Well, I do happen to have a small garden, and went to buy one rose that I thought would fit the bill, Fourth of July. I tend to like the multi-colored look. However, it is flowering now, and is a plain pink. Now I have no idea what kind of rose it really is, since there are literally hundreds of possibilities for a plain pink rose. I don't even know if it's a climber!!

Do you want a hardy rose or a hybrid tea type? If you have a bit of vertical space, I would pick John Davis. If you don't have vertical space, I would pick Champlain. If you want a hybrid tea, my two favourites are Double Delight and Garden Party.

For beauty, Morden Sunrise. For performance, Simon Fraser.

I would put in a small rugosa, Dart's Dash would be my personal choice. It has some bloom all summer with strong scent and beautiful hips for the fall and winter. It is bone hardy and has no winter die back in our exposed 2B garden.It's only problem is chloriosis in our Prairie gumbo but that can be corrected with Iron Chelate and good watering habits. For a small garden you would probably want a grafted one to prevent suckering.
Leo

Winnipeg Parks rose. It stays around two feet tall and has medium red flowers that (in my opinion) sort of resemble hybrid tea roses.

My plant is usually 1 to 2 feet high, depending on how much growth survives winter. Some years it winter kills to a few inches of the ground, some years I just trim it quite well in spring (to get rid of dead wood and encourage new bushy growth). No matter what it always comes back and blooms quite frequently through summer and then fall.

Morden Sunrise is definitely a good one as well, and unique in that it's a yellow rose with orange/pinkish blush which is unique among hardy roses.

Glen

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Rose Society - hardy roses explorer and parkland series

John Franklyn is in bloom all summer long and gets by with slightly less than full sun.

kuzari princess

What colour do you want? How tall and bushy do you have room for? Are you looking for a hardy rose or a hybrid tea? Do you want a showy one time bloomer or one that repeats?
Shelley

For sure Morden Centennial.

If only one then I'd go with a Morden rose: Winnipeg Parks or Morden Sunrise...or...or...., there's so many.

For the leaf and flower structure it would be Winnipeg Parks. Morden Sunrise, however, is a more prolific bloomer. My favorite rugosa is Adelaide Hoodless but it's a bit fussier to keep compact.

With some exceptions, I prefer the Morden line over the Explorer line but both lines have roses that do best in a particular niche.

This morning as I walked by the roses I had second thoughts when I met the wonderful scent of Dr. Merkeley. The flowers are small and only bloom for the month of July but the perfection of the blooms and the scent more than make up for that. It is only 4Â high but does spread by suckering which might be a problem. I also enjoy it for its story: brought back to Manitoba by soldier in the First World War, given to a dentist for payment of dental work during the depression then taken up and propagated by Dr. Frank Skinner.
If you are in Zone 2 all of the Morden roses will die back each winter. In our experience you never know what it is going to look like when it does grow back In a good year they are beautiful and in a bad year a waste of space.

Alpiner: Adelaide Hoodless is not a rugosa but like most of the Morden roses has our native R. suffulta in its background which means that is hardiness comes from being able to produce well after dying back in the winter not in its cane hardiness.

Leo

{{gwi:522573}}

wow thanks for all of the responses. To answer a few specifics:

Colour: Pink [dark preferably] or yellow [buttery]
Vertical: I have a lot of vertical space - likely more that ground space and I would like some vertical interest added to my bed
Bloom: I prefer the double plants - ones that don't look like a wild rose [Leo Dr. Merkeley is gorgeous]
Hardy or Hybred - could I get both in one plant?
Suckering : Please no

Thanks

Fern

For a tall rose I would recommend Prairie Youth. In its second summer it is already 6' tall in our garden. At the University of Minn. arboretum it is 10' tall. The colour is soft pink but shows up nicely and the flowers are quite double and more modern than Dr. Merkeley. It would look very nice on as pillar or with an obelisk holding it up. It is very hardy, last winter the canes were 3' above the snow and had no damage. It always has a few blooms on it with a nice beginning and ending flush. The scent is not strong but it is easy to stick you nose into the blossoms at nose level and enjoy it.
Leo

Fern, my favorite dark pink rose is Alexander Mackenzie. It is now about 5 ft tall and has nice cupped blooms that don't blow open. It is an Explorer rose which means it is super hardy.

{{gwi:763451}}

{{gwi:763453}}

{{gwi:763455}}

Another little rose that I love is Winnipeg Parks. The petals remind me of watermelon. My bush is about 1 1/2 ft tall. perfect for in a flowerbed.

{{gwi:763457}}

{{gwi:763459}}

Why not go over to the Gallery and check out everyones roses.

Shelley

Okay Shelly - why did you have to tell me about the Gallery? Now [as I posted on the Rose gallery thread] I am going to have to rethink my plans - how can I limit myself to one rose. So many roses so little space. Like I said back to the drawing board but... if I include more roses and less lupins will I get a longer bloom period... and I never was that keen on peonies anyways.... See what you've done...

Thanks

Fern

For sure :

Winnipeg Parks

I just bought Morden Fireglow we'll see how that one does.

My favorite is also the Winnipeg Parks. When in bloom, it is the rose everyone comments on when they come into our yard.

Brenda

For a soft buttery yellow rose, JP Connell is gorgeous. It's flowers are nicely shaped and don't blow too quickly. It has nice red stamens when it does open up completely, and it's very hardy as well.

I'm partial to JP Connell too if you are looking for a medium sized shrub with cream to yellow flowers. The flowers look like hybrid teas and are softly fragrant. My only complaint is they is they need few years to get established before they perform really well.

kuzari princess

Wait till next year. The first two of the new Canadaian Artist series will be out. If you have to get one this year get one of the explorers, I find them better then the Mordens in everyway. Agnes is a wonder yellow but its hard to find and doesn't rebloom.

OOOOhhhhhh Robert, ok now, I'm all exciting now....where can I find more information on these new 'Canadian Artist Series' Roses????

Sharon
(stay calm, stay calm all you rose lovers ;)

Ok Sharon, take a DEEP breath and let it out sloooooooooowly. You don't want to hyperventilate now!lol

I did a bit of searching on the Canadian Artist series and there's not much out there yet. I did find a very good article on the history of hardy roses in Canada and they do mention the Canadian Artist series briefly. I'll give the link below. Apparently these new roses will be coming from the remaining roses that were left after they shut down the Explorer rose department. It was mentioned that the first of the new series could be out by 2003 to 2005, but I guess they're a bit later than they thought.

Here is a link that might be useful: History of Hardy Roses

Thanks Laurie, I'm calm now, I took the bag off my head....LOL, that was a good article to read. Ahhh, those darn gov. budget cutbacks, ok, I won't get into politics ;)

I went Googling for more information and your right, there's not much said about the series, but it sure will be exciting when they do come out.

I was reading the McFayden catalouge the other day and was wondering how hardy those Brownell Sub-Zero roses actually could be....they do list them at zone 2-9, however they do state that zone 2/3 require winter protection for their guarantee. hmmmm

Sharon

Sharon, the Brownell series are hybrid teas from an old breeding program. I have done a bit of research on them myself and they are considered only slightly more hardy than the average hybrid tea - i.e. not cane hardy for us. You would be just as well off trying one of the hardier HTs that we grow - such as Garden Party or Iceberg.

That said I have always admired 'Charlotte Brownell' and 'Lafter' and would probably pick one up if I found it at a nursery.

Yes, a few years back I tried 2 of the Brownell roses(can't remember which 2) thinking that they were hardy, but they were deader than a doornail the next spring. I remember reading a bit about them on the rose forum, and the final verdict was what Gillian said, that they're only slightly hardier than HT's.
Personally, I think the Buck roses are a better route to go for hardiness. And if I have to try every last Buck rose in my own garden to test their hardiness, then darn it, I'll have to do it for the advancement of Canadian gardening! ;^) It's such a sacrifice I know!lol Actually, I think Shelley(?) is pretty much on that crusade herself!lol

I did winter 3 Bucks-- 2 Prairie Princess and 1 Prairie Star last winter with no other protection other than snow. So..........??? We'll see what happens this winter.
I did enquire about the Brownwell roses as well, but couldn't find them on their own roots, so I decided not to purchase any. I am quite pleased with the flower productivity of these 3 Buck roses. They don't flower as much as the Canadian roses but I am totally in love with the smell and fullness of the flowers. Next year, I will be trying more. I know this without even knowing what will happen this winter with the new ones. I might have to order from the U.S. if I can't find what I'm looking for here .
Just to let you know which Buck roses I have in my beds----
3 Prairie Star (my most favorite)
1 Aunt Honey
1 Hawkeye Belle
1 Country Dancer
2 Serendipity (the broken one did grow)
2 Golden Unicorn
1 Distant Drums
2 Folksinger (one is peach, the other yellow???)
2 Prairie Princess
1 Carefree Beauty ( my least favorite)

Shelley

Shelley, has Distant Drums bloomed for you yet? I've seen some awesome pictures of it on the rose forum, but I'm not sure if it's one of Buck's hardiest roses. I'll be eagerly waiting for your spring report on that one! ;^)

Btw, my Folksinger is peach, and the one that died was peach too. Maybe you got a mislabelled one?

My Distant Drums has had a few blooms. I was told that it took a couple years before it really grew. I posted pictures in the FN rose gallery of it.
Both of my Folksinger leaves and flower forms look exactly the same. Just the colouring is off. I have seen pictures of yellow Folksingers as well.
I could of gotten an own root Honeysweet as well, but passed it up. Now I am kicking my behind. Oh well hopefully I will be able to get it next year.
Shelley

I guess I'll cross out that thought of the Brownell's roses then, thanks for the heads up gals ;)

Sharon, if you go to the Jeffries Nurseries website and download the July news letter they have photos of the first two.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jeffries Newletter

Robert, thank you so much for the link!!!!!