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Bourbons in zone 5a

17 years ago

Are there any Bourbon roses that survive in zone 5a? I am considering Edith de Murat. I already have Louise Odier. I also have Mme. Isaac Pereire but it dies back pretty much in the winter and I have yet to see a bloom.

Comments (14)

  • 17 years ago

    I have a number of them including the two you mention. They do die back and need severe pruning each spring but rebound quickly. Their only protection is the oak leaves that collect at their base in fall.
    Neither one blooms much after the initial spring flush.

  • 17 years ago

    There are Bourbons and then there are Bourbons. The hardiest ones are once bloomers like Bourbon Queen.

  • 17 years ago

    I read that the rose in commerce as Edith de Murat may be Mme. Cornelissen, a sport of Souv. de la Malmaison. If so, it is cane hardy only to around 5 degrees F and may not be crown-hardy in your zone without protection. However in z5 with warm summers, I think these roses might be grown successfully as small (18") dieback shrubs.

  • 17 years ago

    'Variegata di Bologna' has done well for me in zone 4 with no dieback last winter. It is about 4'. It is a once bloomer.

    'Zigeunerblut', 'Parkzierde', and 'Gipsy Boy' are all doing very well in zone 6 with no dieback.

    'Souvenir de la Malmaison' still struggles to maintain 1' after eight years.

  • 17 years ago

    SdlM experienced almost no die back last winter. No winter protection. It was her first winter in the ground, having spent the last two in a pot in my garage. The winter was average with the lowest night around 5 degrees. SdlM is about 3' tall and has about 30 buds right now.

  • 17 years ago

    Harry, our low was also 5 degrees (three times). Of my three SDLM-family plants, two lost 50% of their cane and one lost 90%. This is including canker damage. I doubt mine will ever make it to 3', but they are still worthwhile. They might do better in the Midwest with sharper seasonal boundaries and some snow cover.

  • 17 years ago

    I grow a grafted Katleen Harrop and an own root Charles Lawson, both die back to snow level, and rebound into large healthy bushes every year. Louise Odier(very old graft) is a large bush for me, but suffers from powdery mildew and is not the most generous bloomer.Honorine de Brabant,(own root), started off slowly, but by it's 3rd year is a nice strong bush. Variegata de Bologna(own root) is one tough rose, although I wish it bloomed more....I think that you have to experiment with where you site the bush.. personally, my attitude is that I will grow a new bush as an annual for a few summers, if it doesn't live up to my expectations, I trade it, or give it to someone, but try to enjoy it when it is there. Donna

  • 17 years ago

    It got down to -20 F last winter. We also typically have several warm cold cycles and unreliable snow cover. Louise Odier is very hardy but so far not much rebloom. At least it didn't die like many of my Austins, Bucks and Romanticas.

  • 17 years ago

    I just emailed a rosarian for our region and he echoed what the previous post said. I have been growing a few roses (Ballerina and Zephirine Drouin, a classic Bourbon)on the SW side of Chicago for several years and had lots of die-back this year. ZD was at least 7 feet tall and partially budded, but the -20F temps were not what did her in. I think it was that last snowstorm we had when all the bulbs even broke ground in March. Since the canes survived the winter as all the dead maerial had swollen buds.

    All my roses happen to be planted near walkways and sidewalks and I make it a point to throw lots of snow on them in the winter (up to 40inches this year). Even the hydrangeas which I winter protect had dieback from that damn snowstorm and all 10-12 clematis needed to be cut down to about 4 inches since their buds froze if exposed to the wind of that storm.

    In any case, I think I am going to wrap the ZD rose up in burlap and add some styrofoam packing material or something that drains well. That will be post later as the season wears on - I dont want to think of winter now!!!

  • 17 years ago

    If this keeps up I will have to to to once blooming OGRs!

  • 17 years ago

    I feel your pain predfern!

    Bucks to me are worthless, sure there are a couple I could grow, but the massive false advertising on them just turns me so off have purchased a neat dozen over the years.. they are all dead! I will not purchase any more. They are great for zone 5 in southern ohio and illionios (i guess) but do nothing here in our very long wet winters.

    Austins are a mixed bag.. several should survive to -20 without that much die back, do you grow mary rose or crocus rose? You can throw in winchester cathedral and the mayflower to that bag, all should work to -20 without any significant die back. I find Austins to be hardier than the bucks on the whole, but not that all of them will survive. Alot will die near snowline for you. This will be the last year for my abe darby, he is down to half the canes he had when I first bought him. =(.

    Romanticas blah, I didnt even touch them, several of my friends had purchased a # of them, all dead.

    Im starting to purchase cane hardy only roses for my zone, (well maybe a ratio of 4-1, still have to try some of the others to see if they work) , this will include a # of albas and gallicas, sure its once blooming, but heck, with 0 dieback and thier just drop dead fragrance (and they bloom before japanese beetle season!) there are some pluses. I will also be adding some more canadians, Prairie joy is going in this year.

    Also, you might want to check out some of the hybrid perpetuals, alot are hardier than any of the bourbons could be, Celeste probable could give you a great list of her hardiest roses, she grows so many!

  • 17 years ago

    I really don't care if my roses are cane hardy as long as they are crown hardy and will come back after a difficult winter. Even though mine are all hardy varieties, I still place and allow leaves to blow in and settle at their bases. Of 450 roses in my yard, all are own root or in the case of new bare roots have buried the bud union 4-6 inches deep.
    Although some die back to the ground, my many Buck roses have survived well for me. They also give me the high centered hybrid tea type bloom most of my other hardy shrubs lack. And I'm in zone 5a, 40 miles south of Chicago but in the shadow of Lake Michigan which greatly affects our weather.

  • 17 years ago

    I don't mind if my roses die back in the winter, as long as they come back in the spring. I guess that means crown hardy. Six of my roses died this winter, including Prairie Star which is supposed to be a hardy Buck rose.

    I am planning to get some more HPs and Portlands. The problem (especially in the back yard) is that HPs and Portlands are attacked by some kind of insect pest which makes a web on the buds and kills them. The pest doesn't seem to bother the modern roses. Thus either I get hardy OGRs that get few blooms because the pest kills the buds or I get modern roses which die over the winter.

    I will consider Winchester Cathedral. I prefer fragrant roses and Crocus is supposed to have little fragrance. Mary Rose is also supposed to have a light fragrance. Since Winchester Cathedral is a sport of Mary Rose, does it have the same light fragrance? Evelyn survived the winter with dieback and is bouncing back well. Sharifa Asma is pretty hardy.

    Canadian Explorers seem to suffer from poor bloom form, poor repeat, and little fragrance (except rugosa hybrids). I already have some rugosas. Show me a hardy, fragrant (non rugosa) Canadian Explorer with nice bloom form and good repeat and I will try it.

    I am trying some Delbards and Mme. Figaro died over the winter. Not a good sign, although Mme. Bovary survived. I got a few more in my spring order so we shall see.

    I am glad to hear that someone else is having trouble with Buck roses. We really need to separate the wheat from the chaft on these. Prairie Breeze has bounced back pretty well. Earthsong is slow to come back as is Griff's Red. Honeysweet bounced back OK.

    Most of my Generosa roses survived the winter albeit with much dieback. Martine Guillot looks like the hardiest of the bunch.

    Surprisingly there is one Romantica that survived the winter and bounced back nicely - Bolero.

  • 17 years ago

    Fragrance on some roses seem to be dependent on him or her who is smelling, like robusta, the kordes rose, I get a faint fragrance every time, others nothing.. I think mary rose has a moderate mryhh smell, as many of the canadians I get a morderate scent, but then there are others that I cant smell at all! Every one raves about jude the obscure, I found a fragrance, but I think it smelled like tabbaco to me! I didnt like it at all! Others swear its one of the most fragrant and unusual blend.

    I was waiting on a defense of the bucks, I know there are a couple that would do well for me, but I just think in the east coast they on a whole, are not even crown hardy here. I know I could grow quitness and applejack, probable a couple more, that are truly hardier. But there is a whole list that has died for me, I lost my last buck rose here over this winter and that was prarie sun, I loved the form and fragrance on this rose as well. but alas! Its a goner.

    One of the reasons Im replacing more and more roses with cane hardy varieties, is im sick of looking at 3-4 foot bushes every year. I want some I can smell without crawling in the dirt! Im over six feet tall and it drives me nuts if I have to get on my knees to smell some of these roses! Plus I wanted to add some more vertical definition.

    I think part of my problem with bucks is I would try to get non pinks, to add color interest, they just didnt seem to do well..

    honey sweet lasted one year
    {{gwi:262633}}

    Winter Sunset lasted two years

    {{gwi:262634}}

    Prarie Sunrise one year

    {{gwi:262636}}

    There are more these were the ones I had already loaded photobucket, Its not that I dont like there color or form! Trust me if they lived I would be raving about them as well.

    Silverkelt