My Oklahoma, which had always looked exactly like Oklahoma, died about a month ago. I'm so glad I'm a procrastinator. Before I got around to digging it up, it sent up three new canes, each with several buds, which looked just like Oklahoma buds. Woohoo! Now that the flowers are blooming, they look like this:

These are the true colors. I waited until the spot was shady and then turned off the flash so that I wouldn't get those irritating pink highlights.

Every bloom looks like this. With definite striping and not high-centered like Oklahoma.

Here's a side view of one that shows more of the striping.

Here's one from as close as I could get to underneath. My Oklahoma was about 5 feet tall and these canes are no more than 2 feet tall.

Here's the fourth one that's in bloom right now. They're on all three canes and there are still some unopened buds.

How very odd!

Absolutely GORGEOUS!! If it's not something you'd want to keep, I can happily provide it with a crappy home with me!! LOL!!!!

Is it from the rootstock? If so which one looks that lovely?

Thanks so much for the offer, Toni, but I think I'll keep it at its present crappy home.

If any rootstock looked like this, Porkpal, I'd happily kill a lot of my roses just to get more of these.

Me too!

Hmmm. It's Dr. Huey from Oklahoma. In pinstripes.

It looks like the color is exactly that of Dr. H. And the rose is about the size of Oklahoma, but not quite as rigidly high-centered.

Is it remotely possible that some of the genetic material from rootstock got mixed up with material from OK? (I know it almost never happens, but that could be different from absolutely never.)

Could the stripes be caused by a virus? Or is that a phenomenon only known in tulips.

Cool description, Steve.

The canes are still only about 2 feet tall. Any wayward Hueys would be 5 or 6 feet tall by now, the blooms are much bigger than Huey blooms, the foliage isn't Huey foliage, and all the Hueys around here stopped blooming long ago.

I think stripes can be the result of a virus even in roses, so that could be the explanation for that part of the phenomenon, but what could produce a rose with blooms the size and color (other than the striping) of Oklahoma without the characteristic shape?

Whatever it is, I love it!

Infiltration by aliens?

Mystery solved.

Indeed.

What a freaky but wonderful surprise!!