Hi.

I've been trying to ID this rose for years. As I've acquired more and more roses it's still a mystery, even though I keep thinking that I will find the proper name and or variety based on the roses I acquire. But even with so many to compare it to, I still can't decide. Maybe you can help.

Observations:

1. It is zone 5 hardy, with very little dieback in the 12 years it has been here. The most cane ever removed was a few inches. It does not go completely dormant; the canes remain bright green over the winter and lower leaves, if covered by an early snow, will remain green and viable.

2. Growth is primarily upright. Supple, fast-growing young canes become thick and hard after a couple of seasons. Some canes will get close to 7 feet tall, but usually need to be removed by then, as they do not produce blooms very well.

3. It repeats. After a big first flush, rebloom consists of a few blooms here and a few blooms there, usually in groups of 3 on the same short stem. Occasionally there will be an autumn flush, but that's a rare event. The blooms themselves are 3.5 to 4 inches wide, fully double, with a yellow button eye. Blooms start out cupped and unfold to packed petals.

4. Fragrance is powerful...strong damask and old rose combination. Usually the damask scent is more obvious, but there is also a "pure rose" component to the fragrance that sometimes surpasses the damask notes. The perfume wafts and draws you to the plant. You don't need to see the blooms to know that the plant is producing blooms. Scent reminds me of Baronne Prevost (only stronger) and Banshee (but stronger) and Louise Odier (yep, even stronger than LO to my insensitive nose).

5. A vigorous, quick grower; gets black spot easily once the first flush is finished. I removed lots of canes this year, as they were getting old and tired. Within days, new canes started to grow. For the first time in its life, the rose has decided to sucker this year.

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Younger leaves (leaves get darker with age and lose their reddish/purplish edges):

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Thorns/prickles:

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