HelpMeFind Roses, Clematis and Peonies
Roses, Clematis and Peonies
and everything gardening related.
DescriptionPhotosLineageAwardsReferencesMember RatingsMember CommentsMember JournalsCuttingsGardensBuy From 
'Mrs. Foley-Hobbs' rose Reviews & Comments
Discussion id : 133-920
most recent 29 JUL 22 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 29 JUL 22 by Hamanasu
I have THE BRIDE from Trevor White (they were the only commercial source for this rose, possibly worldwide, but dropped it from their catalogue this year) and I must say that it looks suspiciously similar to pictures and descriptions of Mrs Foley Hobbs...
REPLY
Discussion id : 95-140
most recent 6 MAR 18 SHOW ALL
 
Initial post 30 SEP 16 by Patricia Routley
I think I must have a wrongly named rose because my own-root bush (provenance Ruth Jones in 2001) looks a one metre high hybrid tea. I put it in a bed for tea roses and it cowers down like a sore...little finger. Nothing at all tea-like about my bush and I am wondering if it was the form of the bloom which suggested the class of Tea.
REPLY
Reply #1 of 7 posted 2 MAR 18 by HubertG
Did you happen to get your Mrs. Foley Hobbs ultimately via Ruth from Ross Roses?
Years ago I ordered a "White Dr Grill" from Ross roses which they said had come from Sangerhausen. It seemed to be bush of Mrs.Foley Hobbs. Although it was a small bush it did put out vigorous shoots, superb large flowers, quite free-flowering and superbly scented. I really liked it. I later lost it (too much shade) and when I rang Ross's to replace it they said they had gotten rid of their "White Dr Grill". So I ordered Mrs Foley Hobbs from them instead. It seemed identical in every way but the growth was very weak, the flowers small and malformed and I was very disappointed in it. Otherwise the leaves, fragrance, thorniness were all the same. It just seemed to be weak, inferior version of the same plant. I got rid of it. I really wished I had saved my "White Dr Grill".
I wonder if there is just a weak clone of this rose out there?
REPLY
Reply #2 of 7 posted 2 MAR 18 by Patricia Routley
In one of my photos of 'Mrs. Foley Hobbs I have said "Provenance apparently was Sangerhausen-1; Rumsey-2; Ruston-3; Ruth Jones-4;. Planted in 2001." Mine is on its own roots, and came from a Heritage Roses in Australia member, Ruth Jones, near Perth.
I need to propagate mine as I only have one plant. However, age is enforcing the end of my propagating days I think. If ever I succeed with more than one cutting I will send you one (but don't hold your breath). My own-root bush on acid loam is small, and interestingly, Hillary Merrifield on alkaline sand (and likely to be in Fortuniana) says hers is almost a climber. Tea Roses. Old Roses for Warm Gardens has a superb couple of pages on 'Mrs. Foley-Hobbs'.
REPLY
Reply #3 of 7 posted 2 MAR 18 by HubertG
Thanks. I must get the book. For what it's worth I've posted a couple of old photos of my old "White Dr Grill" under MrsFH. It's hard to believe that this rose could nearly make a climber. Perhaps its vigour is very particular to the stock it's on. The early descriptions do praise its vigour.
REPLY
Reply #4 of 7 posted 2 MAR 18 by Margaret Furness
The Renmark notes say: Rose sold in Aus as White Dr Grill: see Mrs Foley Hobbs.
The first Mrs Foley Hobbs in the HRIAI collection at Renmark, from a different nursery, turned out to be virused. We planted one from Ross Roses last winter but it's too early to comment on its growth.
I hope I have a young cutting-grown Mrs FH from David's 30-year-old Tea rows, which were demolished last year, but am not sure of the ID yet. The parent plant was halfway between two labels.
REPLY
Reply #5 of 7 posted 2 MAR 18 by HubertG
I hope that the MrsFH from Ross's turn out to be a lot more vigorous than the one I had.
REPLY
Reply #6 of 7 posted 6 MAR 18 by billy teabag
Are your roses dense with prickles? Do those prickly flower stems curve to look at the ground like the man with the muck rake as Lt Commander PRIDEAUX wrote in 1949? Do you end up with blood leaking out of your arms every time you go near the thing to trim or tidy?
If yes, you probably do have 'Mrs Foley Hobbs'. Its growth habit is what I think of as on the cusp on HT and Tea - a more definite structure of branches.
Tall plants are almost always quite old plants that have been left to their own devices for a couple of years, during which time they've used those wicked hooks and curves to grab their neighbours and stretch towards the sun.
Mine was runty for its first years but when it got to about 10 years old it did as described above and pushed upwards.
The 'Mrs Foley Hobbs' in commerce today originated in Sangerhausen. To confuse matters, budwood of same rose was received in a different consignment from Sangerhausen labelled 'Dr Grill' and Ross Roses sold it for a time as "White Dr Grill". To further confuse matters, budwood of 'William R. Smith' was also received in a consignment from Sangerhausen labelled 'Dr Grill'. (Sadly, the real 'Dr Grill' doesn't seem to have been a part of any consignment.)
If you're interested in the various 'received as' es we got to the bottom of while researching the Tea rose book, they are mentioned in the individual entries and are summarised in the last (2007) column of Appendix IV (pp210 -218) of Tea Roses, Old roses for warm gardens. While this information is specific to Australia, many of these errors are the same world-wide, because the distribution of heritage roses was in the hands of just a few nurserymen and enthusiasts in the early days of the revival of interest in heritage roses.
REPLY
Reply #7 of 7 posted 6 MAR 18 by HubertG
Both of mine had lots of big thorns but the vigour between the two was apparent from the initial planting. The only other difference I remember (I have neither bush now) was that the "White Dr Grill" had a habit of throwing out shoots at odd angles giving it a somewhat contorted 'wavy' branch structure. Because they were from the same nursery I assume the same root stock was used. They looked like the same rose in every other respect, perhaps the budwood had been taken off different parts of the mother plant.
It did look like a Tea-Hybrid Tea blend to me. The foliage was rather dark green which always looked nice against the cream flowers, and the leaf edges were wavy.
REPLY
Discussion id : 41-491
most recent 1 JAN 10 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 1 JAN 10 by kahlenberg
this is one of my favourites, although prickly she is, indeed, but the petals are of a remarkably good substance, almost waxy. as with many teas, the sepals bend back very early, leaving the petals exposed to the weather for quite a long time before they start to expand (the variety showing this effect the most impressive way is homére); in my climate, this leads the outer petals to crinkle. very irregular growth and very much like a hybrid tea. the foliage is large and glossy, although there is little of it. in earlier times the blooms wouldn´t have been shown unwired, but i like the "weak necks". probably a better rose for the greenhouse than for the garden.
REPLY
Discussion id : 33-176
most recent 15 JAN 09 HIDE POSTS
 
Initial post 15 JAN 09 by Cass
How does one distinguish 'Mrs Foley-Hobbs' from Madame Scipion Cochet as illustrated in Journal des roses? I suppose the foliage is different.
http://www.helpmefind.com/plant/pics.php?l=2.4027&nr=61041
REPLY
Reply #1 of 1 posted 15 JAN 09 by billy teabag
I paused over that portrait today as well, Cass, seeing a resemblance in the prickles and the bloom form and went to check what the early writers had to say about it.
We don't have anything purporting to be 'Mme Scipion Cochet' in Australia, but early descriptions of this rose describe pink, apricot and yellow in the colour range.
'Mrs Foley-Hobbs' is consistently ivory white with an occasional pink blush on the petal edges.
REPLY
© 2024 HelpMeFind.com