Any of the Canadian Explorer and Parkland series should work for you as well as shrub roses like Hansa, red leaf and the Pavement series as well. Here is Winnipeg Parks from the Parkland series - second year planting.

Forgot to mention the Canadian Artists series - here is Felix LeClerc.

And for a little dash of yellow - Morden Sunrise - nice fruity fragrance.

Hi & welcome! I have grown many roses over the years but right now Rugosas including the Rugosa-bred Explorers are what I would recommend to a beginner in zone 3. As long as you don't mind prickles, I find they are hardy and grow to a nice size, disease-free, available in a decent range of colours, and most repeat bloom pretty well. They are also readily available.

I have some Griffith Buck roses that are listed as hardy to zone 4a and even there winter protection is recommended. They have done well in my zone 3b even without winter protection. They are on the east side of my house so are somewhat protected from winter winds but get some snow cover. I'm now practicing 'tough love' with my roses as can no longer be bothered to 'baby' any plants. They've survived 3 winters here with no protection so it's possible to push the zone with success. Depends on location in your garden.

I also have Thérése Bugnet which is very hardy but grows tall. Mine gets chopped back every spring and still reaches nearly 8'. So reading info is important as far as height and spread before choosing/buying/planting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Griffith Buck roses

Patsy, I don't know your level of experience, so I will assume you are a beginner (apologies, if otherwise).

If beginning, I would agree with Northspruce, stick to something really hardy like a Rugosa rose, or maybe the red-leafed rose. These will be fully winter hardy and give at least one good flush of flowers, though on the downside they tend to be very prickly and can grow rather straggly.

Roses from something like the Parkland or Explorer series will give you a longer season of bloom with much nicer and more delicate blooms, but I find them only half-hardy even in the city suburbs. That means you will either have to deal with spring pruning every April to remove dead-wood, or give them winter protection to keep more branches alive. They can be good choices but I just think nurseries give people the idea that these are fully-hardy like the rugosa roses, when they aren't.

Hybrid tea roses are another option, but here you really have to be commited to special planting methods, providing major winter protection, etc., and anything less will just leave you disappointed.

I love my Emily Carr and George Vancouver.

They are almost maintenance free ( or I wouldn't bother with them ) and I don't do a darn thing to them for winter. Snow cover is all they get.

Can't go wrong with a Hansa. They are extremely hardy . There are old homesteads deserted for many years and the Hansa is still out there blooming away.

I have Hansa as well. Several years ago, it barely survived a move, but has come back stronger than ever.

(Hansa is a Rugosa by the way)
I would agree with Emily Carr too, it's vigorous and seems reliably hardy.

Just wondering which roses you decided to go with? My fav for low maintanence is def Therese bugnet, it can get tall, mine is 4 yrs old and is a good 5 ft. But I like it so much I now have 5 of these. It repeat blooms where as Emily Carr only blooms once and I've had it since 2009. It's a nice red but other than that i wouldn't buy another one.

I am reading this thread with great interest, esp. due to the fact that so many of our so called "hardy roses" died back to the ground after this past winter!

I must say that I had never considered a rugosa, because I was not a fan of their prickly stems and the leaves didn't look so nice to me. However, perhaps I should change my view now!

How big does Hansa get in our zone 3 climate here in Calgary?

BTW, shillanorth, you have some gorgeous roses!!! :-)

Hansa grows to be quite a large rose bush even in Calgary! She is almost indestructible and has the most heavenly scent! I'm partial to her purplish flowers even with the prickles. :)

Ginny

Ginny, how big does Hansa get please? My space probably would allow for up to 5 ft in diameter - do you think that she would fit in there please?

At this point, any "indestructible" rose with "heavenly scent" sounds absolutely like a "must-have" to me!!!!!!!!! :-)

My Hansa is about 5' by 5' now.

That sounds about right for her to move in. :) I have a neighbour with one that is about 7 feet tall and about 6 feet wide but this girl is about 30 years old, I think. Many of the rugosas can get quite large. I like her......and I like a number of other rugosas. :)

Ginny

There's a large planting of Hansas close to my house. They're about 12 years old now and are 4'x4'. Totally hardy. They're never maintained other than new mulch being put down every 1-2 years.

Just one thing about rugosas: Do not use any sort of liquid fertilizer on them. Doesn't matter if they're "organic". I'd even stay away from any sort of granular fertilizer.

This post was edited by shazam_z3 on Thu, May 29, 14 at 12:34

Hansa is a great hardy rose - even flourished in Yellowknife, NWT!!! It`s nice in a rose bowl as well - you won`t be able to keep your nose out of it!!!

Hansa is a great hardy rose - even flourished in Yellowknife, NWT!!! It`s nice in a rose bowl as well - you won`t be able to keep your nose out of it!!!