Various rugosas, in my experience.

Jeri

Must be a mighty fine place that has freeways edged with roses!

Kitty Portland is known as the City of Roses. My brother lives there and the Rose Garden is really wonderful. Well worth checking out if in the area.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: International Rose Test Garden

Hmmm, might have to take a drive and check it out. Portland and many of the surrounding citys use Roses in alot of their freeway landscaping. Pretty sure they are Rugosas.

Another Portlander checking in. I'm afraid I can't precisely answer your question but wanted to say I've wondered the same thing.

Yes, there are rugosas lining the freeway (i.e. on/off ramp onto the Fremont Bridge near Emanuel Hospital-most of which were removed to add a turn lane) There's also what looks to be lots of patches of multiflora (i.e. along I-5 between Salem and Eugene)

BUT I suspect I know some of the stretches on 405 you are talking about (i.e. near downtown exits and heading to 26 west towards Beaverton.) Those are NOT rugosas.

I'm not familiar with every rugosa cultivar and know a few that don't have typical rugose foliage, but from what I can tell the foliage is not right. Also some of the colors are not right (i.e. coral.) They are some kind of shrub/landscape roses, but what I don't know. They are shockingly pretty to be so close to the freeway and I wonder how much care/fertilizer/irrigation etc. they receive.

I have also wondered---who in city government could we ask? LOL. Sorry I can't be helpful here.

Dawn

Selections from this line of roses could give you a similar look. (You could look specific ones up on helpmefind.com/roses)

Here is a link that might be useful: Flower Carpet Roses Thread

Here in Washington the major roses used are rugosa's but in south Tacoma there is a grove of Father Hugonis the yellow china hybrid. Along SR-16 north of Gig Harbor they have used Musk roses inter mixed with small trees which the musk roses have grown into and through.

Lance

The pink/red/white she's talking about are definitely NOT rugosas. I don't know what they are, but rugosas aren't it.

I drove by them four times today. :)

What freeways in Portland? I'm going down to my mom's for a visit this week and I'll put up my antennae. On the way to Port Orchard I have noticed there are roses growing through the trees. Now I know they are musk roses. Thanks Lance. Also, I live in the 'Rosedale' neighborhood of Gig Harbor. All of our wild Nutka (I think) roses that are everywhere just got through with their bloom. Pale pink small blooms.

The pink/red/white display are along the 405. If you are driving south on 5, you would have to take the 405 split just north of downtown to see them. It's not a very long section of freeway.

Rugosas at all sorts of random places.

Way over east on the 205 around the 84 intersection (I think) is a section with what I think is a whole display of Rainbow Knock Out. That's my favorite for the freeway roses here.

The city of St. Louis used to have roses planted along all their main highways as well. I say "used to have" because that was before rose rosette disease. Once rrd hit all the roses were wiped out by it and the city is not about to waste its money trying again.

There are many other places near Florida,north Carolina where we can find plenty of roses, lilies and other kind of flowers.And South Tacoma is a grove of Father Hugonis the yellow china hybrid does grow.
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Gary bristow

Here is a link that might be useful: Oregon Drug Addiction

I THINK THEY MAY BE A FLORIBUNDA. WE DROVE THRU LAST WEEKEND AND THE SALMON ROSES WERE SIMPLY COVERING THE BUSHES NEAR THE FREEWAYS. I JUST WISH I KNEW THE EXACT VARIETY AND COLOR.

I always read that the Portland originals (city of roses) were Mme Caroline Testout?

Whoever maintains the plantings along the highways would be who to ask--someone in the highway department likely.

In Northern CA, many public landscapes have been planted with Shrub Roses. I think many of them are the Poulsen "Town & Country" Shrubs sold in the U.S. a few years back by Arena Rose Co.

Probably wouldn't work in SoCal, where there's just not enough water -- but in NoCal, they can be spectacular.

Meidiland Roses

Wow!!!! That's hard to believe!!! Incredible amount of roses!!!

Carol

They are, indeed, Meidiland: http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2009/08/toughbutpretty_freeway_roses_p.html

Despite what it says in the article, I haven't seen any yellow.

Campanula - it is true that over 100 years ago they planted thousands of Mme Caroline Testout roses in Portland, I think they were planted along the main streets. I do recall somewhere reading a couple of years ago that a rose person had found several remaining plants from the original plantings, still alive and blooming.

Jackie

I am now wanting to plan a trip sometime in the future... :D