Per the paper linked below (in Table 4, beginning on the paper's page 28), this rose is triploid. I am cross-posting this comment on all others mentioned which do not already have their ploidies mentioned in their descriptions.
I wonder if I have been a little bit too hasty here in changing my rose listing to read: ‘Bella di Monza’ – came as ‘Serratipetala’.
In the 'Bella di Monza' page, Ca Berta's leaf is certainly more linear with bluer tones and possibly a different texture to my leaves. And her receptacle is more sloping than my blocky, straight-sided receptacle. The bud seems the same and the stipules are identical.
Patricia, is the petiole of serratipetala armed with prickles well up the central leaflet? In Bella di Monza these prickles (that you can see in two photos posted) last for a long time.
Apologies for delay. I've been back and back to the bush looking at prickles. No firm conclusions. There are many leaves with no prickles under. However, the majority seem to have prickles up to the start of the end leaflet, but I did find two leaves with a prickle about midway on the end leaflet.
Patricia, can you have a look at the photos of 'Bella di Monza' please? The less-fringed blooms of your plant seem very much like BdM. The 1933 reference by Nicolas says that the found plant of "Serratipetala" had reverted back to normal blooms, but later produced the carnation-mutation. – Jedmar (in Serratipetala photo comment)
Jedmar, that is of much interest. Most china roses for me, sit for a few years and never do much growing at all. But this rose just leapt out of the ground and is now using ‘General Schablikine’ as a prop for its long canes. It has a most unusual habit of growth which I liken to some wanton woman spreading her legs and showing her all. (That 1933 reference puts it more politely and says, as I should, “bush diverging”) I have put on more pictures of my bush, leaf and buds. None of the petals are showing an entire edge at the moment. All seem serrated.
I do not know the provenance of my bush which is growing from a 1998 cutting, beyond that of the Pinjarra Heritage Rose Garden, bed No. 7, site No. 8. However, a large South Australian nursery imported ‘Serratipetala’ in 1965 from Sunningdale Nurseries in Surrey and it is possible that this may have been the same rose. .
I have no record of ‘Bella di Monza’ in any Australian catalogue or in the Australian Rose Annuals but I think you are so right here, that I shall change my rose listing to read: ‘Bella di Monza’ – came as ‘Serratipetala’. Many thanks for your very kind advice.
