also mine doesn't always rebloom for me. Even if it does it is very few and very sporadic. Depends a lot on the weather here.

Lux, did Houzz change your name too? Those numbers instead of names are confusing.

Thanks, all for you comments and discussion. Of all the roses mentioned, the Russelliana sounds most like what I have.

Photos and comments on HelpMeFind were helpful too, especially the comments and observations by Patricia Routley, who lives in Australia and has grown several Russellianas. She mentions that the pedicels of the buds are slightly sticky and have a resiny smell. She also mentions that while others have written that the blooms are fragrant, she does not recall any perfume.

When I read that, I went to my rose and touched and sniffed the buds. Yes, they are slightly sticky to the touch and they have a light smell of resin. As for blooms, I don't recall any fragrance in years past.

These three photos were taken today. In the third pic, my possible Russelliana is at center. At left is a found noisette.

If Paul Barden says not Russelliana then keep thinking.

One more thing...Looking at photos of Russelliana on HelpMeFind, the blooms in those photos appear much larger than any I've ever seen on my plant. Maybe I need to fertilize it more generously. OTOH, it also looks like it wants to become a huge bush.

The slightly sticky, fragrant buds are a common feature of many Gallicas, and some other old roses, so I doubt that in itself would identify the rose as a specific variety, as opposed to a member of a class. That's a nice photo of the buds. My warm climate roses are leafing out abundantly now and looking quite lovely, but the Gallicas and Co. are considerably further behind, so I don't have such sights to delight me.

I don't know what happened, the computer crashed and someone fixed it, I thought.

Lux.

I'll have to contact houzz.

It does look like my Rose de Recht. My specimen was not very scented, but a row of potted specimens I once saw and smelled at a nursery were intensely, deliciously fragrant as I walked by. A peculiarity of Rose de Recht is that the leaves are as big or bigger than the flowers.

I have a suggestion. Just as an experiment, ask a couple of other people to sniff the roses. Morning is the best time for detecting rose fragrance, and early morning is the best time in the morning. People are selective in the scents they can detect, and it is possible that this rose is scented for some, just not for you. For example, many people, including me, cannot smell Tea roses.

Update:

My cemetery rose opened a few buds yesterday and today. Yes! The rose is fragrant, especially in the morning. In late afternoon, it's very faint. I'll add a couple of photos in the next post. This rose blooms only once a year. Mine is stingy with the bloom. I try to avoid pruning it, but I do trim some of the longest canes to keep it in bounds.

@Mary Beth Martin

I can say with 99.5% certainty that your rose is not 'Russelliana', nor is it 'Rose de Rescht'. It is a Gallica (or Gallica-China hybrid) along the lines of 'Nestor' or 'Anaïs Ségalas', or 'Assemblage de Beautés'. Its very difficult to pin an exact ID on many of these Gallicas, as there were many hundreds of varieties bred, and scores of them that look similar to what you've got here. Some varieties are easily identified "like 'La Belle Sultane' or 'Charles de Mills' or 'Duchesse de Montebello') but the pompon-shaped deep pinks and lavenders - not as easy.

It's gorgeous! I didn't see your message at first, houzz didn't notify me. But I did reply.