I cannot give you any specific advice, as my climate here in Northern California is too different.

The one piece of advice that is always universally good would be to find some LOCAL folks who are knowledgeable about which roses grow best in your climate. It is for some weird reason almost a secret that all roses DO NOT do well everywhere, but if you find ones that love your climate, which means stay mostly disease free without spraying poisons all over the birds and bees, you and the roses will be much happier.

So, if I were you I would find my local rose society (they are everywhere), and keep posting on here, until you find some local advice. Look around your neighborhood and area - does anyone grow roses successfully? Are there any old gardens where roses have survived?

It is seriously much better to do this sort of research, instead of just buying modern roses based on their color. You might want to consider old or heritage roses -

Anyway, good luck -

Jackie

Thanks Jackie. Zone 6 has its limitations. I also forgot to ask: where is a good place to buy reputably online?

I can't help with the zone but my comment is that roses always do better with a good mulch layer on top no matter where you are so don't skip that part.

I saw a wonderful planting of the colors you are describing and what made it fantastic was a few reds here and there to bring out the coral orange colors.

Start with quality plants and know what the acidity of your soil is because that will determine what kind of roots you want your roses grafted on if you aren't going to start with small own root plants.

Clay loam is very good soil for roses. Don't dig a trench and fill it with mucky organic stuff.

The roses that you mention are highly susceptible to black spot and will need spraying with fungicide every two weeks. The most resistant coral rose I know of is 'Rosarium Uetersen', which is a semi-climber and would need a trellis. If you have room below the windows, you could probably keep it to 6' height.

A good rose for foundation planting is 'Carefree Sunshine.' which is light yellow. It is disease resistant, free blooming, and dense with attractive foliage. It can be kept to 4' height. Go to HelpMeFind.com to learn about rose varieties.

Jackie's advice to find a local society is very good. They will know which roses have the best disease resistance in your area. You can locate a local society by going to the American Rose Society web site.

Some other oranges that I like are Tuscan Sun, Vavoom and Granada. For some blends there are Livin Easy, Easy Does It and Disneyland Rose.

There are a lot of on line nurseries but do check around your area for local ones too. They will have potted roses that are bigger going in so may be stronger for their first winter. Due to the costs of shipping on line nurseries will be sending you small bands or one gallon pots.

Some on line ones are:
Rogue Valley
Heirloom
Burlington
Angel Gardens
Regans
Edmunds
Palatine
but there are a lot of others I've missed for sure.

Your soil will be fine for roses. If still concerned, Rutgers Extension Service can do a soil test, link below.

What type of rose you grow depends on your care preferences, including time and use of synthetic pesticides. Hybrid tea roses, such as Fragrant Cloud and Tropicana, are not resistant to blackspot, and will require more care than roses such as Knock Out or Carefree Sunshine.

The best place to order roses is Palatine Nursery. They might be sold out of most varieties, as ordering started last September. There are other varieties that might fit your needs, send me an email. I can also put in you touch with Consulting Rosarians who may live close to you to provide additional information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory

Just to give you an idea of how much work hybrid teas can be: I have 450+ own-root antique and non-HT roses. My friend has 25 grafted hybrid teas. She spends more time caring for her 25 than I spend on all of mine.

It depends a lot on your priorities. HTs don't HAVE to be more work unless you want to exhibit. Otherwise they require the EXACT same care as any other rose, sun, soil, water, fertilizer and a pruning once in a while.

No, on the east coast HT's have to be sprayed. Really, truly, honestly, you have to take our word on that one. I've grown HTs in the midwest, and it's a totally different ball game. A much easier one.

If I only had pictures of that JFK. The trouble I could make....

Thank you all for your advice! I realize I'm late for bare root roses, so we'll go slowly this year & be prepared for next.

Loosen up your soil, and concentrate on getting rid of any weeds that are hanging around. You could grow some little nectar bearing flowers to encourage beneficial insects which will stay around to eat up aphids next year and attract some butterflies this year. If your native soil isn't alkaline like mine is, Palatine is the place to go.

I do understand, Mad, but I live on the Great Lakes and BS is rampant here too. It's a humidity soup bowl all year. I can count on having it. I just have decide that I don't have to stress out if the roses aren't perfect or spot free all of the time. I've learned to except it. The blooms are still beautiful anyway.

No. It is like somebody in zone 7 telling somebody in zone 4 that they know all about hardiness and winterkill because they sometimes lose a rose also.

Lake Erie is also a Great Lake and a source of humidity. The Atlantic Ocean is just a wee bit bigger.