Rosa laevigata x 'Anemone'

The pink Cherokee rose is a big, vigorous, early-flowering climber grown for one glorious effect: large, single, silvery-pink flowers, up to four inches across, each a simple five-petaled saucer lit by a central boss of gold stamens. Where the true Cherokee rose blooms white, this one blooms in clear, soft pink, and opens early, in the first warm reach of spring, ahead of most roses.

The rose is a hybrid of the Cherokee rose, Rosa laevigata, the evergreen Chinese climber long naturalized across the Deep South and adopted as the state flower of Georgia, crossed with a tea rose to lend the pink. Introduced in the 1890s and long known simply as the Anemone rose for the poppy-like simplicity of the bloom, the plant keeps the vigor and glossy evergreen foliage of the Cherokee parent on a more open, refined frame. Unlike the thornless Lady Banks roses, this one is armed with hooked thorns, so the plant makes a formidable as well as beautiful screen.

This is a plant for the collector and the lover of old and unusual roses. The pink Cherokee is seldom seen in the trade, and Woodlanders' stock traces to cuttings received from Longwood Gardens in the 1980s, a good provenance for a rose that has never been common. Growing the plant keeps a scarce, historic hybrid in cultivation.

Give the pink Cherokee rose full sun and room to climb: a strong fence, a large arbor, a pergola, or a bank to cascade down, where the early single flowers can be seen at close range and the evergreen foliage can screen the year round. Drought tolerant once established and tough in heat, the plant suits a warm-climate garden and a difficult, sunny spot alike. Site the thorny canes back from close-passed walks, give a strong support, and enjoy one of the loveliest and earliest of the climbing roses.