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R. wichuraiana  rose photo courtesy of member CybeRose
Photo Id: 257152

The Gardeners' Chronicle (Aug 14, 1897) ser. 3 vol. 22. pp. 99-100
Rosa Wichuraiana
There are very few wild types of Rosa whose flowering time comes so late in the year as the end of July and the beginning of August, but of these few R. Wichuraiana is one (fig. 28). It is of very recent introduction, but the distinct character of its growth and the late date at which it blossoms, have already obtained for it considerable notice in this country, although not so much as in the United States, where it is already a popular shrub. It is a native of Japan, and reached this country by the way of the United States about five or six years ago. The two characters which more than any others distinguish this Rose are its procumbent habit, and the very lustrous dark green colour of its leaves, these being, indeed, so bright on both sides as to suggest their being coated with varnish. Each one consists of five, seven, or nine leaflets, which are oblong or elliptical, serrated, and from 1/2 to 1 inch long. The petiole bears a few short spines and bristles, and the stipules have their margins set with glandular teeth. On the strong, succulent, non-flowering shoots of the current year, the wood is armed with stout curved spines, but on the thinner-flowering shoots of the following year they are mostly arranged in pairs just beneath each node. The flowers are of the purest white, and the clusters appear just above the dense carpet of glossy leaves, which completely covers the soil. Each flower is upwards of 2 inches in diameter, the petals (normally five) often numbering six or seven under cultivation. This species should be given a rich soil, and, what is of equal or greater importance, the sunniest possible position. It is, no doubt, the intense and prolonged sunshine it receives in North America that causes it to flower so abundantly there. It is a plant of vigorous and luxuriant growth, and can be increased with the greatest ease by means of cuttings put in during the next two or three weeks. W. J. B.

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