This picture has some of the prickles in it.

Up close of a single leaf.

Nope -- that's not enough to tell much of anything, except that it's been in that band pot too long, and is not particularly liking those confines.. Give it a gallon size pot and then give us a pic when it blooms and maybe we can be of some help.

I would love to hear what people have gotten as the free mystery rose.

I got one back in 2011. It's pink and orange (my least favorite color in a rose). Blooms once a year, only a few flowers. Has one giant octopus cane with sparse foliage. Mildews. It's free again to anyone who wants it!

Melissa

I got one last spring, a lovely yellow single, very healthy foliage. Thought it might be Harrisons Yellow, but it is a very good repeat bloomer. Wish I had a photo of it....really like it. Got another one - looks like it might be a gallica as it suckers, bloomed a few pretty pink blooms in spring but nothing since. Both are very healthy - looking forward to getting them planted after Christmas. Will get photos and post when they bloom - would really enjoy knowing what the yellow one is.
Judith

One convenient thing about Rogue Valley Roses and their mystery roses is that after you've had them growing a year, you can use their website's advanced search option to narrow down the possibilities. See the link below, and pick characteristics which apply to your rose (hold the OPTION key down to select more than one per field), ignore any which you don't know (such as class, ultimate size, etc.) and click SEARCH. If you still don't find what you think you've got, keep in mind that many of their newer inventory hasn't had descriptions added, and so you can then try going through their (long) alphabetical list. Either way, cross-reference on HelpMeFind. I figured out that one of my "unofficial" mystery roses was 'Belle Story', which was actually labeled 'Zitronenfalter', and was SUPPOSED to be 'Zephirine Drouhin'.

:-)

~Christopher

Here is a link that might be useful: Advanced Search at RVR

Thanks for the tip. I have a couple of mystery roses from RVR, too, and tried to find out from them what I got instead of the two Marianne I got but had no reply. Someone here in Sweden thought they might be Mary Rose but I will search further.

I went ahead and potted up all the new bands to gallons.

So the mystery roses aren't necessarily other free rose options that the buyer didn't pick? I had assumed it would work like that, but that's a bit more exciting if they could be any rose Rogue Valley has in stock. I just hope I didn't get a Gallica or some other rose that has no shot here in zone 10/24. However, I would guess they're pretty good about that.

Jay

I think that RVR uses roses from which the tags have been lost in their own stock as their "mystery roses." I have also noticed that they have a penchant for sending roses where the writing has "almost" worn off of their tags, so I suspect that has actually happened to them a good deal in their own stock.

So, really, it could be anything on any of their lists, or actually, anything they were thinking about adding and never got around to actually adding.

It is definitely not just the "free roses." Those Identities are known -- they just had more success in growing them than in selling them, hence their presence on the "free" lists.

I think a lot of the roses they use as freebies are once bloomers that are pink, as they are the hardest to id, and I have several of those that I have received from them over the years. I have no use for pink once-bloomers, and they have been tossed.

Here is a picture of my RVR mystery rose. Even though its still in a 3 gallon pot, it gave me several blooms in late October. I really like it - clear, nonfading yellow. Its not a mini.....anyone care to take a guess? I have asked RVR before about mystery roses and sent a photo but never had a reply. I would really like to know what this one is.
Judith

Judith, that might be 'Sunny June.'

This is one of two mystery roses from RVR, ordered as Marianne. Perhaps someone has an idea what it might be?

This is the other mystery rose that is NOT Marianne either. I know it is almost hopeless to name them as they are both a generic pink.