Rose variety expertise needed

**K* M* <k*@iol.ie>**

I wonder if anyone on the list has expertise on the identification of  
old roses. I reckon to be reasonably knowledgeable but I'm faced by a  
situation that has me completely beaten.

I'm trying to discover the name of a variety that was used as a  
rootstock on a standard rose bought by a friend many years ago. The  
nursery she bought from sold many old varieties collected by the  
owner from decaying and abandoned gardens around Ireland. In this  
particular case he had grafted Alberic Barbier onto it (no, I can't  
imagine why anyone would graft Alberic Barbier either). Thirty years  
on the rootstock broke free last autumn. Since then it has produced a  
stem that went straight up, well over an inch in diameter at the  
base, for about four metres before gravity and the wind took a hand  
and it arched back down again. In all it has made a single stem over  
six metres long since last september. The stem is heavily thorned  
with substantial dark thorns. Five leaflets, each three inches long  
and almost two inches wide, huge and glossy and somehow reminiscent  
in their vigour of lettuce leaf basil.  It has now produced a cluster  
of 21 buds at the tip. The individual flowers resemble a large  
centifolia in form, white to pale lemon on opening with a pale salmon  
centre, turning on the second day to creme. The scent is a true old  
fashioned tea scent. Chinese ancestry is obvious. Many of the outside  
petals on the buds have the green edges also characteristic of some  
Chinese ancestors and best seen in viridiflora. My friend is going to  
try and tip layer it and it is now beginning to make some foliage  
breaks back along the stem so she and I will both take cutting but  
what on earth is it? Unfortunately it is like the centifolias in that  
it turns to mush in the rain. And we are having a lot of rain at the  
moment.

Paul listed one or two that it could be but none seem close enough in  
his description to definitely be this one and someone has borrowed  
but not returned my Graham Stuart Thomas. it isn't in any of my other  
reference books

If think you or an acquaintance may be able to identify it could you  
contact me off list please. I hope to take pics in the next few days  
for ID purposes. Graham, who might help at the RHS do you think?

thank you

Kathryn

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters