Foundling:Foundling:A crimson-to-purple small rambler or climber.
The
Place:Location: Hygiene, Colorado USA, near the site of the former “Hygiene House” tuberculosis sanitarium. Age: No real idea. Hygiene House was originally erected in 1882 and burned down in the 1940s. This plant was found on the roadside, not on the grounds per se, and thus may be of any age. Hardiness: Nominally USDA Zone 5a. Sunset Zone 1. Surroundings: The rose completely surrounds a very large and old cottonwood tree, between a property line and the road. Soil: Soil pH here is generally 8.0 to 9.0 and full of calcium. Sun: The rose only gets full sun very early in the morning, and is otherwise shaded by numerous trees. Roots: Growing on its own roots. Water source: Rain only, although there is occasional irrigation to the ditch nearby, and it does also benefit from road run-off; but it no doubt has tough competition from the cottonwood tree. Cottonwoods have notoriously shallow roots. How It Got There: No idea. Hard to think it was planted on this spot.
Habit: Grows as a small rambler or a large shrub, with canes reaching about 2.5 meters. Appears to sucker although there are no other plants apart from those surrounding the tree. Cane color: Generally a light olive green. Flexibility: Mature canes are fairly rigid. Young canes are quite flexible. Thorniness: There are virtually no thorns; only one or two near the bases of the canes. Mossiness: None. Disease/Damage: There is some damage to the canes due to wind rubbing the canes against each other and the tree. There is also a great deal of damage from white-fly, but this is a county-wide problem this year. Season: Unknown. The rose was discovered in late May, 2006 even though the rose has obviously been there for years; I suspect it is once-blooming.
The
Leaves:Leaflets number: Typically 7. Leaf color: Hunter to Marine Green. Photo is lightened a bit to show detail. Leaf texture: Semi-gloss. Folding: Leaves open flat. Serrations: Are the serrations deep or shallow? Do they extend the entire length of the leaflet? Are there moss-glands between the serrations? Shape of stipule: As shown. Very occasionally a leaf will show a fringe or two, but this is rare and nothing like a multiflora. Shoulder: None. Pests and Problems: Whitefly damage as shown. Leaves seem to be otherwise resiliant.
The
Buds:Placement: Grow from year-old wood. Number: Typically five to seven; I suspect the plant would produce more if it got sunlight. Mossiness: Very slight, but present. No noticeable smell. Sepals: Remarkably plain. Bud: as shown Size: The unopened bud is perhaps 6-7 mm at its widest. The opened ones are 9mm. Timing: Buds probably first appear early to mid May.
Shape:
Opens fully but not flat; seems to retain a slightly cupped shape.
Size: Generally about 5 cm. Petal
Number: On
average about 22. Color: When
newly open, same color as 995 Mulberry. After a day become more
purple and somewhat lighter. Reverses are a shade or two lighter
than obverses. Color Effects:
There is a pronounced white “eye” and petals often have
white “streaks” up their centers, though not as commonly
as, for example, ‘Veilchenblau’ or ‘Bleu Magenta.’
Scent: On a scale of 0 to 5
where 0 is “no scent at all” and 5 is “you can
smell it all the way down the road,” it’s a 1 at best,
and too faint for me to say exactly what it smells like. Stamens:
Stamens are nearly
white, very tiny, and very delicate. Remontancy:
I doubt there is any.
Pests and Problems:
Unknown, but I didn’t see any damage.
Setting: Saw none, but to be honest, I didn’t remember to look.