Can't beat those pink Chinas. The foundling one that I have is trouble-free and nearly always in bloom, with a soft, wafting scent. The "Pink Cracker Rose" appears to have a bit fuller, larger bloom than mine, very nice!

How beautiful. There are so few Chinas that it's always nice to gain another one.

I gave it to my brother in Ocala as a housewarming gift some years ago. It has done very well for him, and he is a casual gardener at best. He does enjoy photographing plants.

This is the first I have heard about your husband. I hope he is recovering well. Please give him my best wishes.

HMF says it might be Burbank or Santa Rosa (which I have been told are the same roses now in commerce). Below are pics of a rose I was sold as Burbank, and it does not really look like the Pink Cracker rose to me.

Drat! My hatred of Houzz continues - it pretends to let me post pics, but then they disappear. Finally got it to work:

Terrific, Jackie!

Hey Malcolm! When you get a chance, please do that! It would be wonderful to put this question to bed, once and for all.

For myself, I'd just say that "Pink Cracker" really does impress me. I'd just love to see a good side-by-side image of the foliage.

I looked at the photos of the Pink Cracker rose on HMF, and also the Napolean photos. It does look like they are the same rose to me, although the variability in the number of petals (on both roses, some blooms are very double, others are semi-double), and the colors, etc. make it hard to compare. However, both roses have all of this variability, so I am also looking forward to your experiment, Malcolm. Please post pictures when you get them together.

Another neat thing is that HMF says that Napolean was hybridized in France "before 1835". Napolean died in 1821, so the rose named after him could actually have been introduced way closer to his death than 1835 - maybe right after ? - who knows, but it is fun thinking about it.

Jackie

Some of those photos of 'Napoleon' on HMF look like my unknown pink China from an old cemetery, so there's an idea.

Here is 'Napoleon' in FSC's garden today -- warm weather (high 80s F days, high 60s nights). As the weather cools, the petal count will go up and the bloom form will improve.

I don't know. The leaves look different, to me. No. On second look, they don't!

VERY interesting!

I wonder if all the "pure" Chinas are related because when I look at all the pictures above they could just as well be the "Old Blush" that I used to grow, in its various permutations over the blooming season.

First, let me ask, what is "pure" China?

I've grown a good many China roses, and I could not begin to define "pure" China, because there are pesky differences.

That said, I can say that "Pink Cracker Rose" is not close to being 'Old Blush'. The blooms are different, but more significantly, the foliage is WILDLY different.

I know, I know, and that's why I put "pure" in quotation marks. Rose classification is incredibly complex and a fun subject for the experts to argue about. Thankfully for the most part we can ignore the problem and enjoy their beauty. I also appreciate these roses' ability to thrive in less than ideal conditions, which accurately describes my property and nowadays also that of maybe 90% of the rose-growing population.