Ruth, I planted Red Gold (technically a floribunda) over 15 years ago and it is very winter hardy in Zone 5 here in Illinois. I never winter protect it other than the wood chips I use year round. It rarely suffers any winter dieback and last year it grew to about 4' tall x 3' wide...it really liked the RoseTone I fed it.

Another great plus; it does not get BS and the Japanese beetles ignore it.
-terry

Ruth,
I have many HT's I consider hardy, but two stand out as champs when it comes to not having to be pruned hardly at all;
1. Acapella - I have always had 2-3 feet of good wood left after winter.
2. President Vignet - So far has been hardy to the tip. The only pruning I've done is to keep it in its boundaries.

While most of my HT's get winter protection, these two get none.

I have a number of hybrid teas that survive winter with little or no protection but even with protection they all have considerable dieback. It helps that all mine are on their own roots so I don't have to worry about the bud union.
Some I've had for many years and can think of off hand are Double Delight, Happy Butt, Firefighter, Whisper and Memorial Day.
The only protection they receive are the oak leaves Mother Nature provides that collect at their base. All, originally grafted but planted 6 inches deep, have gone own root.
In zone 5, planting the bud union deep protects it from the frigid winters we have.
You might want to consider some of the many Griffith Buck hybrid tea wannabes such as Serendipity, Les Sjulin, or Honey Sweet, to mention a few.

Terry Jean, I've never heard of Redgold but the pictures on Help Me Find are quite striking. Mike, thanks for the suggestions. Acapella looks very beautiful. Your HMF pictures of President Vignet look like a Hybrid Perpetual.

Thanks,
Ruth

Thanks for responding, Karl. I've been eyeing Memorial Day. I can only buy grafted hybrid teas in Canada (on Multiflora) but would plant them deep.

Ruth

Don Juan, Abe Darby, Memorial Day, Moonstone, Chicago Peace.
I hold my breath every spring ( : and I do not consider them real survivors until they have made it thru at least 3 winters.

Susan, I have Austin Abe Darby. I'll see how it does in its first winter; it does have H.T. Aloha as a parent but that one is reportedly very tough. Funny you should also mention Memorial Day. I intend to order Moonstone. How does Chicago Peace do with regard to blackspot?

Ruth

Chicago Peace definitely has to be sprayed for BS; I missed a couple of sessions and it promptly defoliated.
-terry

A rule of thumb that I've heard from several different z4 rose growers is: "reds, pinks & mauves are a lot hardier than whites & yellows" and I think there is some truth to this statement. Red HT's (Mr. Lincoln, Olympiad, Veterans' Honor) are all real good for me. Also had good luck with Capt. Harry Stebbings, Double Delight, Secret, Elle, & a white HT, Tineke. I think that the big secret to successfully wintering HTs is to plant the bud union well below grade & keeping them healthy & watered thru the entire growing season. If I do that, I rarely loose any HTs.

Terryjean, too bad about Chicago Peace and B.S. We set a record in August Rainfall here (PEI off Canada's east coast)and B.S. was bad even on roses usually regarded as very healthy. Wirosarian, thanks for the 'rule of thumb' and your list.

Ruth

Ruth, we had record rainfall here in Illinois also; one weekend we had over 8.5". So it was hard to get in the garden and keep everything sprayed. I have over 200+ HTs and most of them defoliated. Once things dried out, I hit them with the Bayer and they leafed out again in September before the first frost.

PEI! How lucky are you...I love Anne & Green Gables. I always wanted to visit. Is it truly as beautiful as in the movies? Sorry I'm off topic but I have to ask; I've never talked to anyone who lives there.
-terry

I really encourage you to find some local rose growers or local public gardens to check out the varieties suggested. There is quite a bit of variation in zones that are labeled the same.

I am in MN zone 4a and some of the roses suggested by zone 5 and zone four posters simply don't work in my garden. For example, Dom Juan won't survive winter even if buried as in the Minnesota Tip method. I have had many failed attempts to grow Mr Lincoln. ML will survive , but not thrive. He is not worth the space here just to produce 3 or 4 very lovely flowers per year.

Fire Fighter, Chicago Peace and Veterans Honor are also failures here. Olympiad and Beloved are very reliable and do well here. Memorial Day, Pink Peace, Elina and Fame also do well for me.

Most of the Buck roses do well here, but reportedly, don't work as well in some Eastern zones 4 and 5. To Karl's suggestions of Serendipity, Les Sjulin, and Honey Sweet, I would add Buck roses, Aunt Honey, Winter Sunset, and Quietness.

Regards,

Charles

Thanks for the additional choices to consider, Charles. Terryjean, PEI is certainly very beautiful with unbelievable beaches. If you like Anne of Green Gables you can go to that musical and the new one, Anne and Gilbert. We have lots of red foxes around but no deer to eat roses!

Ruth

Pope John Paul II has been reported to be hardy and disease resistant. I do not have it yet and am looking for an own root version.

Abraham Darby survives the winter without protection but has considerable dieback and doesn't get very big during the summer. Many Austins have died in my garden. Survivors include Evelyn, Tradescant, Jude the Obscure, Graham Thomas and Sharifa Asma. I am particularly impressed with Evelyn, which does just fine on a diet of 12-12-12.

Earthsong and Quietness are excellent choices. I lot of Buck roses have died in my garden and some of the survivors are stunted.

The only Romantica that has survived without protection is Frederic Mistral and it dies back to the ground. Bolero and Comtesse de Province survived last winter with a mound of topsoil.

Thanks Predfern. PJPII looks very interesting though I don't know if I can find it here yet. Have you tried any of the Renaissance series? I have Clair Renaissance and it did very well this year (looks like a HT at first but quickly opens to a cup) but it hasn't faced winter yet.

Ruth

Ruth, I grow quite a few Bucks and they are indeed winter hardy but not cane hardy; they die back to the snow line but by June are quite large again. The Buck Honeysweet has the HT look you're after; coral blossoms and fragrance.
-terry

This is going to be the big issue. It isn't that they will die back, but that they won't rebound. HTs need heat to regrow, and in a cool summer here they don't get it. That's where the Buck roses fall apart. They were developed for an extreme continental climate that gets very hot during the summer.

I have two roses that I've had for thirty years, so they must be hardy even with below zero winters. They are Mr Lincoln and Royal Highness.But all of my roses are cold hardy because I cover them with wood mulch every year and never lose any!

Interesting point about heat, Mad Gallica. Our lot is southfacing on a hillside and is a heat trap relative to the rest of PEI. Hopefully, this will help with the cooler coastal climate. Show roses tempt me but many are bred for hotter/drier climates and it is hard for me to guess how they would handle my particular zone 5. Mr Lincoln, hmmm....tell me more, Dan.

Ruth

Elle always survives the winter here in fine shape. Fragrant Lace does ok. I would recommend the climber Stairway to Heaven...it does well in the winter and blooms constantly.

My hardiest hybred tea is Jadis ( aka Fragrant Memory), handsdown. It has been pumping out beautiful blooms for eight years. Too many others devolve into one cane wonders.

I certainly like the look of Elle, Russell. Jadis I will have to look up, Mysteryrose. Thanks.

Ruth

MOTHER OF PEARL was mentioned in another thread.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg1120441710912.html?29

Here is a link that might be useful: Ridiculously Healthy Roses here in zone 4

To be clear on my comments on rose hardiness here in MN zone4a, almost all of the roses get the crown covered in wood chips for winter protection. Most of the modern Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses will also get covered with bagged leaves any day now.

Only the Rugoses, Northern Species and some of the Canadian roses are fully cane hardy here.

Regards,

Charles

The people who reported in this survey live within a 50 mile radius of London, Ontario, between Lakes Huron and Erie.
I hope no one will mind my reposting the link.
Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Survey 2005

Ruthie,
It is good that you are aware of your garden specific conditions. I think these are more important than which HT you try.

Since I planted my first rose bed, we have experienced the full range of Eastern PA winters. Some wet, some dry. Snow cover, no snow at all. Lows below zero or lows in the teens. All of my HT's survive with green cane on them. I do not winter protect in any way.

The important factors:

Beds are on south wall of house where they get reflected sun and warmth from the house.

Roses are protected from the winter wind.

Soil has been added to bed to encourage own roots. The effect has been to create raised beds where most of the root system remains dry during winter.

The age of the plant is important. Roses seem to adapt. As they aged, I have observed much less die back. I don't think it is fair to judge hardiness until a bush has spent 3 years in a permanent home.

Elks, thanks for the survey information. Very useful. Harry, that's encouraging. I will be planting deep and the HTs will be against the house on the south side and should avoid the worst of the winter wind as a result.

Ruth

I live in the Poconos, PA, z5-6. I winterise only newly planted roses and I have no trouble getting them through our winter, including florist roses. Some of them die to the ground but they always come back.

When I gardened in Green Bay, WI, I had a handful of HTs that survived 18 years in that garden. They all had a lot of cane winter kill but because the bud union was down low they all bounced back once the soil warmed. The last couple of winters I decided to not winter protect them. I found the roses had about as much winter kill uncovered as they did when I protected them so I figured, why bother? ;-)

Folklore
Double Delight
Mr. Lincoln
Garden Party
Pristine

Marki and Peggy, this is most encouraging. Hopefully, planting deep, near the house on the south side will give them a fighting chance against winter. Some of the roses you grew, Peggy, are ones I have admired in public gardens.

Ruth

Several mentioned "honeysweet" as hardy hybrid tea, I tried to order that from LongAgoRoses but it's sold out. Agree with Karl Bapst' tip of planting the bud-union or own-root roses 6 inch. below ground for best winter survival.

Elle is the best looking hybrid tea at Chicago Botanical Garden. Does anyone grow Valencia in zone 5, thanks for any info.

Savoy Hotel is a winter hardy HT rose. It’s a tall, well behaved bush. The flowers are soft pink, big. Here is a recent picture from my zone 4-5 backyard.

That's a beautifully grown healthy plant Maryrose!

Adding a couple more pictures from the spring flush. I love this rose.

Blooms are perfect !! Thank you for posting those awesome pics.

MaryRose - what a fabulous rose bush!!! You grow Savoy Hotel to perfection!!! Incredible!!! Palatine is offering this rose...and I soooo wish it had fragrance...I'd buy it!!!

After visiting the Chicago Botanic Garden this afternoon, I agree with Straw that ’Elle’ was the nicest looking mature hybrid tea. The plants had a nice wide shape and were covered with dense, extremely healthy foliage from top to bottom. No bare legs or gaps were evident. Flowers were plentiful, huge and glowing, and the fragrance was superb. I liked it so much I ordered one for next spring!

Hi Chris: Glad to hear that, did you notice any scent on Elle? Thanks. Fall is the best time to see the health of roses. What are some other roses you like besides Elle? Years ago, when I was there I was very impressed with Buck "Hi Neighbor", it was so perfect that I thought it was a plastic rose, I had to touch it to make sure it's real. Alas, no scent.

Ooooh!!!

Straw - Chris mentioned that the fragrance was superb!!

Yes, it was truly superb indeed. ’Elle’ was growing near a thriving group of ’Tiffany’, which is a rose that many admire for its strong and lovely perfume. To my nose, ’Elle’ had exactly the same base perfume as ’Tiffany’, but was twice as strong and had had an extra layer of fruitiness and even a hint of banana candy. It was delicious! Even my rose grinch partner was drawn to ’Elle’ and couldn’t keep his nose out of the blooms.

’Elle’ and ’Tiffany’ were the two standout roses of the day, both eclipsing numerous other hybrid teas, shrubs and Austins. However, when the rose grinch smelled ’Tiffany’, it elicited a resounding “meh” as his only comment before promptly walking away back to ’Elle’. Lol.

Other fragrance standouts of the day were ’The McCartney Rose’ (heady sweet-spicy damask) and ’Moonlight Romantica’ (sweet lemony-fruity perfume) . Both had only mediocre bushes, but TMR was struggling underneath the shade of a tree and MR looked like a young planting. Both received comments of approval from the rose grinch as well, along with repeated sniffs. Both are likely to join my garden next spring along with ’Elle’.

Other fragrance runner-ups were ’Abraham Darby’ (grapefruit), ’Sharifa Asma’ (sweet heady perfume with hints of fruit and sandalwood) and ’Heirloom’ (sweet old rose with lemon).

Elle must really smell amazing for your "Grinch" to be that enamored with it!! I didn't know Elle is one of the power roses for fragrance! I love your fragrance descriptions...I'm so bad at that. I really wish I had the gift of recognizing fragrances. :)

Carol: thanks for pointing that out, I read Chris' 1st report fast during gloomy night so I missed out on "Elle scent is superb."

Chris: THANK YOU for a great write-ups on the scents at Chicago Botanical Garden. I have Moonlight Romantica (1st-year-own-root), love the scent, but it's a water-hog.

I grew Sharifa Asma for 10 years before it died in poor-drainage clay, love its scent, but Princess C.D Monaco is way better in all aspects. I grew Heirloom and miss its scent. Elle is on my wish-list.

:) :) Yeah, I knew you missed that.....easy to do. :) :)