I thought I had a Peach Drift

10 years ago

Now that it's getting cold, I am computer gardening -- trying to organize my images and catalog my rose collection. One of the first roses I planted in 2009 was a peach shrub rose. I can't remember where I purchased it locally but I think it was Witherspoon. If not, it was probably Lowes. I've always thought it was a Peach Drift but my research tells me that this rose only gets to be about two feet tall. After one year it was nearly three feet tall. The next year... nearly five feet tall. It's planted against the foundation of our house and under the eave. The old wood is pretty sturdy but I've noticed that the current year's lateral growth (I think I have my terminology correct) is quite lax and floppy if left un-pruned. Do you think it's just a case of a rose doing what it wants instead of what it is supposed to do? Or do I have some other rose? Any comments or ideas are appreciated! (I don't know if it's grafted or not.)

Here is a picture of the bush before it bloomed this Spring:

Here it is in bloom:

Here's a flower:

Comments (6)

jacqueline9CA
10 years ago
That does look like Peach Drift to me. I have discovered over 25 years of growing roses that height is the least accurate predictor re roses - most of mine are 2 to 3 times taller than "they" say they are supposed to be.

Jackie
seil zone 6b MI
10 years ago
The size a rose will get to has a great deal to do with climate, soil and care. If a rose is very happy it can grow much larger than predicted.

Your rose is lovely!
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sidos_house
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks to you both! I have a lot to learn about roses but I am sure no matter how much I learn they will always surprise me :)
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
10 years ago
I had not seen Peach Drift, but I know it is one of the highly scored roses on the Peggy Rockefeller top 100 roses list. I imagined it as a ground cover rose and that is much different than what I thought too. What a great shrub form and size it is. Nice healthy foliage and so many buds! Thanks for posting.
sidos_house
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi, Prairiemoon! I didn't really know what I was buying when I bought it :) It was one of those instant gratification purchases by someone who knew nothing about roses. It is a great rose, though, extremely healthy and cheerful. Since it's right outside a room where I do all my girly things, I work on it a lot. It gets a good pruning in January and then regular deadheading throughout the Spring and Summer, which is a bit of a chore because it's so floriferous. Now if it were only fragrant... ;)
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
10 years ago
Exactly! I guess you can't have everything, all though I keep trying. :-) Beautiful rose!