My one and only Smooth Touch rose was Smooth Lady. I found it a Home Depot several years ago. You might contact your local HD and see if they could tell you who their supplier was. Alas, I lost my Smooth Lady to one of the arctic blasts about four/five years ago. It didn't help that voles had tunneled under her, either. I did like the plant for the couple of years I had it, and it was healthy. If you can find them, they should do great in CA.

Life Vibes - just curious - what are the attributes of these roses you like about them? Are you looking for them just because they are without thorns, or also for another reason?

Jackie

I ordered several from Easy to Grow Bulbs a few yrs ago. Lost them all in the Camp Fire 4yrs ago. I wish this company would either get the roses in again, or remove them from their website. They have not actually carried them since I got the ones I did get. I want to replace some of them, but nobody carries them here in the USA anymore.

Monrovia produced his roses for a while. A friend grew several at his home in Sun Valley, Ca, around the corner from Theodore Payne. Joe had them trained up the wall like climbers because in that climate that is what they are. Davidson based his breeding on some overly vigorous, semi climbing types and several climbers with a rather unhealthy dose of inbreeding to fix the lack of prickles. If you find any, be prepared for nearly climbing growth.

@jacqueline9CA yes, because they are completely thornless.

@Beth Hana I am so sorry that you lost all of them. I hope to find them in the US, too!

@fig_insanity Z7b E TN thank you. I hope they will be readily available after 2027.

@roseseek thank you. I am ready to take care of them. The challenge is to find them :)

Life Vibes - if the reason you like them is because they are completely thornless, there are (a few) other roses that are too, although not as many as people say there are. Look at the yellow and white banksias, also called "Lady Banks Rose". I know for a fact that the yellow one has not one thorn. There is a polyantha mystery rose called "Schmidt's Smooth Yellow" which I have grown for 10+ years, 3 bushes, and I have NEVER found or seen even one thorn on any of them. Just some info for you.

Jackie

@jacqueline9CA thank you. I am aware of lady banks, but they are not repeat bloomer. Where can I buy Schmidt's Smooth Yellow rose in the US? Per Helpmefind, it is avilable at Rose Petal Nursery, but didnt find on their website.

Life Vibes -

I live in San Rafael. If that is not too far away from you, call me and you can come see my bushes, and if you like them you can take some cuttings. It is easy to root. 415-485-0156. Be sure to leave a message with your phone number if you don't get me. NO TEXTS - this phone is a land line, and does not do texts.

Jackie

There are other roses that are pretty much thornless that you might consider. They are definitely easier to find and have some nice attributes. Barbra Streisand and Lemon Spice are two that come to mind, and both are wonderfully fragrant too.

Barbra Streisand….every spring when I pruned her I was reminded how courteous she was to not have thorns, unlike all the other 100+ roses around her!

Just be aware that roses which are "pretty much thornless", or which are "sort of" thornless, HAVE THORNS.

Jackie

Two 100% thornless roses that do fabulous in My SoCal garden is the climber Annie Laurie McDowell and the mini rose by Ralph Moore called Softee. Softee gets to be a 3 foot high mounding shrub covered in delightful sprays of pale yellow roses. Both are extremely floriferous in my hot dry climate. We are one week into a 2 week triple digit heat wave and Softee is just finishing a flush (I picked a beautiful spray of blooms this morning for the house) and ALMcD is just starting a flush. Another favorite of mine is Lemon Spice with very few thorns and those are primarily on the new basal growth from the bottom of the bush. The stems that continue to send up stalks with the blooms all summer are almost always smooth with an occasional exception. LS is classic Hybrid Tea shape about 3-4 feet high.

Softee is from Burlington. You will need to email her to get her current rose list. Her plants are small own root, but grow very quickly. Many people will grow these types of small starter bands in a pot the first year, but I planted a dozen bands from her straight in the ground and by the end of their second year they were all quite large. I only lost one due to my negligence of overwatering and it rotted. If I had properly dug a big hole and mixed in compost before planting it would not have drowned, but I was a bit lazy and was just starting out growing roses here. I never skimp on the preparation holes anymore and give each a full cubic foot of worm castings in their hole these days….what a difference that makes!

A Reverence for Roses has ALMcD, but it is only hardy to zone 6b. Mine is a short climber shown here.

Rose Petals Nursery has Schmidt’s Smooth Yellow, but not in stock so just click on the “Be Notified” button to get an email when it’s back. https://www.rosepetalsnursery.com/20/11/794.html