Do you know anything about its growing habit??

I'm the inheritor of this bush I'm no expert but I'd say it was a small version of a traditional rose bush. It grows about 1 metre high (less, if it's neglected) and is 'open' with several main branches. As in the photo there are quite a few flower heads each with a short stalk on each branch. It has a vaque 'rosey' scent. It seems very tough - one of my relatives has it and completely neglects it in Toowoomba (southern Queensland) and it survives. The one I have is a cutting from one someone else in the family has. The cuttings of cuttings go back about 50 years at least but apart from 'it came from Grandma in Toowoomba' no-one knows what it is. Thank you very much for your interest, I really appreciate any suggestions you might have. In advance, I apologise for my future silence for the next week as I will be away but will be on this forum again at the end of this week.

If you have a bush growing, it would be helpful to post a picture of the entire bush on here, as well as pictures of the thorns, buds, leaves, and any hips which might be left over from last year. Do you know if it blooms just once in the Spring, or again and again until Winter? Looking forward to more photos when you get back!

Jackie

What a wonderful inheritance and backstory! If you could provide the blossom diameter, too, that could help with the ID. Carol

Could it possibly be Gene Boerner ? The variety is over 50 years old.

Here is my Gene Boerner in a pot.

Thanks to all for your interest. I have taken a few more photos of the one I have growing in a pot. The photo in the original post in this thread was of flowers picked from the same bush on 16 Jan this year when it was flowering very well. In today's photo there is only 1 (almost had-it) bloom that is 5 cm in diameter. Previously I have attempted to count petals on the flower and there seem to be about 40. The plant I have is 970 mm (at the highest point) above ground level. It does have thorns but they are spread out along the branch. It seems to flower repeatedly and tends to lose leaves in winter. As I mentioned before, my cutting came from Toowoomba and I am in Sydney so maybe the climate is a bit too cool for it here, particularly in Autumn. Thank you particularly for the suggestions of Gene Boerner. At first I thought the photo provided of this showed the flower too high in the centre but looking at some other photos on-line ( e.g.

http://plants.beechwood-gardens.com/ and https://davesgarden.com/) I think it could well be. Thank you so much; I will do a bit more research on Gene Boerner. Denise

OOps, photos are too big but you can see them if you click on them. Denise

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR Not to hijack the OP's thread, but your Gene Boerner looks to be young. May I ask where you obtained it, since it's currently very hard to find!

Susan,

Maybe check Lowes? My local one had hundreds of Gene Boerners!

Yes Susan, this particular plant has grown from a cutting taken about 18 months - 2 years ago. I am in Australia and part of the mystery is, if it is Gene Boerner, how did it get here? Searches for this rose among Australian nurseries or even in some 'old rose' collections in various parts of the country yield zero results. My mother certainly had a plant as did each of her 6 sisters. My grand mother had roses, so I assumed she had the original one. But maybe not - as Gene Boerner wasn't developed until the 60's. At one stage my mother worked for the Stahmann family who migrated to Australia in 1965 (from Las Cruces New Mexico) to grow pecan nuts in southern Queensland. Maybe my mother got the plant from them. This is the only possible link I can make between what seems to be an exclusively American rose and my plant. This site (https://roguevalleyroses.com/rose/gene-boerner/) in Oregon lists the rose as "out of stock" but the photo on that site certainly looks like more established plants that various members of my family have. Good luck with your search. Since the rose (mine and Gene Boerner) are beautiful and seem virtually indestructible it's surprising it is not readily available. - Denise

Mine was from Rogue Valley Roses, Susan. I'm delighted by the plant. I just planted it in the ground after having potted it for it's first 6 months.

I don't think the mystery rose would 'Gene Boerner', given the history of the rose, the style of the blooms, and that individual flowers of it are around 2" (5 cm) diameter. The leaves of 'Gene Boerner' are also different. This rose seems more like a polyantha to me, along the lines of 'Clothilde Soupert' or 'Pink Pet', though neither of those are quite like.

Out of all the roses that I've owned, it's closest to the fairy. Pretty sure the fairy has been around forever and has been available everywhere for decades.

@catspa_zone9sunset14 I have been thinking along your lines—Polyantha—and even scanned all the Polyanthas on HMF but can’t quite match this rose. And yet, it looks SO familiar! It’s driving me nuts! It does look kinda Clothilde Soupert-y….but it is not. And kinda Pink Pet-y…but not. I also scanned my folder of photos of my Hermosa blooms just for the heck of it even though I know Hermosa is not the right rose either. Carol

It kind of looks like my Sexy Rexy.
Carla in Sac

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR Thanks for the info on getting it from RVR!

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) Alas, we don't have a Lowe's nearby. But it is sometimes amazing what pops up at the box stores!

@HU-260601793 I wasn't suggesting your rose is Gene Boerner, but thanks for the info on RVR. And I wish you the best of luck in finding its ID!

Denise, I had one more thought. I’m not sure this rose is a perfect match either, and it only dates back to around 1978, but Sexy Rexy was released by McGredy of New Zealand and might have landed in your grandmother’s garden in Australia. Please do let us know if you solve your mystery! Carol

I may be getting close to solving the puzzle. Leonie of Rosevale Homestead near Brisbane put me in touch with Bonita who is convenor of the Darling Downs page on Heritage Roses Australia. Bonita thinks the rose is likely to be Pink Rosette bred in 1948 by Alfred Krebs.

https://garden.org/plants/view/1823/Rose-Rosa-Pink-Rosette/

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.4854

http://www.digthedirt.com/plants/16623-antiques-rosa-pink-rosette/details 91 cm high- fills the bill

It is listed in the catalogue (page 99) for San Jose Heritage Rose Park

http://www.grpg.org/Files/HRGCatalog.pdf

https://www.justourpictures.com/roses/pinkrosette.html

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/111464159499632943/

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4379705/pink-rosette-the-almost-plastic-rose

The photos in these last three do look like my rose.

Thanks to everyone for their help. Assuming this rose of mine is Pink Rosette I can certainly recommend it. It survives neglect, and with a tiny bit of TLC, flowers prolifically and, as in the last web reference, is an excellent long-lasting cut flower. Every home garden should have one!

I think I am at the solution, unless someone more knowledgeable than I am (now) comes up with something better.. This has been very interesting. Thanks to everyone who put in their opinion.

Denise

Sydney