My vote is...nope. Paul can give you more specifics, but that doesn't even feel like DR, lol. The color is wrong, the petal shape is wrong, the form is wrong. I don't know what it IS, but I don't think it's DR. So sorry :(

Edit: it's gorgeous, whatever it is.

I've not grown DR but comparing your rose to the images on HMF, it appears you got another RVR "punk". I agree with John, nothing about that rose resembles Dakota Redwing.

Thanks, all, for confirming what I suspected. To me, it has a fairly strong, old-rose-type scent, though not quite heavy damask, Paul. Looking through HMF's photos, 'Siren's Keep' indeed looks like a strong candidate for the ID. Yep, another RVR "punk", but one worth keeping ... just not right next to 'Kathrinerl'... :-) That first bloom on it (now fading in the photos) was absolutely stunning -- large, full, and noticeable even across the yard.

Catspa, for what it’s worth, RVR always seems to be waitlisted for Siren’s Keep, so it’s a score!…even if it’s a score for the wrong plant. And it’s truly gorgeous…next to a rose that’s not Katherinerl. Heh. I know first hand that RVR does carry correct stock, so hopefully RVR will just replace your mislabeled Barden with the real Dakota Redwing ASAP! Carol

@catspa_zone9sunset14 Sorry to hear RVR has sent you the wrong plant, but at least it might be something worth keeping.

'Dakota Redwing' is absolutely unmistakable in color: a deep beetroot/oxblood red with dark purple tones as it ages. In some climates its a brighter red, but its never, EVER pinkish.

Paul Barden Thanks for the info, and good to know the color of 'Dakota Redwing' is fairly consistent. (I'm growing some varieties where you would be hard-put to match the spring blooms with the ones produced in the middle of August, including some of the reds.)

Ah well, with RVR it's always a roll of the dice, beginning years ago when, among the roses in my first order, they sent 'Mme Pierre Oger' instead of 'Mme Carolyn Testout'. It hasn't improved much since (I'd guess as many as 1 in 5 end up being a "surprise"), but what can one do when RVR is the only source? Keep playing the lottery! I will keep trying for 'Dakota Redwing', as the spot next to 'Kathrinerl' seems to call its name.

'Siren's Keep' will definitely stay and I've got a good spot in full sun in mind. It's lineage is interesting and, from its pollen parent, likely the closest that 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain" will ever get to my garden again (though that one was certainly handy as a source for rust specimens for the plant biology class I taught -- never failed to provide them, with bonus powdery mildew specimens, too).

As a final note, from today, is this a gorgeous bloom or what? And that nice scent, too. I grew Austin's 'Othello' way back when in Massachusetts, which is also in the 'Siren's Keep' lineage, and this seems reminiscent of that rose to me.

Beautiful bloom!

My daughter asked me to waitlist at RVR for Siren’s Keep. She is into sirens of the sea-loving kind, not so much the warning signal kind. We debate whether Siren’s Keep is so named because it is the refuge of sirens or whether sirens are watching over those who grow the rose. :-)

Carol

PS I have noticed that Siren’s Keep doesn’t show up with the other Bardens on RVR’s website. One has to search alphabetically. SK is, of course, still unavailable, but RVR does seem to be locating the stock of many Bardens and filling orders for them.

I'd so love to have "Siren's Keep"!!!