I don't think the color has much to do with it. I protect my roses and these are the ones that died:

1. St. Patrick (although it did live through one winter)
2. Sunsprite (bad location)

Rose that survived, but is pretty small

3. Molineux (I'm going to pot it)

Roses that overwinter well (with protection)

1. Graham Thomas
2. Golden Celebration
3. Honey Perfume

I have had this success (or lack thereof) with many colors of roses. :)
Carol

It really doesn't make scense to me why color makes a difference.

*** "COLOR" doesn't.
Pedigree does.

Most of the yellow roses are descended from Persian Yellow and the Foetidas.
These heat-loving, desert-evolved roses don't have a tolerance for cold temperatures.
Many of their latter-day descendants have inherited that characteristic.
The other source of yellow comes through the Teas, from R. gigantea -- "evergreen" roses.
These do not slip into winter dormancy, and are thus very subject to freeze damage.
Many roses in other color classes have these "sun-colored" roses in their background.
They may be similarly subject to damage in cold winters.

Jeri

There are some yellows that should do fine for you, as I see them up here in z-3/4

Agnes - rugosa once blooming but tough as nails.
J.P Connell - canadian hardy
morden sunrise yellow/orange blend
Harrison's yellow - hardy beast
rugelda - orange/yellow rugosa

more tender

Julia child
sunsprite

and one called Yellow Submarine that I haven't found out too much about yet but looks like it might be promising.

cathy

R. foetida is cold hardy. What it can't stand much at all is humidity. So it's a rose that does very well in the Rockies. The good eastern yellows are early season once-bloomers like R. hugonis, R. primula, and their relatives. Excellent, excellent shrubs here, but they do get big. It can be hard for somebody who is only familiar with winter stunted hybrid teas to really believe in the 6 x 6 ft rose, but that's on the small side for those guys.

I guess I should add. I didn't go into this completely
stupid. I do know the origin of the yellow rose. How
hard it was and is to control black spot (Rose Magazine).

There was an article on how hard it is to find a winter
hardy yellow rose. (Back Yard Gardner). They do say
that the Yellow Canadian Roses (Bucks etc.) are the best
bet. And they have some that would do fine. But you
"AIN'T A GONNA FIND THEM".

I just want to find out if this is true with the new modern yellow roses.

John

JLalfred,

Jeri gave you a good high level explanation as to how the genetics of yellow roses tend to make them less winter hardy, as well as, more BS susceptible.

Shootingstar2 gave you a good list of hardier yellow roses too.

Some other hardier yellow's with Kordesii bloodlines are the shrub/climbers Goldstern (Goldstar) and a personal favorite of mine, Leverkusen. Both of these roses are quite cane hardy in average zone 5 central conditions.

If you are looking for some yellow Floribunda's that tend to perform well in zone 5, even though they are not cane hardy as such, I would recommend the following list. All of these will die close to the ground, but should have no trouble bouncing back and blooming well provided the graft is buried at least 2 to 4" below the soil line.

Sunsprite
Mountbatten
Chinatown
Arthur Bell

There are also a few Austins and other yellow shrub roses that have better than average winter hardiness.

Good luck.

yellows I've had success with:

Charlotte (Austin)
Prairie Harvest (Buck)
Tahitian Moon (Easy Elegance)
Carefree Sunshine
Topaz Jewel (hy. rugosa)

I've found yellow to be at least as hardy as pinks or reds in my zone 4b garden. Molineux, Graham Thomas, Carefree Sunshine, Autumn Sunset, Golden Unicorn (buff color), Daybreaker (blend), Chicago Peace, Persian Yellow, Topaz Jewel have all survived many winters here. They are not cane hardy and will die back to the mulch. (All but Canadian roses die back in zone 4). Yellow Austins are easy to find. Julia Child is available everywhere right now. Call some large retailers in your area or order online in the spring. Maybe you can take a drive to Belleville and visit Great Lakes Roses. A very good place to get started.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great Lakes Roses

HARISON'S YELLOW, aka the Yellow Rose of Texas, is a Hybrid Foetida that is rated for cold zones (3/4/5), although it is a once bloomer. Another option is the Hybrid Kordesii LEVERKUSEN. David Austin on his website recommends CHARLOTTE, CROCUS ROSE, GRAHAM THOMAS, and GOLDEN CELEBRATION for zones 4/5.

Of these I've only grown Charlotte, which is an absolutely gorgous rose. Nice vigor without being a Jolly Green Giant and the foliage is disease resistant. She got shovel pruned because of the light fragrance, but if I lived in zone 5 then she would be the first yellow Austin that I'd plant.

Image of CHARLOTTE by Char-rose-9norcal at the Antique Roses Gallery
{{gwi:316924}}

Kordes has a new, disease free yellow climber called Laguna. Supposed to be great. Don't know about it's hardiness but generally K roses are above average in hardiness.

Then there is Goldstern, a Tantau climber, said to be extremely hardy and very fragrant.

I don't get the fact that yellow roses are not hardy as some one pointed out R. foetida, the source of yellow in roses, is z4. And a source of BS in descendants. It likes a climate that has hot summers and cold winters.

But while there are tons of yellow roses their hardiness has been compromised by crossing with less hardy roses. Most are z6 or warmer. Leverkusen z4 is the hardiest that I know of.

Persian Yellow & Austrian Copper (R. foetida) are very good in my climate, and Harison's Yellow does pretty well, too. It easily goes to z4.

Harisons Yellow:
{{gwi:316925}}

Austrian Copper & Persian Yellow:
{{gwi:316926}}

Cheers,
Michelle

Laguna so far is disease free here in humid zone 8 but it is not yellow but dark pink. I have no idea if it is hardy in zone 5 or not.
Jim, maybe you wanted to refer to Aloha (apricot) or Golden gate (yellow).

OK I got all of the smart a-- answers from the people that
I didn't want to hear from. I see that there really is no
current yellows that you can really trust. So the person I heard from probably knows more than we do. I know that this is really hard for some of you to deal with. But, let
us all admit "we don't know everything". I didn't want to post this but, I just had to.

God Bless

That's completely uncalled for.

O Mr stefan. I'm really sorry.
Who are you?

By the way Mr Bean Counter.

Roger Lindley (Great Lakes Roses) is the one that told me that yellow roses are hard to winter in northern zones.
Thats the reason that he sells very few yellows.

John

John,
I'm real close to you geographically,and the only yellow I have had trouble wintering-over was St. Patrick. Roses like Marco Polo, King's Ransom, Elina, Lemon Spice,Stokes, Moonrise, etc. all do real well here. I know you heard this from Roger, and I consider him a good friend, but that is just one person's opinion. Remember, both Roger and Nancy also say you cannot grow HT's reliably here because of our winter. I have some Skyline rooted right now (from Sigur's florist in Taylor). Why not come over and I'll give you one. You can experiment in over-wintering a plant, and if you succeed, you'll have yourself a beautiful HT next year.

Ceterum

Gad zooks why did I think Laguna was yellow. I guess because I've never seen it or a picture. So I'll fall back on Goldstern.

jlalfred - If you didn't want to hear from us, why did you bother posting? I took the time to answer honestly from my own experience. So what the heck?????

Carol

In my MN zone4a garden there are few yellows that are reliable beyond the once blooming shrubs.

The buck rose , Prairie Harvest will thrive with minimal protection. It dies to the mulch line , but regrows and blooms well.

Roberta Bodner, is a climber in warmer climates. Here she dies to the mulch line , but regrows to a tall bush/short pillar and blooms well. She took good winter protection for the first years, but now is reliable with minimal winter cover.

Art Bell, as a plant does well here, however the flowers blow too quickly to make my favorite list.

That is about it for modern yellows in my garden. Potential additions to the success list are Julia Child, Golden Arctic, and Dakota Sun. They need a few more years to be declared reliable.

It may not be the same in better climates, but here I observe that pinks are easiest and yellows the hardest to grow well.

Regards,

Charles

You are very welcome jlalfred. Everyone here sincerely tried to help you find roses that would grow in your area. Since many on this forum live in that area and grow yellow roses with great success, I am sure their help is much appreciated by yourself.

Jim, you may want to check out Helpmefind or Palatine roses fro photos of Laguna. Or, Kordes' own website, LOL.

Here is a link that might be useful: link to Kordes' website

Thank you mgleason for the answer to my question.
I really don't have a spot in my yard for another
rose at the present. However, I will have spots in the spring from winter deaths. I usually have a dozen or
so that die. I will keep a list of your roses and all
the others that other posters have so kindly given me. Thanks everyone.

John

I have had graham thomas for 4 winters running now, grafted onto dr. huey. Minimal protection, a little leaf mulch only.

John,
If you are losing 12 roses then maybe we should talk outside of this forum. I think there are some real simple steps we could take to remedy some of your losses. Maybe we should set up a lunch, or visit on a weekend that fits both of our schedules. Just let me know.

Mgleason

Some of these I want to loose. And then my DW likes
to buy potted roses without regard to their hardiness.
She sees them somewhere and they have beautiful blooms.
It's a joke around here. I call them "Kathy's annuals".
One season and rebuy again next year. I am used to it.
I will keep in touch.

John

My goodness that was rude. I'm in northern Il. and yellow is one of my favorite colors. I have at least 50 yellow roses[floribundas,Austins,and shrubs] and they do well for me.

Drop it.

I'm sorry, I was rude. Most of my roses are own root. I learnd a few tips from Great Lakes Roses. Such as planting deeper than the rose was when you got it even own root roses. They still have suggestions on their web page for us cold zoners. I lost five roses last winter,from different areas. The only thing they had in common where pockets of dry soil.

Patty I was very rude and nasty on this post. But if everyone would just read the original post and respond
to what I said or asked, everything would be great.
I heard something and I only wanted to know an opinion.
I didn't want to hear all of the other stuff. I am very
sorry to the ones I offended. I will have to try
and watch it from now on. SORRY EVERYONE.

John

You want a great yellow rose...try Midas Touch, now thats a yellow rose for sure!

John, here's a rose I had developed using only very hardy Canadian bred varieties. This one is not yet named, and may never be introduced ... but, is vigorous and healthy and repeats ... and is cane hardy to about -32c. I'm using it in further breeding work in hopes of coming up with VERY hardy yellow floribunda types.

I'd also be interested in finding out what's the hardiest yellow floribunda available?

Terry

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:316923}}

Terry,
Geez! How much more hardier do you want to get? -32c is pretty darn hardy. By the way, your rose looks beautiful.

Don't believe the Austin Catalog about cold hardy roses. My Golden Celebration died last winter along with A Shropshire Lad, both of which are cited as cold hardy. Surprisingly, Graham Thomas bounces back just fine and I don't winter protect. Buck roses such as April Moon and Prairie Harvest should do just fine. Some of the Easy Elegance roses are yellow.

Wow!! Terry - LOVE that rose!! Cane hardy to -32C!!!! Gah!!!!

Carol
:)

Ceterum

Thanks for the tip on the Kordes web site. I've looked at it before but because of the slowness of my compputer fell out of the habit of using it. I need to take some more time to research it.

Now as to yellow roses I forgot Goldener Olymp, a rose that QR says is the best yellow climber. I have one and it still has yet to prove that statement. But it is young so hopefully it will get with it.

mgleason56 and canadian_rose, thanks for the positive comments ... but, I still have much work ahead of me, especially on my goal of producing hardy and repeat blooming yellow shrub / climbing roses, these must be able to take the frigid -40 temps dished out on the Canadian prairie! Crown hardy yellow floribunda types should be easier to develop.

Terry

When I gardened in zone 4/5 Wisconsin I had all sorts of problems getting yellows to survive even WITH protection. When Graham Thomas first came on the market I didn't give it any winter cover and I lost it that first winter. I got anther one but it would not survive without HT-like protection. St. Patrick gave up the ghost after 2 pitiful seasons. Gold Medal barely survived and became a one cane wonder. I placed it in a pot and it did much better (I over wintered it and Sunsprite - also in a pot - in our unheated attached garage). I had better luck overwintering own root yellow minis like Rise n' Shine.

In very cold climates, I think the best way to help ensure the survival of tender roses is to plant them up against the warm foundation of your home ... plant deeply and hill them up for winter. Yes, they can successfully grown in the open ground, though survival is more iffy and it's plenty extra work to protect them! I use to grow 100 hybrid T's and floribundas in such a manner and it was just too much work to carry on doing so! I've now switched over and only grow very hardy types ... but, yes, the color range is limited.

Terry

I live in eastern Europe zone 4 .Teasing Georgia no good at all here in clay and light sand. First real winter crippled it. Some restart in Spring but did not do well and died . Trying to buy William Baffin but Canada only deals with Canada and Russia We cannot buy from either nations .What the hell happened to free trade markets

If i could find Harrison Yellow climber rose it would help me in breeding program . ,Have tried for 5 years to have someone sell me this plant .Live in Eastern Europe Latvia across Baltic from Sweden ,Have tried all over and still no chance outside of Canada who will not ship to me this rose.Tried Jason at Frazer valley rose farm too but he cant ship to me???