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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, May 30, 2014

My Favorite Plant This Week is... Gee, I don't Know, Do You?

About 23 years ago we moved into an old house and there was, planted beside a window a pink rose whose canes grew very tall each year begging for a trellis.  I asked the former owner, who had grown up in the house and still lived next door,  the name of the rose (apologies to Umberto Eco.)  He said that he didn't know, that it was a rogue.  I gave starts to several people while we lived there and when we moved here 15 years ago, I brought a start with me. (own roots, sends out suckers politely)


It has a single but glorious flush of bloom from May through June, some years a bit of July.

It's planted against my back fence and arches over the sidewalk and spills into the alley  on the outside of the fence perfuming the air all around.  It has a very strong old rose scent and on the day I took these the sun was beginning to dry the rain from the night before.  The still moist air carried the fragrance right to my back door and beckoned me to get closer and enjoy swimming in the olfactory delight.


Really we were in the alley loading up a bunch of yard waste and I had my camera with me so I snapped some pictures but that doesn't sound quite as nice, does it?

It gets black spot annually but I do nothing and the bush flourishes.  Since it's mostly in the alley, I pay little attention to it once it's bloomed.

The vigor of growth, volume and fragrance of blooms make this rose my favorite plant this week.  Begging the forgiveness of our favorite plant this week meme host,  Loree of Danger Garden who is not a huge fan of roses.   It's thorny and bacteria lurking about can infect a wound and cause sporotrichosis or rose thorn disease so they're kind of dangerous... Click on the link above to check out other favorites this week!

Do you have any idea what this charmer of a rose might be?  It's similar to Rose de Rescht  but faster growing and more on the red side of pink while Rose de Rescht is a bit bluer.

A bit like Zephirine Drouhin but it isn't Zephirine Drouhin either. 
What's your favorite plant this week?  

43 comments:

  1. I love a good old blousy rose I planted Mme. Isaac Pereire a few years ago. I'd seen a watercolor of this one by my favorite botanical artist Rory McEwen . Just one bloom this year so far.

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    1. I looked up Mme. Isaac Pereire and it looks identical to this one. This only blooms once and I've never noticed any sporadic blooms through the summer.

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    2. I ordered mine from Rogue Valley roses in Calif. Then discovered Joy Creek has it…humpf.

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  2. I wish that someone will recognize this beautiful rose and tell us. I have Rose de Rescht and it does rebloom while never getting to any size, but the scent draws you.

    My favorite at the moment is Gardenias. They're making the garden look like a huge wedding cake. Indoors, I am partial to white Pentas that seeded themselves in the greenhouse floor.

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    1. You mentioned your gardenias on your blog. I've not had much luck with them here as we're a touch too cool for them. I sometimes buy one in bloom at a nursery or hardware store to enjoy. What an amazing fragrance - You're lucky to be able to grow them so well!

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  3. That is a beautiful rose. How wonderful that it does get black spot but doesn't die from it. My problem with roses is the diseases, I like a tidy garden, and taking care of roses with yucky leaves is more work than I want to do. That said, I do have one rose , Rosa glauca, which I love.

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    1. Um, tidy garden? I've seen things like that (at your place and Loree's among others) and read about it in books but have never really thought about it as a reality for myself. I take passive composting to a new level. Things die, fall on the ground and decompose. Anyway, I don't really take care of any of my roses; they either live or die!

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  4. I do have a soft spot for big, old, out of control roses and this one certainly seems to fit that description. I hope someone is able to identify it for you!

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    1. I sort of enjoy calling it that pink rose on the back fence that we brought from the old house. It sure is out of control! The canes need to be tied to the fence so that they dont reach out and grab passersby!

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  5. Does it need a name of someone else's choosing? I think you should give it a name. Rogue rose, maybe?

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    1. The fragrance is extremely wonderful and strong. Maybe we could call it Smelly Rogue.

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  6. Those roses are mighty pretty - but this week (for me) it will have to be the naive and simple Shasta daisies...

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    1. Daisies are so pretty and evocative of a simpler way of life! Who wouldn't love them?

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  7. I saw zephrine too...the leaves looked to glossy. It is hard to know for sure but it's a cabbage style rose with a matte leaves. It looked like a David Austin rose
    http://www.thegardencentregroup.co.uk/item/Shrub-and-Patio-Roses/Harlow-Carr-Kirlyl-PBR-S/4AQ

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    1. This rose has been around for at least 50 years in the garden that I once tended and isn't very shrubby, it's more of an exhuberent climber.

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  8. It's beautiful. I love this type of rose. It is very similar to a rose called Sir Edward Elgar. Sporotrichosis? I' ve never heard of that one. Yet another danger lurking in the garden. I' m amazed that I still have two eyes with so many cunningly concealed bamboo canes holding things up in the garden. Not to mention all the cuts and bumps and bruises I sustain on a daily basis. And now something horrible ending in ...osis. Oh dear.
    Anyway, I love your rose..

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    1. I love the David Austin Roses! So pretty! Glad you like my rose. It's a blessing that we gardeners usually sustain so few garden injuries!

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  9. I have many plants in the garden that shall remain nameless, though the list shrinks as kindly bloggers chime in with ID's. Anonymity seldom detracts from the enjoyment, as with your lovely rose.

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    1. You're right Ricki! The anonymity may even enhance the mystique of a plant.

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  10. My few roses are just beginning to bloom, and I do love them, but like children, I just don't have a favorite plant.

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    1. The fun of the meme is that we can have a different favorite each week. Truth be told, I don't have a favorite plant either but am sure fond of some families of them. I just highlight something that catches my eye on a certain day.

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  11. It is a charmer! The 3rd picture from the bottom is so beautiful!
    My favorite plant right now is Peony 'Coral Charm'. It changes the color from pink to coral to almost white.

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    1. Thanks Tatyana! I think you've posted pictues of Peony 'Coral Charm' and it was gorgeous.

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  12. It looks like Mme Isaac Pereire to me, too, and the growth habit is right. It will rebloom if it is in full sun and doesn't get too defoliated by blackspot, but this really means spraying, which I won't do, so mine only blooms once, too, but it's worth it. Definitely a Bourbon rose, anyway.

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    1. I've never sprayed mine or watered it much either which could be why it doesn't rebloom. Thanks for the I.D.

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  13. I think it looks beautiful! Old roses are beautiful...the way the petals look, the scent...I can´t help you with the identification. It reminds me of Jacques Cartier rose, but I suppose it could be any other pink old rose...

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    1. It's the fragrance that will catch you if the vibrant pink color doesn't! Do your goats like roses?

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    2. Sorry I didn´t answer earlier...
      Yes, my goats do like roses, hehehehe....
      They´ve got a refined taste

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  14. I agree 100% about Mme Isaac Pereire. I had one on a garage in a 1912 house in the North End. That end of town used to be filled with them but so many people got rid of them because they were once blooming. shame! They are so fragrant. I used to bury my nose in them and practically swoon.

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    1. That does it, I'm going to tell people that it's Madame Isaac Pereire, introduced in France by Margottin père & fils in 1881. Sounds very grand! Hey, if you want to take cuttings ...

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  15. would love to have you link your garden posts to Fishtail Cottage's garden party!!! (Thursdays ~ but I keep the party open thru the weekends) hope to see you! xoxo, tracie

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    1. I'm not sure what an online garden party is but I'll give it a try! Thanks for inviting me.

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  16. I posted it on Gardenweb antique roses forum, they said Mme Isaac Pereire is not a once bloomer, and suggested-

    Posted by trospero 8 (My Page) on Sat, May 31, 14 at 10:45
    I believe that bears a strong resemblance to what we have in this country under the name 'Paul Ricault'

    I looked it up on help me find roses and it is a once-bloomer but height of 4-6' so I wonder if it gets tall enough. It does look a lot like yours.

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    1. Interesting! I looked up 'Paul Ricault' and it does seem a lot like that one too!

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  17. Roses are "out" now, but they'll be back.

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    1. They all took a hit because of the waning of popularity of spraying the drug-dependent hybrid teas of the 50's - 70's. The banished queen of the garden will certainly not remain in exile long! There is no substitute for the fragrance, color, and form of her majesty.

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  18. love that old fashioned rose, whatever its name. Diidn't know about the risks involved with growing roses. I've only got one, and it has been pretty vicious over the years, but thank goodness it's never given me a horrible sounding disease.

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    1. I've had my share of scratches and pricks during rose pruning and have never gotten rose thorn disease but we must be always vigilant. I've also been known to work in the dirt without wearing gloves. We've all gotta go sometime, right?

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    2. right! and to go out gardening would be a good way to go!

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  19. I like old roses like this. That fragrance is hard to beat! My grandparents have one with flowers that are more purplish-pink growing up out of a big holly hedge. Love that smell!

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  20. I love roses and this is a dozy. I can see why you love it.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.