Hi! I think I'll be watching this thread, as I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, edauphin. We are moving into our new house from an apartment, end of August (both in Toronto). Will look forward to any and all suggestions!

The HTs will be iffy. I have grown Mr. Lincoln twice here in zone 5B and one year it died, and the next year the rootstock took over despite the bud union being buried deep. And Mr. Lincoln is supposed to be one of the hardier hybrid teas. K. von Danemark is an OGR that is very hardy.

There are all sorts of Canadian Explorer roses that will be perfectly hardy, along with other newer classes bred for cold climates. But they don't really have any fragrance, if that's a priority for you.

I grow a lot of David Austins and they have the old-fashioned OGR look, are fragrant, vigorous (they do need to be pruned hard from winterkill in the spring but they bounce right back) and repeat bloom all season. You could look into those if that OGR look appeals to you. Of course you could go with a lot of OGR gallicas and albas, and other classes, which are beautiful but usually don't repeat.

i am guessing that along with a colder winter than where i am (PNW), you also have higher humidity too. very important for your success is to research the plants that will thrive in your conditions; there is no point in planting a rose that just will not work there no matter how much you want it.
i agree with the explorer roses; you might also want to look into the morden series as well.
kordes makes many hardy reliable varieties that grow well in canadian climates.

You have quite a variety available in this area.

If you like OGRs ...
Albas/Gallicas/Damasks are hardy but once-blooming.
Damask-Portlands are hardy and repeat.
Boubons/Hybrid Perpetuals are mostly hardy and repeat.
Chinas/Noisettes/Teas are not hardy here.

David Austin roses - many are hardy (not all though) and repeat.

HTs are borderline hardy over the winter, usually need protection, but some make it ok without.

The Explorer series is one to look at, Morden as well. Kordes too, is hardy and has some beautiful selections.

You do have quite a few options. Take a look through the Pickering website, under the different classes of roses I mentioned, and look for the ones that appeal to you.

A lot of people don't like the idea of once-blooming roses. I just want to say that there are some pros to once-bloomers as well. Their big flush of bloom is quite simply spectacular. They make really nice garden shrubs (for the most part) while they are not blooming, a good backdrop to the rest of the garden. They tend to bloom before Japanese Beetles start attacking roses and so aren't affected by them very much (huge plus). Very hardy in our zone and only need pruning after they bloom. These classes of roses are certainly something to look into. I have a nice mix of once-bloomers and repeat-bloomers. The colour of the Gallicas, and the beauty of the Damasks and Albas is hard for me to ignore, but neither do I want to go most of the summer without roses :) so I compromise!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mad Dogs and Englishmen

I'm about 30 minutes away from your new home.

Send me an email through my profile page and I would be happy to help you.

What will be most helpful is to understand the various exposures of your yard and how much direct and filtered sun each area will receive. It is also possible to grow some more tender HT roses in your area as you will have abundant snow cover, but exposure is key as to providing certain microclimates where they can thrive best.

Beyond this, a lot of it will be trial and error as every garden and every yard is different.
Tim

I'm in zone 5a and grow 400 roses, mostly hardy shrub varieties. Except for four OGRs, all repeat bloom from late May through late fall.
Hybrid rugosas and Canadian Explorers are the hardiest and most disease resistant, with many surviving winter green to the tips. Most though get some dieback and many require severe pruning. The only winter protection I use is that provided by Mom Nature in the form of leaves blown into the flower beds.
I have several hybrid rugosas blooming now.
Included in my 400 are 30 hardy climbers, several minifloras, and 20 hybrid teas.
I should mention that all mine are own root or grafted roses that were planted deep and have gone own root.
You can enjoy many roses in zone 5a and below but to minimize work you should choose those suited for your area.

karl, are any of those 400 roses you mentioned heavily fragrant?

A lot of my roses have died so I know all about trial and error. Sharifa Asma is a particularly hardy and fragrant Austin rose. Evelyn is also surprisingly hardy. Many Buck roses are hardy also. Try Earthsong, Quietness and Honeysweet. Martine Guillot is a hardy and vigorous Generosa rose. Rose de Rescht is a good repeating OGR. If rabbits are a problem, protect young roses with hardware cloth or chicken wire wired into 5' diameter cylinders.

I'll add to the list as well:

William Bafflin and New Dawn climbers, Ballerina, Austin: A Shropshire Lad and Gert Jekyll, Reinnes des violettes (Hyb Perpt), Chrysler Imperial (HT - pretty hardy with protection) and Zephirine Drouin (Bourbon) has increasing hardiness (first few winters dies to the ground, but this winter no tip damage and this winter was the worst in Chicagoland in a while). Also, the meilland shrub roses are between hardy and weedy.

There was a great thread named "ridiculously hardy roses in Zone 4" that might be of interest - I printed it actually. I usually go off of these lists, as you should to - so the more we can add to them the better!

Correction: 5' circumference hardware cloth or chickenwire cylinders.

The hybrid rugosas are intensely fragrant but the bloom shape and flower cluster are an acquired taste. The cluster contains several flower buds which open one at a time as the previous one fades. Removing the spent bloom keeps the flower cluster tidy. Once the complete cluster is spent, cutting it off just below the entire cluster promotes a new one, thus repeat blooms all season. I've found they'll repeat without removing but not as well and the bush looks better if removed. some hardy climbers are fragrant as well as several shrub roses. You'll have to wait until mine are in bloom so I can smell them all and make a list.
The rugosas are extremely hardy to boot.

My advice is to start slow and learn your new yard before you invest in a ton of roses. Every yard has it's own micro climates and it takes time to figure those out. I have a spot that is always 5 to 10 degrees warmer than any other place in the yard. And another that never seems to get warm. You also need to figure out what kind of wind and sun exposure each place receives through out the day and the seasons. Then there's soil conditions and water drainage issues. Take your time and you'll lose fewer roses and be happier. BTW, in the right spot in your yard HTs may do just fine with some winter protection. I know a lot people in MI zone 5 and even 4 that grow, exhibit and win with beautiful HTs!