Carabella?

HMF says 'Carabella' is thornless, or almost so. Can anyone vouch for this?

Yes thats pretty well correct. I had a look at our poor sick baby (its very sustable to scale and white mites). It needs a cutting back and feed. We tried to grow a hedge of it but it did not really go very well and was removed. We only have one left.

On the way down I noticed how well Artemis was flowering. It is a very underrated rose. This especially so for ours as it is not in the best soil and the bloody big Plumbagos stop most of the sunlight. However, their life is somewhat limited. Like most things in our garden they seem to have gotten quite large overnght and it was not intended for them to ever get like this.

Mine is totally thornless, even under the leaves. Just went and grabbed a branch to prove it. Only gets a quick shear in winter and limited water in summer. Nothing else. Has a few good flushes. Sets small hips. I quite like this one.

I think Susan Irvine has a hedge of Carabella in the front side of her house, pictured in "The Garden at Forest Hall".

I'm thinking of trying to get one to use in breeding... Over the last two weeks I have been ripped and torn by the most thorny roses and I've had enough.. my goal is now to breed thornless healthy rose shrubs for Australia!!!

Best of luck Simon you'll need it.

Careful of that one I gave you Bruce (the longicuspis var sinowilsonii.. maybe 'Wedding Day')... that was the one that got me good. I was pulling a long 1 inch thick branch out of a tree when it snapped and sprung back and smacked me in the face... the thorns on that thing are terrible... and it hurt like a

I have just finished pruning my Carabella. It took me over an hour. I took off more than I left on the bush and it is still 2 metres high and 1 metre wide. Not a thorn did I encounter.
There are also some hansome examples at Entally House near Launceston Tasmania.

I remember the one at Woolmers too Dee... Hey.. I met a friend of yours the other day... Her name was Lyndal.. didn't catch her last name small world

Simon, thanks for the warning, It's still here and growing well, has great roots. I believe it could become a future problem.
Wasn't that Malcolm Frazer who first came up with " No Pain no Gain ".

I will look at it as the first healthy rose building block.

Healthy is true for sure. Rampant.. also true... vicious... true again... guess you can't have your cake and eat it too huh It grew from a single stemmed cutting to a 7-8ft square plant in one season down here... I can only imagine how much it is loving a bit of warmth up there Will call its first progeny 'The Triffid'

Simon wrote:I remember the one at Woolmers too Dee... Hey.. I met a friend of yours the other day... Her name was Lyndal.. didn't catch her last name small world

Simon, that is great! I love that particular lady but have been out of touch for some time. She is sooo warm hearted, artistic and intelligent. give her my love if you see her again.