Roses in Bloom

To answer your first question, the rose above is a wild rose -- called, appropriately, Arizona rose. It is near my door and I grew it from seed (a feat I'm quite proud of.)

Like all wild roses, the plant has more than enough thorns, and like all roses, it delivers more blossoms if it is cut back ruthlessly -- a lesson I learned from my mother who, at 100+, still criticizes the landscapers at the senior home where she lives, "They just don't know how to prune roses."

The other rose -- the yellow, below -- is an old fashioned variety found around and about Prescott and
environs. It must be close to wild, if one judges by the quantity of thorns. One of the biggest I've seen is a huge bush that grew for many years along the Iron Springs Rd. as it enters Skull Valley.

I don't know the yellow's name, but there's a hedge of 'em at Sharlot Hall on the Gurley St. side. One friend, an old-timer, calls them the "Henderson roses", after an early settler. I'd love to have one of these roses in my yard. However, the nurseries won't carry them because their bloom lasts only about 2 weeks -- and once the blossoms are gone, say the nurseries, nobody is interested in buying.

So, you might say, why don't you grow one from seed? Hah! About 10 years ago, I did see a handful of hips on the Sharlot Hall bushes that were red and developing, but I didn't follow through. Those were the last I've seen. It turns out that these Henderson beauties reproduce almost entirely via underground runners.