My ‘The Gift’ is about a year old and is trying to take over the world. It’s mostly 1’H x 9’W, but a few canes are trying to climb nearby perennials and are 4’H. It’s either self-layered or root-suckered once, but most of that width is the mother plant.

So far, it’s been a survivor. It’s tolerated the drought and horrible heat of La Niña better than many plants, with only occasional, stingy supplemental watering. It suffered a bit in the worst of the drought, but has mostly been very healthy and clean. It’s in dry shade, at the darker end of partial shade. It didn’t bloom last year, but I hardly expected it to do so in so much shade. I just wanted it to get established before I cut down a nearby tree.

The self-propagated plant is in more sun than the mother plant, and it’s blooming. The flowers are pretty against the dark green foliage and self-clean nicely. They have a lovely smell, but it doesn’t waft and if the plant stays so short, I probably won’t be crawling on the ground to smell the flowers much.

So far, I’m pleased but a little bit worried. I’ll have to see how much effort it takes to keep this thing from taking over my whole garden.

Available from - High Country Roses
highcountryroses.com

Available from - High Country Roses
http://www.highcountryroses.com/

Years ago Joyce Demits told me that 'The Gift' may have been a seedling beneath a tree climbing R. multiflora form which was then in the trade incorrectly as Rosa soulieana. This form of R. multiflora did not rebloom but had the single white flowers in tight elongate clusters somewhat like 'The Gift' but larger. As I recall this rose had leaflets which were somewhat rectangular.