Rose variety spreading north? Not so much (9)

I believe the answer is:

thornless

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'rose variety' is the definition.
The answer and definition are different parts of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives can sometimes define each other.

'spreading north? not so much' is the wordplay.
'spreading' indicates anagramming the letters.
'not so much' becomes 'less' (I've seen this before).
'north' with letters rearranged gives 'thorn'.
'thorn'+'less'='THORNLESS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for thornless that I've seen is " lacking points".)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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