Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
sunslight

2 briar rose, 1 old fashion?

sunslight
15 years ago

I need identification of three roses.

Two are obviously the same species, but the flowers are different colors.

1 has bright, yellow flowers.

1 had bright, red flowers.

Now though, the yellow & red have seemed to cross and I can’t find any more pure red.

The plant(s) are briar like, with many, thin, spiky thorns on new growth. The thorns on old growth are more like those of a hybrid-tea. And they are mean.

The leaves are different from most roses. Smaller, lighter green, no 5 lobe leaves below 3 lobe ones. The plants seem impervious to disease and insects. They have been here for more than 30 years. They easily get out of control. A barrier placed 1’ into the soil, still did not stop the rose from sending up shoots, outside the barrier. The approximate size of the plant is 10’ wide by 8’ tall and extends itself by new plants coming up from the roots.

The flowers are moderately fragrant during the day. The are approximately 2-3” wide, cupped shaped, single, and tend to fold closed at night.

The flowers are not on a terminal area of a cane. Instead they cover the entire can, but the flowers are all, in-line. They last for about 1 week, do not have time to change color, before the petals blast/shatter..

The yellow and red flowers are intermingled. The yellow have stayed true to color, while pure red is hard to find—most of the non-yellow flowers have petals that are red, with yellow mixed in.

The flowers appear only once, in full flush for about a week, then are gone. The canes tend to cascade.

Here are a few pictures. Hopefully someone can identify the briar? Both the yellow and mixed red/yellow





My wife tells me she “hates” the plants and wants them gone. I have orders to round-up them.

I don’t want to do this. I’d like to take cuttings and replant these in a different area, next spring

I tried starting cuttings a couple of years ago, but all died. I’m not quite sure how to propagate these, since they have flowers on one side of the cane and thorns on the other. There doesn’t seem to be a terminal growth point.

If identifiable are these roses worth saving? With the flowers lasting only a week, the plants seem more suited to be a privacy hedge, than rose bush.

The other rose is possibly some sort of “old fashioned?” It has also been in place for over 30 years. Its canes are large, thorns well-spaced, flowers double, and fragrant. The color changes from a deep pink to very light pinkish/blue before the petals fall. The flower placement is still, up and down the cane, but not in a row and usually come from a cluster of three on a stem coming out of the cane. The flowers are about 4” across. They are in bloom continually from late spring to early fall. The plants (several canes come up from the ground in a central area—no grafting is visible) are subject to heavy aphid infestation.





Any ideas on these. Are they worth saving? If so, I’ll go to another forum and try to get ideas how to propagate them. I wonder if the seed is viable?

If they are worth saving, but my wife still insists on me cutting them down, I can probably save hundreds of cuttings and send them to any gardenweb members who wants some. I’d rather do that than kill the plants, outright—who knows they may be the last of their species, especially the F1 mix of the yellow and red, thorny roses.

Thanks.

Bob T

Comments (5)

  • joan_m
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The "Briar" roses are Austrian Yellow (R. foetida lutea) and Austrian Copper (R. foetida bicolor). The copper is a color sport of the yellow, and can sometimes revert. It is possible to find both yellow and copper blooms on the same plant. These are hard to root from cuttings. However, they often sucker, so you can dig the suckers and propagate them that way.

  • sunslight
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks.
    Would you keep the Austrian roses or let them grow in Austria.
    Are they are cheap $rose?

    My wife says destroy them. But I don't want to.

    You are right about being hard to start. I've tried two years to get starts rooted and all have failed. I do see many plants coming up from roots, but there's no way to tell if they are the yellow or copper.

    I have seen both the copper & yellow on the same plant, but have seen some stems that have solid red flowers. Evidently red is not dominant color?

    Thanks for the help on these.
    What do you think--kill them or try take cuttings, or new plants that have come up and move them?

    And anyone know on the other rose, that acts more like a rose, except it seems to have adapted to solid shade and blooms almost continually--very fragrant. It's definitely not a hybrid-tea.

  • joan_m
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Both Austrian Yellow and Copper can be purchased fairly readily. Maybe not locally, but a number of mail-order nurseries have them. I dont think itÂs worth the effort to try rooting them, but digging and saving some suckers could be worth the effort if you really want to keep the plants. They bloom on old wood, so you would have to wait a year to see what color your suckers are. In general, the suckers closest to each parent plant are most likely to be the color of the parent plant. You could also try moving the parent plants that are the color you want to keep.

    If they grow well in your climate (and you have a place for them), they do make a spectacular spring display. On the other hand, they only bloom once a year, but you live with your wife year-round.

    Sorry I canÂt help you with the other rose.

  • sunslight
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks,
    The briars are in full bloom right now and are spectacular, but as you said it's only once a year and done.
    Indeed I do live with my wife, but a little while ago, I came home to one of my prized house-plants, thrown on the floor and torn into little pieces. She was mad at me and pulled the poor thing up by its roots and proceeded to take her wrath out on it (usually it's directly at me). So maybe I should keep the briar, it's a bit finicky and mean. But at least it's outdoors :)

    Is there any other place I can post a picture of the other rose, to try to get an identification?

  • petaloid
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with the I.D. of your first two roses and suspect your third rose is a heritage variety of some sort. This site has an Antique Roses forum where someone may be able to identify it -- I'll put a link below.

    Also, there is a rose society in Taylorsville, Utah -- if that is near where you live, interested members could come and dig up the unwanted roses and give them a good home. (We rose nuts do things like that all the time.) Their website is www.utah-rose.com

Sponsored
Hoppy Design & Build
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Northern VA Award-Winning Deck ,Patio, & Landscape Design Build Firm