After having grown roses in the Okanagan Valley, I find them a bit of a trial here .... too wet, cold and many diseases. However, I have quite a few and my all- time favourite is Westerland. ( I have three!) A Shrub that can climb quite high, extremely fragrant, disease free, with large glowing flame orange flowers. Really special!

Specific results seem to vary with site conditions, cultural regime, condition of clone received (clean or virused, propagation method), virulence of fungus strains in neighborhood...the constant attempts on the rose forum to get guarantees of success from others 1000 miles away are really in vain. Soils vary, plants vary, gardeners vary. You have to be willing to experiment a little.

I'm new to the zone and so don't have experience, just theories to go on. I was told to check out what Paul Barden says on his site and to ask Heirloom. Cistus Nursery stocks Westerland and Mutabilis, implying that these are performers as they don't like roses as a rule. I've heard good reports about Chinas and some noisettes. I'm trying Perle d'Or. For Teas, Lady Hillingdon is supposed to be good. Gregg Lowery at Vintage recommended Mme. Berard and Reve D'Or, both Noisettes.( I'm into apricots - can you tell?) I figure I'm going to go through a lot of roses until I find some good ones - I really don't like the look of defoliated branches with flowers on the ends. I'm going to try Jude the Obscure, Golden Celebration. Oh yes - Crepuscule gets good reviews and looks good so far here. Rosa Banksia is good.
For reds, I have high hopes for 'Fountain' (Tantau, from Vintage). No spots so far. I want to try Eugene de Bearharnais, a China, and Francis Dubreuil. How is Francis disease wise for you?

Ron- there seems to be a lack of posters on the Antique rose forum from the PNW, but I'm hoping for replies from local people. I've looked at Paul Barden's website but he doesn't list all the roses I'm interested in.

Albertine- thanks for the reply! I will list OGR's I'm growing.

I've had Zepherine Drouhin since 1997 and she is a massive bloom machine, no noticeable disease, blooms first and last and all the time, but no fragrance for me.

I've been buying OGR's since 2002, own-root mostly in bands, (but I have HT's, FB's, shrubs, and mini's too) when I got:
Baronne Prevost- 4', blooms OK, some BS, spindly, great fragrance
La Biche- 5'+, vigorous, long bloom season, large white flowers, healthy
Perle dor- wasted away and died
Reve d'or- attained 10' tall last year, hopefully will bloom a lot

2003-
Awakening- 2-3', , few blooms, BS
Belle de Crecy- 3-4', increasing, bloomed last year, reports scared me about her potential size so I moved her and set her back.
Cramoisi Superieur- dwindling last fall, dug up and overwintered in a pot
Dublin Bay-3' tall, blooms, hope it shoots up this year
Lavender Lassie- still small
Sombreuil- 3-4', some blooms last year
Cornelia- 4', some blooms last year
Crépuscule- 6', some blooms last year
Mme. Ernest Calvat- 3' no blooms yet
Archduke Charles- 2' no blooms yet
Eugene de Beauharnais- 2', some blooms, nice dark red, no noticeable disease
Felicia- 1', a few blooms last year
Francis Dubreuil-2', some blooms, nice dark red, very fragrant, great cut flower, no noticeable disease
James Mason- 2', didn't notice any blooms
Penelope- 4', vigorous, some blooms last year
Tuscany Superb- 2', didn't notice any blooms last year
Rosa Mundi- 3', some blooms last year
Clotilde Soupert- 3', bloomed 1st year and loaded last year, great fragrance, balls some but still great
Comtesse du Cayla- 2', slow to get started, haven't noticed any blooms
Excellenz von Schubert- 2', spreading, bloomed last year and growing vigorously
Marie Pavie- 3', great bloomer, loaded with blooms last year

2004- mostly about 18" tall at this point, I think most will bloom this year:
Homère
Lady Hillingdon
Marie Van Houtte
Mme. Lombard
Mons. Tillier
Maggie- 3'
Marechal Niel- 5'
Chamney's Pink Cluster- 4'
Souv. de la Malmaison
Louis Philippe
Martha Gonzales
Blush Noisette

2005 order that I'm wanting to change if anyone can advise me about Grandmother's Hat up here. I want to know if she does well here and if the flowers last or blow quickly-
Apricot Nectar- bought grafted bareroot, should do great
Evelyn- bought grafted bareroot, should do great
Heritage- bought grafted bareroot, should do great
Condesa de Sástago- on order, lovely color changes
Gabriel Noyelle- on order, Moss, for the name and apricot color
Sea Foam- on order, bloom machine
Stanwell Perpetual- on order, lovely blooms I've seen in a garden
Clementina Carbonieri- on order, hyped in GW but I wasn't impressed with the one in SJHRG
Rose de Rescht - on order, supposed to be great but questions about disease
Rosette Delizy- on order, hyped on GW
The Fawn- on order, supposed to be very vigorous bloom machine ground cover / shrub

I'm a no-spray organic gardener to the point that I don't really look for or notice disease unless it's so bad it defoliates the rose. My experience, pooh-poohed on GW, has been that watering with fish emulsion fertilizer strengthens a rose enough that disease is not a problem and BS disappears.

Good to see that M. Niel is growing for you. I'm trying that along with Climbing Devionensis, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, and others I moved that had no business growing in a zone 5 garden.
I'm not into spraying, so we'll see.

Well, I finally decided to add Grandmother's Hat to my order and called yesterday morning but it was too late, my order went out already that morning. So I guess I have a year to wait to order her and others. And decide where to put them. :-)

I am so in love with my Rose de Recht that I bought another one to go beside it. I do not spray. Not much disease at all and such a beautiful bush with such lovely smelling flowers! Small flower size, I admit, but so dainty and beautiful- and not just blooming at the top either, but all around the bush. I could go on and on, but I won't. I'd keep that Rose de Recht though. (One of my RdR's is grafted and one is on it's own roots- the latter one is new though).

Thanks for the good report on RdR, Goldenbright. Paul Barden seems to think highly of her too, I think he rates her a 9.0. What other OGR's do you grow that do well?

Well, I ordered up some David Austin's English Roses today... I read up what I could.... wrote to them.... and I just am going to give them a try... and see what happens... I have two good areas that will provide the morning and day sun. I am going to get the soil ready for when the roses arrive.

Up and coming are for the Pump House: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Cottage Rose, Gertrude Jekyll; for the front of the house, walk: Fair Bianca, Golden Celebration, Graham Thomas, Winchester Cathedral.

This is my rose test this spring....

Faith

I have Gertrude Jekyll, she has heavenly old rose fragrance, but had some BS problems, especially when I had her in full sun on a bank. I moved her and Othello into a semi-shady spot but Othello was in more shade and wasn't blooming, so I recently moved him to a lighter shade spot, so hope I get more blooms. I also got Evelyn and Heritage this spring as grafted plants so hopefully they will do well and smell wonderful, though I've seen some comments about them blowing quickly or turning into an octopus.

I'm surprised about your Zeph Drouhin not being fragrant -- it's one of my most fragrant roses, and no thorns! On the other hand, my Sombreuil has a very faint scent, not the knock-your-socks-off scent I was hoping for. Gertrude Jekyll does well in a pot in full sun for me, and is wonderfully fragant.

HHRD! I received my Sequoia order. Some are hefty, some are wispy but I think they will all make it. I now move them up to gallons and let them at least double in size before planting them out, and they generally do well.

Does anyone else have any of the Austin Roses in this area?? I feel like I am waiting for presents to arrive...

Faith

I've had Gertrude Jekyll (wonderful old rose fragrance, BS prone) and Othello (BS prone, just moved out of shade, hope he does better) for a few years. This spring I got Heritage and Evelyn so will have to report later on how they do. I kind of regret not getting Tamora, Prospero or Gold Celebration instead. I'll have to see how they do.

Two of my oldest roses are Abe. Darby and Radio Times. I love them both. Wonderful fragrances. Only problem with roses in general for me is BS. I've learned to live with it. I've had success controlling it by spraying with Neem Oil. It stinks though. Anyone else has a better way of organically controlling BS?

Just bought the following last year and we shall see how well they do: Crocus Rose, William Shakespear 2000, Hertiage, Golden Celebration, Graham Thomas. Will be looking for Pat Austin this year.

Which one were you thinking of getting Faith?

I just got Rosette Delizy in the ground today. I wonder about how well
the Tea's will do (& China's) if there's a colder than usual winter,
but for now they're doing beautifully. Sounds like you have quite a collection.
You'll be up to your eyebrows in roses before you know it. I grow Francis Dubreuil also,
he's in a pot still but seems to be thriving here. One modern rose with old rose
flavor that you might consider is Outta the Blue. Mine is very happy so far. It has
an excellent rep. for disease resistance so I'm hoping to see that promise kept.
I saw that it was available at Dennis 7 dees in Pdx the other day.

Most of the hardiness info I've seen seems to say zone 7 for Teas, so hopefully they will do well here? Mine I planted last year have cute reddish new leaves and some buds coming, so I'm hoping for a show from them. I made a new bed with fig trees, roses in between, and daffodils, irises, and daylilies in front for a succession of bloom, plus I plan to plant some dahlia tubers as well for fall bloom.

I am not a rose grower at the present time, but I work at Tacoma General and there is a wonderful rose garden across from the main hospital that our hospital gardener continues to develop. I believe we have over 1000 rose plants on the grounds, and most are different varieties. There are markers under most of the plants. It would be a great place to walk through and see which ones are doing well this summer. To be honest all of the plants look fabulous and prolific, but it could have a lot to do with their constant tending. So if you are ever in the area its worth a look! There are quite a few of the Austin Roses in the garden.

Nightnurse, you'll have to go hang out on the Antique Roses forum (rosesant) some and let them enable you into some roses.:-) If you see any roses there you think are outstanding, you could mention them here. I suppose they are not blooming yet. I visited the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in March and got to see the 10% that are early blooming. Some stand-outs were Halloween, a fragrant pastel-ish orange that smells like mangos, Grandmother's Hat/Barbara Worl and sport Larry Daniels, and all the teas and a few noisettes.

I walked through the garden today just to see if anything was blooming. One lone rose out of all of them. It was a yellow variety. I didn't note the name. But I suspect it won't be long..maybe a month and they will all be sporting some blooms. I do recall the name of one of my favorites. Its called Ambridge and has the most unusual scent. Almost like Juicy Fruit gum. I posted a link to a site which describes it and has a picture. I would love to be enabled! I do actually have two unnamed roses that were given to me. I suppose I should try my best to learn to nurture those before trying my hands at the fancier ones! :-)

Ambridge looks very lovely. I've noticed everyone including myself seems really interested in apricot and orange roses this year. I went around and looked for buds on my roses today and I think Distant Drums had the biggest bud. Zepherine Drouhin has usually been about the first to bloom, though maybe it is really the rugosas which are not as visible from the house.

Austins in my garden include Golden Celebration...a good performer, Tamera, so so, Tradescant, so so, Gormet Popcorn, great, Evelyn, a deer magnet that needs moved, Ballerina, a wonderful rose that gets bs badly.
For an old rose, my Mme. Alfred Carriere, 1879, which I bought 3 years ago at Heirloom, came as a stick, but is now along a fence, interwined, a nice way of say tangled, with honeysuckle. It is a great bloomer, fragrent and beautiful foliage. It must be 25 to 30 feet long. It's creamish colored and very old looking.
New Dawn will grow like a speeding train. Eden does so so. Sunset Celebration is wonderful. Ceicle brunner soso. BS is my biggest problem here. Iceburg has it the worst, Ballerina next. Carpet Rose not at all. I jst got Knock Out and we will see how it does. Topaz Jewel is a great rose, but spiny. That's all I can think of right now.
D......

Zepherine Drouhin made 1st rose to bloom again this year, and smells good too, something I didn't remember about her before. My Reve d'or, now 3 yrs old, reached the top of the deck (8') and has a lot of buds this year. Crepuscule is also getting taller, but Awakening, out of New Dawn, is still only 3' high as is Dublin Bay. Hopefully they will grow a lot this year and get to the top of the deck where they will get more sun and do better, as the deck shades them a lot when small.

What a wonderful selection of roses you have!

I'm glad to hear that your Zepherine Drouhin has some fragrance this year. Mine is very intensely scented. My Lavender Lass is the same age as yours but it was the first rose to bloom this year even before ZD...it is slow growing but seems disease free.

I also grow Sombreuil, mine is about 6 years old and trained as a climber. I love the scent and the complexity of the blooms but a rainy season makes it look like a bush full of dirty kleenex......its blooms which are profuse deteriorate faster in the rain than anything else I grow but it blooms from May until December making it worth all of the deheading.

I don't see Buff Beauty on your list. Have you tried her?
jwww

Judy- No, I haven't tried Buff Beauty. Cornellia and Penelope grew the biggest of my 4 Hyb. Musks, so I'm hoping to get a better idea of how they bloom this year. I can't wait until all my OGR's get big enough to really put on a show. It seems to take a long time from little own-root bands. Yes, I am a cheapskate. The grafted roses I bought this year are really putting up the canes. Champney's Pink Cluster seems to be making multiple clusters of buds like it's name says. Mini rose Baby Betsy McCall has a bloom and my rugosas are blooming.

Harison's Yellow, thought to bbe named for the New York Banker in the 188's and was brought west on wagon trains, can be seen along that route. I've seen wonderful palnting in Montan and Idaho.
Mine is a sucker from my mom's in Oregon, is now a full sizes bush, in full bloom.
It is a tough rose, and you'll think you brought the sun into your garden for a few weeks, when it blooms the mass of double smartly yellow 2 inch blooms. It is worth the many thorns, this one, and you'll enjoy the frag from many feet away. It is a nice visiter from an era gone.
Don't try to start if from cutting, and forget about the seeds. It comes from suckers.
Seven Sisters is another dependable rose that comes from old gardens to climb many a fence, still today. It wants to live and does so by climbing great distances. Mine is about 30 feet on a chain link fence...too bad it is so engulfed in the honeysuckle....that was a bad idea of mine.... The clusters of rich pink blooms hide most of the shiny folage and make nice boquets. The blooms literally drip, they are so thick.
The soil is acidic, poor, drains badly and gets little care, a great northwest rose!!
Smiles,
D...

My Austins in Zone 8, PNW are Gertrude Jekyll, Abraham Darby, Evelyn, Pat Austin, Golden Celebration, Graham Thomas, Teasing Georgia, Glamis Castle. Glamis gets BS and the buds ball in the rain. Gertrude also BS but I am able to control it with Rose Pride. Pat is my favorite right now. Teasing Georgia is beautiful. . . love the rose but it is a sprawler. This is my second year with my austins. They are much bigger than I tought they would be and they are full of buds.

Deer have been eating off the buds on some of my roses.:-( Last ones hit, most buds gone, were Scentimental and Iceberg. Grrrr.. I hit them with my deer repellent I make in a blender, an egg and some cayenne pepper in water. I have wire cages around a lot of my roses, maybe I will have to get another roll so I can put it on the rest. Zepherine Drouhin is really covered with blooms now. Homere seems to be blooming the best so far of my Teas, and Maggie had a bloom open today, which was more impressive than I expected. The mini My Honey has been really pumping out the blooms. on a low spreading plant. They do well cut. The Buck rose Queen Bee surprised me with how long it lasted as a cut flower, too. Frances Dubreuil is about to bloom, can't wait!

I posted on another forum but here are some austins for you.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v287/Pat_Tea/Austin%20Roses%202005/

If you want trouble free roses in this area, I'd recommend the Austin roses, but you should resign yourself to bs, etc unless you plan to blast the chemicals. The few Austins I have seem to get little or no bs, mildew, etc. My favorite is Abraham Darby - amazing color blend and scent. I used to have a Graham Thomas that grew the most amazing glossy leaves and clear yellow blooms, but I moved and left it. I do favor old roses over any other and some are better than others. The troublemakers I have I will keep - Sombreuil, Gloire de Dijon, Baronne Prevost, Reine des Violettes, etc. A lot of old rose blooms tend to just ball up and mold with the rain we get here, but the ones that survive make it worth it to me. Some less worrisome roses seem to be Madame Hardy, Madame Plantier, Rose de Rescht, Zepherine Dhrouhin, etc. Also Gruss an Aachen, Constance Spry, and many of the moss roses seem to do well here. Good luck and enjoy the journey!

Rose de Rescht is awesome. I have to force it into dormancy every winter by picking off all the leaves. Other fragrant favorites in my garden:
Just Joey--new this year and already providing nice bouquets
Fragrant Dream--lives up to its name and then some
Mirandy--deep red huge flowers
Souvenir de Malmaison--wonderfully healthy and like RdR, it just keeps going, but the flowers are absolutely intolerant of moisture so I have to grow it under an overhang. She's worth it, though
Madame Hardy--This is the only rose I have that's not a repeat bloomer. So spectacular and fragrant I don't mind.

Most western WA gardeners, including those in Tacoma are in USDA 8. 'Abraham Darby' has been a local favorite, as far as Austin roses go. Some blackspot or mildew (I haven't paid much attention) but it grows and flowers. Cut flowers can be smelled indoors 10 feet away. I've planted 'De Rescht' a couple times and had it rust, maybe also mildew (don't remember) to a bothersome extent.

A really good, landscape quality one that makes an excellent arching specimen is Rosa nutkana 'Plena' (R. californica 'Plena').

I only have one rose, Tuscany Superb; but it does quite well for me with lots of blossoms. I don't get rebloom and the individual flowers only last a few days before they get all loose (is that what you mean by blowing?). I adore the color, love that red so dark it's almost black; and I'm thinking to move it to a slightly shaded spot and see if the blooms last a bit longer. I haven't noticed much black spot on it, if any. I have a nice thick geranium sanguinum 'alba' around the base which might help with that though. It lives in a large pot because we used to rent, and I haven't yet decided where I want it to go. It has nice but not overwhelming fragrance.

I also want to get a creamy white rose that matches the shape of of the Tuscany Superb to intermingle with it, and the recommendation I got from the rose forum was a Madame Legras de St. Germain. Her pictures look beautiful on the web. Does anyone have experience with her in our climate? I didn't see her on the previous posts, sorry if I missed it.

My mother has an Autumn Damask that is about the most fragrant rose I've ever smelled, and I hope to get a baby from her one of these days. I need to make a place for it first though. How does it do for people here? She lives in Sequim and had some problems with the buds browning and falling off there; but that's a very different climate.

The best OGR for cut flowers and fragrance is Mrs. B.R. Cant and Mrs. Dudley Cross and Buff Beauty.

I have Mrs. BR Cant and got Buff Beauty this year so hopefully they will do well next year. Souvenir de la Malmaison surprised me with some blooms this year. Next year I hope to see Rose de Rescht, Lady Hillingdon, and some others finally bloom better.

Well gang, I have shovel pruned some of my roses. They were neglected this year due to family. I have a fantastic Jean Giono rose. I rehabbed my MIL's old Queen Elizabeth rose (this is her house and we care for her she is a invalid) I want to plant some new ones. I live by Westgate chapel here in Edmonds. I don't have enough room for the roses I want..due to Mom's hugr fruit trees...which will be gone after she's gone and then I will have LOTS of room. Anyhoo..I have room for about six. I am considering Just Joey, Tamora, Gemini, Sheila's perfume, Bill Warriner, Pristine, Sunita, and America. I also have a Evelyn that I am moving and a Apertif and Artistry rose to move. Anybody out there in my hood with any suggestions?

I don't have any roses that aren't fragrant to some degree, although I understand that the best flowers for cutting don't have much if any fragrance. Whatever, I can always cut more. :)

I also don't spray for black spot or anything else, preferring to take the same tough love approach with my roses as I do with all my other plants. "Get over your black spot or die, it's all the same to me." They mostly get over it.

Souv. de la Malmaison has done very well for me but the blossoms do not tolerate moisture at all. I moved it under an overhang on the SW side of my house and now I get to enjoy all its flowers. Rose de Rescht is definitely a keeper. I also expect my roses to bloom more than once in the season, but I make an exception for Madame Cochet--so healthy and so spectacular when in bloom.

My favorite cutting roses are hybrid teas: Mirandy, Fragrant Delight, Spiced Coffee, and Just Joey. The latter is fantastic--glossy dark green leaves without a trace of black spot, and it bloomed all summer long its first summer.

Trolley Molly wrote-"I also don't spray for black spot or anything else, preferring to take the same tough love approach with my roses as I do with all my other plants. "Get over your black spot or die, it's all the same to me." They mostly get over it." My thoughts exactly. I don't pay any attention foliage problems, as long as the plant grows and blooms.

Souvenir de la Malmaison has turned out to be a good bloomer, it has blooms right now when most don't. My Just Joey was either a poor plant ($1 clearance at Fred Meyer) or planted in a bad spot because it has not grown much. I was going to buy Tamora but went to the nursery and it had such terrible thorns I ended up getting Evelyn, Heritage, and Apricot Nectar instead. I kind of wish I had gotten Tamora anyway though because I like peachy colors. I got Westerland bareroot this year but it suffered dieback in the hot spells and is very small. I planted it in the ground anyway so I hope it makes it. I may dig up Edith Schurr again as she looks like she is declining, no leaves and only 5" of stem left.

My Buck rose Distant Drums is a really good rose for cutting, usually covered with blooms, and fairly long stems. I like the buff centers on magenta flowers, and the peculiar scent, but some don't- my MIL. The rosesant forum has great Buck rose photos now, especially Carefree Beauty, loaded with blooms for an extended bloom time. My Knockout rose also blooms like that, in a neglected area of the yard where it doesn't even get watered in summer.