Clark was aiming for roses that would thrive in a hot, dry climate.

I bet you've got a better shot with his three, than with Mrs. R.M. Finch.

Her blooms are very delicate. She was mildewy here, and I think in part because she didn't like our alkaline conditions, so was never really strong here.

Jeri

Jeri's characterization of Mrs. R.M. Finch was right on; the susceptibility to mildew makes it iffy in inland southern california. OTOH, the Clark polys--Mrs. Alston, Marjory Palmer, and Mary Guthrie all thrive here. Borderer succumbs to powdery mildew even in the summer months, so that may be problematical. Some of the tea polys do very well including Leonie Lamesch, Perle d'Or, and Marie Pavie (and the sport Marie Daley). Many of the Orleans Rose descendants are too mildew ridden to be of much value in the hot summer months. I would take a look at some of the newer polys like Too Cute, Lauren, or the Ralph Moore late introductions like Red Fairy.

I grow Marie Pavie, Perle d"or, Cecile Brunner and... I think a couple other polyanthas in my Phx metro garden. I would say Cecile Brunner is by far the best here. Marie Pavie is pretty good. Perle d'or does pretty well in the winter here but fades pretty quickly in the sun.

I would recommend Cecile Brunner for this area; she's gorgeous.

Another vote for Kim Rupert's Lauren, which is wonderfully clean and immensely cheerful.

Jeri

Katharina Zeimet is blooming her head off in my garden, and in the past couple of weeks we had several sizzling days (95F) and quite humid (up to 75%) but she kept up business as usual.

She's facing south, but gets shade in the afternoon, starting 3PM. No blackspot. No mildew. Lovely bush. LOVE polyanthas. Wish there were more varieties here in Israel. There's an extremely limited choice.

Update: Catharina Zeimet has started frying on me though she's in the shade as of early afternoon. All the flowers in her latest lovely spray of 25 buds (YES, I do count the buds!) turned brown one by one.

She doesn't seem able to take the heat. She'll have to go.

This is my humble contribution to this mightily useful repository of knowlege :)

Cat -- You may just have to resign yourself to the reality that few roses are going to be able to handle July and August conditions in the desert.

Heck, even here at the California coast, rose blooms turn to instant potpourri, when the dry Santa Ana winds hit us.

Most folks I know who are reasonably successful in your area grow roses under shadecloth, but the roses are going to pretty much go dormant in this season. And that is very sensible of them.

Their big trick in such conditions is to survive. :-)
The only roses to remain unscathed in such conditions are the various forms of Rosa plastica.

Jeri

She's not a poly by any stretch of the imagination but the rose that has done the very best in my dry, hot garden is Souvenir de Malmaison. Some of my teas have quit blooming but SdlM on a still relatively short bush has at least ten blooms with at least as many buds. Surprisingly she's also still pink instead of fading to almost white. Her sports Mme. Cornelissen and Kronprinzessin Viktoria von Preussen are also blooming nicely, but a little less than SdlM. Also, practically no disease to speak of. In the right climate this rose is a winner. In the wrong climate, she can apparently be a disaster.

Marie Pavie is blooming now but fades very quickly so the jury is still out.

Ingrid

The Polyanthas which I have I grow in the parkway area, so choose the shorter ones which can take dry heat and radiation from all directions (road pavement, sidewalk pavement). I can vouch for 'Sunshine' (Robichon, 1927; golden yellow going to white, wonderful bud and rich fragrance, beautiful Tea-like foliage), 'Tip-Top' (Lambert, 1909; pink and white with some elusive gold; little fragrance, but the flowers are most interesting, going from a shapely plump bud to, eventually, a sort of puff of petals), and 'Lullaby' (Shepherd, 1953; white with a fleeting blush).

Here's another way to look at growing roses in high temps.

Look around your garden, and regardless of class, look at the plant characteristics of the roses that handle the high temps in your garden well. Microclimates play a role in what works in one garden vs another garden.

I have found in my heat pit of a garden located between a slope and the house, that roses with thick petal subsance and dense foliage do not crisp as quickly as other roses. This is even true for singles or semi-double bloom forms.

That makes these plant characteristics the most important criteria for selecting a rose in this garden. The thick petal substance often means I have to sacrifice fragrance, but crisped blooms don't have any fragrance, so, to me, it's not a sacrifice.

I also like to plant a new rose in container and move the container around the garden to find the spot where the blooms seem to handle the heat the best. I have found that a rose sited where it can get even a half hour's more shade will last much longer and the blooms don't fry within a day.

It's a lot easier to move a container than to dig a hole and then have to move the plant again. True, it is harder to keep the containers moist in high temps, but I think the pay off is enough to make it worth the extra effort.

I don't have mildew problems in this garden, so I haven't examined how I would need to site a rose to avoid mildew or even which roses might be subject to mildw.

Good luck with your roses.

Smiles,
Lyn

Jeri - Rosa Plastica does have some good qualities which I'm beginning to appreciate :) BTW I'm not in the desert but in the inner coastal plain. Today for instance noontime humidity is forecast at 50%. In six weeks or so we'll start having pretty heavy dew at night.

Ingrid - I've come across so many good reports about SDLM here, and the pictures are so gorgeous that I've been longing for this rose for months. Trouble is nurseries in Israel don't seem to stock her or any of the others you mentioned. Generally speaking the choice here is extremely limited. You're so lucky to have her and to have such a huge variety of choice.

odinthor - I looked up the poly's on HMF and they are lovely, especially Lullaby. White roses in summer are so restful. It's such a pity none of them seems to be available here.

Lyn - Only after I read your post did I remember that I recently pruned a couple of twigs off my flame tree to allow more direct sunlight for a very young crepe myrtle, and in so doing I inadvertently extended Catharina's direct exposure time. Thanks!

Cat -- how terribly frustrating, to simply not have access to some of the best roses for you. I suppose importing some is out of the question? (I know EYE don't have the fortitude to do it!)

As for R. plastica, I've come to appreciate it, really, in some of the old cemeteries (tho I note that Hollywood Cemetery in Virginia pointedly forbids them). There's something pretty cheerful and loving about a sight like this:

{{gwi:281767}}

Jeri

It's not a poly, but for something really different you might want to consider R. minutifolia. It looks like a cross between a fern and a cactus with cute as a button little single rose flowers that appear after rain triggers blooming. This rose loves hot and dry conditions and too much water will kill it (those in high rainfall areas have learned this to their cost). It also likes to go dormant in the summer when it does an impression of a pile of dead sticks.;) Then a rain shower comes along and it greens up quite fast and blooms its heart out.

I am pretty captivated by this little charmer and now have SIX o'them (5 pink and 1 white) with more to come this fall.

Here's a pic of a large plant growing at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens, Claremont, CA in April of this year. Their Grow Native Nursery in Westwood is open this summer (the Claremont nursery is closed until fall), and last I checked the availability list they had this rose in stock. They don't normally ship, but I wonder if something could be arranged. Btw the price on their gallons is usually in the range of $8.50 to $9.50.

Melissa

{{!gwi}}

Jeri - I liked that photo! It sure is full of love and also oddly cheerful.

As for importing - it is a possibility but the hassle really puts me off. However, I did find out yesterday (galvanized into action by this thread) that there are several specimens of rare (for Israel) roses available in this country, including SDLM, and it's possible to place a special order for them. I think I'll just go ahead and do that.

Melissa - Many thanks for the info and picture. Actually I've been thinking about this R. multiflora:

http://www.nataf-plants.com/plant.asp?plant_id=115

If you click on the pic. you'll get an enlarged version.

It's an Israeli cultivar: 5X5 foot, flowers in spring, summer & autumn. Described as thorny, prolific bloomer and fast grower. It's called 'Shir' - 'song' in Hebrew.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shir

Once you have some of them, Cat, and they've matured a little for you, maybe you can propagate some, and share them with others.

Jeri

WinterCat, If you are still having trouble finding roses, I am sure that Peter Beales in England will send to Israel.
Daisy

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.classicroses.co.uk/index.php

WinterCat...

If you could email me, I have made contact with someone who has given me some contacts for roses in Israel as I would like to add that kind of information to HMF. However, I think it best to pass that information along to you in a private correspondence.

Smiles,
Lyn

Daisy - Thank you for the link. It's a very appetising site!

Lyn - Thanks! I've just sent you an email.