Yes -- there is a green rose, Rosa chinensis veridiflora. A China rose, it is hardy only in zones 7 and 9. In bud it is sort of pretty, but when it blooms it becomes a curiosity -- not petaled but scaled in green spotted with brown. It has some value as a curiosity; it is a popular passalong plant in the American South, and has survived extinction while prettier roses perished.
Still, if one must have spots there are better choices than green and brown. Meet Freckles, which has been tentatively identified as a hybrid by Griffin Buck, who specializes in extra hardy roses. This is what is called a stippled rose,because the dot pattern on the rose petals resembles that made by a stippling brush. 'Papa Vibert shows an even stronger dotted pattern. This rose is a real newcomer to the scene, hybridized by Brent Dickerson, author of The Old Rose Advisor which is reviewed here this week. A Damask Perpetual, this rose will bloom all summer.
But sometimes a dotty garden isn't quite the thing. Perhaps stripes would be more to your liking. Striped roses have been around since at least the early 17th century, with Rosa Mundi. A Gallica, and thus a once-bloomer, Rosa Mundi is, according to legend named after the fair Rosamund, lover of King Henry II of England. According to rumor, Rosamund met her death by poison sent by a jealous Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her rose, however survives, in my garden and countless others. The blossoms look like flowery peppermints.
If you like that look but prefer reblooming roses, Ferdinand Pichard, a Bourbon (and so a repeat bloomer) gives the same look, albeit in somewhat softer colors.
One rose that is anything but soft is Rosa serica pteracantha. It bears small white flowers, but people scarcely notice, so awed are they by the nearly inch wide thors that bristle from this fearsome plant. But this rose is more than a guard dog for the privacy-minded. Those thorns are a brilliant red, which, backlit by the sun gleams brilliantly. This is one rose that really shines in winter. Just be sure to keep your distance.
It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but some roses have no thorns -- or at least so few that you hardly notice. My favorite thornless ones are David Austin's Heritage, which even Austin himself proclaims his finest rose. A pale apricot rose, it blooms all summer for me, and is probably the most beautiful rose in the garden -- and a pleasure to prune and deadhead, freed as I am of the worry of being snared in its prickles.
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