Hi, I have looked all over the internet to buy a rose I planted in my yard at a house I sold 18 years ago. I would have bought it locally, not sure where, probably around 1991. I'm in Eugene Oregon.

It was a climber, with huge thick canes about 10-12 ft long.

The flower was HUGE, it would easily cover a salad plate and some dinner plates, at least 6" across. Lots of petals, so it almost never, until the end, showed the center of the flower. Bloomed singly on each branch with a tea-rose shape. Really quite covered with flowers, just not as heavily as the blaze or floribunda types. And I'm not kidding, the rose was HUGE, much bigger than my Abraham Lincoln or other bush Tea type roses.

It was colored a bit like a Joseph's Coat, only even MORE vibrant and varigated. This is my memory of the rose, and it's quite strong, I might be wrong on the base color, but the mixture was what I am listing. Each rose was a light pink or orangy pink background, sort of, with stripes and splotches of yellow and orange and rich reddish orange pink generously painted all over!. They were glorious! It was the one rose of all of them, that I had to show people!

I have old photos of it somewhere but haven't found it yet.

Any idea of what the name of this rose was so I can find it again? I "think" it might have "Caribbean" in the name, but not sure.

I want to find this rose and plant it as the foundation of my new rose garden at this place.

Welcome to ATP.

Perhaps if you copy and post your question to the Rose Forum the great people there could come up with a name. It certainly sounds lovely!

It doesn't ring a bell, but if the "Caribbean" in your memory might be "Tropical" instead, what about Tropical Sunset? It's not a climber, but it's a very tall hybrid tea. It's usually 4-6 feet tall, but I've seen it grow to about 10 feet.

Rose (Rosa 'Tropical Sunset')

There actually is a rose in the database called 'Caribbean' but it's not a climber, its a grandiflora. Maybe your rose was a grandiflora with canes that arched instead of standing straight up? Anyway, take a look.

Here's the link Rose (Rosa 'Caribbean')

Caribbean is more limited in its color range, and it never has stripes.

Okay, forget about Tropical Sunset. It wasn't introduced until 1998. Caribbean did come out in 1991.

Thank you all. The Tropical Sunset is very close to it. I'm wondering if a local grower had it and changed it/got it to grow like a climber. It was at least 6 up to 10-12 foot long canes.
Huge flowers just like this one. And the color was I think a little more variegated, but it was 20 some years ago, LOL. I'll see if I can at least find a bush sized one to buy.

The more I look at the shared pics of the rose, especially the one by Strever, I am sure that was my rose. I remember the outer side of the petals were that strong yellow with a hint of the orange/pink in the veins. I may remember it being a bit more gaudy, and multi colored, but I think that is pretty much exactly the way it looked. The pictures don't do it justice! I wonder where I can find it? I'm thinking too, that if the canes were not pruned, and it did have side shoots with the flowers on them, it may have been sold as a shorter climber. The side branches weren't like a "Blaze" or other climbers that really fill in thick. The canes were long, strong and straight. I'd curve them onto the fence in a fan formation, kinda, if that makes sense. It had a number of branches coming from the base.

So, can a strong and tall rose, be pruned shortly after grafting onto the root stock, creating a fan of branches that if not pruned will keep getting longer and appear like a climber, but not exactly like a normal climber? I have a very vague recollection that it may have been sold as a short or limited climber. Since I didn't prune the long canes, they just kept getting longer. It only took a couple of years for it to be really tall and long and glorious!

Pruning can do lots of things to the shape of a rose bush, and it's possible that the weight of the huge flowers bent the canes down into a fan shape, but didn't we already disqualify Tropical Sunset because it wasn't introduced until 1998?

, Lmpajot

There was a climbing sport of the rose 'Mojave' at one time. I couldn't find any great photos of the sport, but the description of the bush rose of 'Mojave' HMF says "Flowers apricot-orange tinted red, prominently veined."

Here's a bloom photo from the bush rose page:

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

Sometimes a bush rose can sport to a climbing rose. I think Zuzu may have more experience with that kind of thing than I do. I've only read about it, but she may have experienced it her garden because she has grown so many different roses over the years in her garden.

Smiles,
Lyn

I don't think it could be Mojave. I have two Mojave bushes. The blooms aren't particularly large, they don't have that many petals, and they're never striped.

Rose (Rosa 'Mojave')

How do we know if Tropical Sunset was introduced in 98, and not available before, or maybe it came from something else that looked similar?
It looks like what I remember my rose looking like, almost to a "T"! Large, many petals, the yellow with the veins on the back, the splotches and stripes of the orangey pink in various shade modulations.
I know I bought the rose between 1990 and 1993.
Regardless to if it was my "sort of" climber I had, or not, I certainly would love to have a bush of Tropical Sunset in my new rose garden! Must find!

For years I've lamented leaving all my beautiful roses there when we bought this place in 96, and in some ways it was so beautiful, and I've been so aggrieved to have left it, I haven't even tried to recreate it here. Kinda analysis paralysis. No, it won't work there. No not there. well it would work there but the work would be massive... and then I ended up in a wheelchair with back surgeries and can't do the work myself like I did with my old rose and flower garden in town.

But we just buried my oldest Rottie boy (13+) along a fence line, and it has inspired me to use a rose planted on his grave as my foundation for another rose garden. It is a fence on the south side of the yard, and that may not be the best place for flowers, as some do like to "face" the sun, but any garden is better than none!

According to HelpMeFind.com, it was introduced in New Zealand, where the hybridizer lives, in 1995 and elsewhere in 1998. I can't imagine that it was available anywhere here so much earlier.

Is it possible that your rose was Rio Samba? I'm looking at a list of the roses I bought in 1991, and that was one of them. It can grow very tall, and the blooms can have the illusion of being striped.

Hybrid Tea Rose (Rosa 'Rio Samba')

Another very tall hybrid tea is Granada. Mine actually produced some striped blooms once. I'll see if I can find the photo.

Rose (Rosa 'Granada')

Both of these names have something to do with the Caribbean.

Here's the striped Granada bloom. I just added it to the database.

Thanks, Zuzu. It was the veining I was zeroing in on as far as the description of the bloom. I know there are a lot of roses with deep veining colors in their petals that almost look like stripes, but Mojave was the only one I could remember.

Smiles,
Lyn

Thank you both for your help. No, the Granada, while sometimes striped just isn't "it" and the other one has no splotchy wide stripes. I mention the veining on the yellow backs, as it was there, ie visible, not a solid color, but it wasn't really that strong. on the inside every petal was wildly painted with the other colors. So far, the only one that looks like it at all is the Tropical Sunset. I know it couldn't be my rose, but it was huge and many petaled and the same colors and shape.

I've tried contacting the nursery I think I bought it at, but their rose lady is gone for a week or so. Maybe she will remember it.

It seems that roses really go into and out of fashion. People want new ones, so the older ones just fall out of favor and disappear from nurseries. sigh. Well, I may not be able to get my exact beloved roses, but I'll find something similar. ... now to find a Tropical Sunset I can afford that will ship to Oregon!

Then I have to find the rose with small flowers that were a dark rose orange with a center of bright fire yellow. Or was it the other way around... Anyway it always looked like little balls of flames on the bush. It was small, and wouldn't have been as noticeable as the other bigger flowered bushes, but it was so distinctive!

Then to find my soft rounded roses of a deep lavender color, and a replacement for my Abe Lincoln, and and and, LOL. I have almost no money, but a rose or two a year should be possible. (disability doesn't pay a lot!) Thankfully I now have friends that will do the heavy part of the chores of building a rose garden again.

Thank you guys for all your help!
Laura in Oregon

Now you've got me searching for the big multicolored rose! It sounds like one I would love.
I actually have a big collection of old J & P catalogues from that era, and some Wayside fliers too. I'll see what I can find.
I need to purge the stack of old magazines and catalogues, so I'll check while I'm sorting them.
My money is on Rio Samba on this one, though.
It does get huge when it is happy.