My Brother dug up a rose bush from an old homestead property he purchased in 2023. I need help identifying the rose bush, My brother passed away in 2024 with Brain Cancer. I contacted the original owner and she never planted the rose bush, her daughter couldn’t even remembering her mother planting the rose. The owner said its got to be a wild climbing rose. she told me to name it after my brother. Terrence Wade Kirl. Can you help me? The older Lady at Green Gate Gardens in Lake Charles said it looks like a Dr Huey Rose. if you need any additional pictures let me know. April of 2024, when he brought it to me a place it in a bucket of water, the started it in a pot, planted it in the ground in March 2025.
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Does this rose re-bloom for you? If it only blooms once it could be Dr Huey. How long has it been in the ground?
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He gave it to me in April of 2024 and it didn’t bloom in water bucket or potted dirt, my baby brother age 51 lived 15 months after being diagnosed with GBM aggressive brain Cancer. I planted it from the potted root March 2025, it bloom once in April 2025, the smell is a very soft rose smell, not over powering. also has lot of big thorns at the base when not blooming. It amazes me no thorns when blooming. This year it has cluster of buds, last year may 2 on a cluster, most of the leaves are at 6 to 7, not 5 rule leaves. I have been following it very closely. It was dug up from tall grass and very wet area, it had a lot of Iris all around it. These pictures shows the progress from start of first year till planted. The first picture I posted was this year 2026. I have so enjoyed studying the growth progress and loving every moment it teaches me something new everyday. I have not pruned any branches yet. This year I noticed this tips of the branches dying, so I decided to trim the brown of after it bloomed because some of the buds are dying back and not opening. I am new to growing rose, and have really enjoy the study, history of every rose I have purchase so far. I fertilize with rose food, blood meal, bone meal quarterly. The Roses are a very deep red, as the age and start to die, they fade to pink. I tried to post several pictures but it won’t let me because I an new user.
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Definately ‘Dr. Huey’. They are very invasive, only blooms once a season and really not that attractive. What it was is the root stock of a rose that died or was taken over by Dr. Hey. You can keep it, but I would look for a rose that was introduced the year your brother died with a name you can relate too. Lots of roses are introduced every year so I know you can find something.
Happy Gardening, MsMary
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Thank you very much,
I think I will keep it, and will still call it my Terry rose. Everything about the rose bush screams Terry. I thank the Lord for him, he was part of my root that died, he was wild kind character everybody loved him. So I can relate to the rose, his mud truck was pink, he loved pink, and his side by side was dark red, he liked red. Terry was a very out going person, and I never left his side, with his journey with GBM cancer never did my sister in law. he was so resilient, and brave his journey well. he dug up 2 pieces of the rooted bush and gave me and my sister in law a piece, her part of the root did not live. Me and her are still close, she is now 52 and she will move into a new life without Terry. I was ask by a pastor friend of mine. Can these roses still be purchase? Also was this rose bush planted or how did it show up, the original owner of the property doesn’t remembering have a rose bush planted?
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I’m waiting for my Dr. Huey to bloom and will compare it to yours (mine is in a container, the top of the rose didn’t make it. It is not a bad rose, however, it is considered a climber and usually only blooms once, it is probably the most prolific rose root stock. I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your brother and how this rose is so important to you and why you want to preserve it.
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Yes, please share your rose with me. I loved to see it bloom. I will say I had less flowers last year, but this year Dr Huey , oh my goodness has an over abundance of flowers.I do fertilize quarterly. I just got started in growing Roses and Dr Huey is teaching me a lot about disease, and bugs, and soil condition. I took a picture on my Dr Huey, and Peggy Martin with the sunset shinning on them, it totally change the red color of Dr Huey. I started this color of my garden as a La heritage reflection garden. I purchased a Weeks Ediths Darling rose my understanding is its considered a mother and daughter rose. My mom passed away Dec 2022, right before we found out about Terry Brain Cancer, so I kinda had to have that rose also, I had to retire in 2023 because of my back issues. I have had more health issues, it has been a very crazy journey, but the roses give me purpose a feeling of accomplishment, gratitude. this year my focus has been observing growth patterns, now I and focusing on training then and pruning. I haven’t prune the climbers for 2 years except for dead heading. I thinking about putting the mother/daughter rose in the ground. I got the Distance drum rose on March 12, 2026 with 12 rose bloomed out, she now has 8 buds, I love the color, the buds make me think of strawberries, the same day I had a great biopsy done, so I call it my marry me bush, my husband was with me when I got it, so I pick at him and ask him if he would marry me again, and his answer, yes!.
Lovely pictures. Most of my roses are grown in pots on my driveway. On a hill and hard to plant in brick red clay.