roses blooming in my garden in cypress right now are souvenier delamalmason (don't think i spelled it right
the color is a pale (almost washed out) pink the form is gorgeous, the plant is very healthy, and fairly short (less than 4 feet at four years)-also a rose called la biche (which i have heard is also called something else) -also a pale pink, almost white is doing great, abraham darby somethat larger plant is doing well-- as is belinda's dream

i also have crepusule-plant is healthy blossoms don't seem to have a very long life in the heat, but apparently you can't kill it and it is in it's fourth year in an 18 inch pot and didn't get watered very well last year, but it survived and is thriving (i really need to get it out of that pot!!)
i have very sandy soil (i live in cypress) and these are fairly near a pool --lots of humidity-even without all this rain, i don't fertilize them nearly well enough and they're
not suffering from any blackspot!!
good luck with your endeavor!!

Wow, the Arethusa rose is simply beautiful and I too would like to know if it would succeed here. I have a bunch of roses planted this Spring and so far they are still with me, some I am planning on removing, such as a very small flowered Joseph's Coat. That is what I get from buying discount bare-rooted plants.....they look nothing like (well...similar to) the pretty picture on their packaging. Since that flurry of buying roses, I have discovered many Texas growers that offer tried and true and guaranteed plants. Google Texas roses growers and you will find them.

Since it's for the front of the house, you definitely want to make sure it's disease resistant. I don't know if you're interested in Knock Out, but that's one of the best front-yard roses. I also grow Thomas Affleck in the front yard and it never had a single blackspot on it last year, but this year it has with all of the rain we've had. I added two Flower Carpet roses this year and so far they look great. I've also been hearing alot about the Fairy Tale roses being disease-resistant. Roses Unlimited and Palatine Roses carries them. I also have Souvenir de la Malmaison that okokok mentioned. It's new to me this year so I can't say what I think about it yet, but I got it because it's supposed to be healthy.

Good luck!

Laurie

Arethusa is actually in the final stage of testing to be designated as an EarthKind rose. Judging what I've read about it, I am confident that it will make it. There are others, including Maggie:

but those two are the only ones I am interested in, color-wise. I will Google some more, but in the mean time, I would definitely still appreciate any recommendations from you guys.

Thanks...
--Joe

There is an Antique Rose Emporium here in SA. It is on Evans Rd.

www.antiqueroseemporium.com This is their general web site. They may have some at the Evans road gardens that are listed as out of stock on their web page.

My favorite roses (and I think they would be good front yard roses) are: Duchesse de Brabant, Le Vesuve, Georgetown Tea, Mrs. B. R. Cant (but gets really huge), Madame Antoine Mari, Madame Antoine Rebe and Lafter. These all get pretty large but can be kept pruned to 4 or 5 feet. Hope this will help you some. You can see pictures of these on the Antique Rose Emporium website. Hope this will help you some. Vicki p.s. I don't grow Arethusa but have heard really good things about it.

Joe,

I added Maggie last year and right now she's lost alot of her leaves, but it's hard to know if that's typical with this crazy weather we've had this year. She's one of my favorite roses as far as the blooms go.
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Laurie

Laurie - that's a fantastic pic. I agree that you probably wont see typical behaviour until the weather gets back to 'normal' whatever that is...lol Oh, and I am thinking about using Knock Outs somewhere, but not in this particular bed.

You guys have some great suggestions. I especially like 'La Biche' and 'Cruscule.' And I am smitten w/BunnyCottage's collection.

Anyway, I have drawn up a plan in MS Paint to give everyone a better idea of what I want to do. It isn't to scale. It will be raised, hopefully using stone, with steps up to the pathway. The cascading roses will probably be 'The Fairy' or something similar.

Anyway, here it is:

We are also thinking of having some climbers on about 3 arches (2 at each end of the path, and 1 in the middle). What do you guys think about the design? It would of course be large enough to accommodate enough air flow for the plants as well as some companion plantigs.

What agreat plan. That should really be beautiful.

I had not often grown roses. But a couple years ago I was enabled by several folks on Cottage Gardening.
I went to Gardeville and got their rose mixture soil.
Gardenville shares the drive with ARE on Evans Rd.
I am most pleased with David Austin roses.

Jude the Obscure.
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Heritage

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Gardenia rose climber/ramble. This is very pretty, but gets huge. The canes get to about 25 ft.

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Part of the rose garden, planted fall of 2005.

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google buck roses. dr buck's are very hardy and are suited for the texas weather we have planted several and are very pleased with them. also i have a hedge of knockouts in the bed in front of my house and they are in bloom from march-nov. and the leaves are a pretty maroon color in the winter

So far, I love my pink Knockout rose. It is like the little Energizer bunny and keeps on going and going. And, this is my first year with it. I just planted a double red knockout in the same garden. I want to get Souvenir de Malmaison and one of the Dr. Griffith Buck roses. I also plan to get a rose called "Playboy" that I saw at Chamblee's Rose Nursery website that is supposed to do really well. That one is for my husband because he likes the name. ;-) I also have a couple cuttings of a rose I found in a cemetary that was planted pre-Civil War to mark the grave of my dad's neighbor's great-great grandmother. I don't know what the flowers look like yet, but maybe next year I will know. The leaves aren't showing any signs of disease in the container this summer, so that is definitely a good indication that it will survive well in my garden. I can't wait to see what it looks like next summer.

denise Playboy is a striking color, but he's a blackspot magnet for me. He does grow his leaves right back, and I have everything planted too close together....

I love the HT Lafter. It's tough as nails and fragrant.

Love Ducher, it's as tough as Knockout for me, Love Don Juan except in the heat of summer, An so fond of Mutablis who is indestructable but will eat other roses and anything that stands still.

I really like the Earthkind roses. I've put in several and can't say enough about their hardiness and resistant to disease. Plus the varities that I got bloom frequently with a great smell.

Another favorite is the fairy rose but allow plenty of room for it. Mine is about 6 years old and it's easily a 5x5 ft shrub now. It just keeps expanding.

La Marque is a beautiful "white" climber (looks to me like it has a little bit of a limeade wash toward the center), dark green leaves, just beautiful.

As everyone says, Souvenir de la Malmaison can't be beat!

For a large garden rosebush, I like Teasing Georgia: beautiful old fashioned apricot roses on a big healthy shrub.
can't cut flowers, though, they wilt in about 3 seconds.

Zepherine Droughin is a gorgeous cerise pink thornless climber, very good for places where people will walk past it & maybe brush against it.

Best luck, & have fun!

Joe, your plan looks great.
Tell me what you are looking for exactly.
Fragrance? Not all roses are fragrant.
Disease resistance? Are you planning on spraying or not?
Big blooms?
Good shaped rose plant overall even if that means small blooms?
Which colors?
I've got a lot of roses that bloom all summer long, but there are too many different things that you could be looking for.
There are around 150 roses in my garden right now (more on the way), so I'm sure I could help you find some roses that are wonderful here in Texas.
Carrie

Carrie - I plan on using an organic spray/fert program. This property has been virtually untouched by chemicals , so I'm thinking it should be relatively easy to encourage beneficial insects and creatures. But, disease resistance is still important, although, if I fall for a rose that needs a little extra attention, I wouldn't mind.

Fragrance is nice, but they don't all have to have it. What is most important to me is that I get a variety of colors and bloom shapes (although, I am a sucker for big, cabbage-headed blooms). That said, my favorites run the orange gamut from apricot to terra cotta to orange to tan and browns. I also like bicolors (not stripes) like 'Gemini' and 'Mint Julep.' I also like 'Irish Crème' But I have no idea if these are appropriate for our climate (i.e. disease resistance, bloom stamina, etc.) And I am looking for a nice, consistent, lemon yellow as well. Most of what I see has too much of a golden tone, or the color varies too much for me.

Now, It is important that the larger roses I use have a similar shape. I want some kind of uniformity there. But other than that, I really want a good mish-mash of colors.

LOL...I'm sorry for being so vague and hard to please.

Thanks so much for your help...
--Joe

If you are going to do the organic spray then try to get the most disease resistant roses that you can. I go organic in every way that I can, but the organic spray does not control blackspot on my roses and when they get blackspot they lose all of their leaves and look pathetic. Also, learn one lesson from me instead of doing it the hard way, and NEVER NEVER EVER use any kind of oil in the organic spray. It will burn your roses and some of them will die to the ground. Sorry if I'm being too harsh, but I've lost roses this way and would hate to see other people kill their roses and think it was bad gardening skills or bad luck when it was actually the oil.
I would suggest that you look at the Earthkind roses and pick which ones you want from that list. There are a couple of bulletproof roses that haven't made the list yet, but I listed them below.
I checked out the roses on helpmefind that you linked to, and I can just about guarantee that they will not be disease resistant. Lafter and Knockout are the only hybrid tea type roses which have good disease resistance (at least of the ones I've seen). I'm not knocking hybrid teas, my garden has lots of them, but right now there are 0 leaves on them because of the rain. And I've been spraying every time the clouds part!
In my garden, the only ones that have survived this rain without losing all of their leaves have been Duchesse de Brabant (pink, fragrant), Cramoisi Superior (red, fragrant), Ducher (white), Lafter (weird color), and the very best 2 were Etoile de Lyon (yellow, fragrant) and Safrano (apricot, fragrant). Arethusa will probably do very well for you but I do not have it.
Mrs. BR Cant is a good suggestion also. Mine is too young to comment on but I have heard great things about how disease resistant it is.
Lots of the David Austin roses have those big cabbage shaped blooms. I am a big Austin fan because the fragrance can't be beat. Some of them are fairly disease resistant, too, but they will need spraying from time to time. My favorites are Jude the Obscure, Tamora, Ambridge Rose, and Abraham Darby. Charlotte has a nice yellow like you mentioned, but it is a humongous rose even though helpmefind does not list it that way. It is at least 8' x 8' and wants to be bigger. It would be a great pegged rose.
I've got a good bicolored rose called Belle Epoque, but it would have to be sprayed.
If you did decide to spray, check out these other roses because they are the bloomingest things I've ever seen: Eureka, Brass Band, Day Breaker. None of the 3 are very fragrant, but they will put on a continuous show all spring, summer, and fall.
Really, every rose that I've mentioned will have loads of blooms all season long, but those last 3 are just showier somehow.
In general, keep this in mind while doing a helpmefind search. Earthkind roses will do well here. You may want to see them in person though, because some of them look better on camera than in the garden. China roses will usually do fantastic here. Again, you may want to see them in person because the blooms are often small and often not fragrant. Tea roses are hit and miss. Some are wonderfully disease resistant, others aren't. Noisettes can be wonderful. Some of them need to be sprayed though. Bourbons and Hybrid Perpetuals and lots of other classes just don't do well here. No repeat. They are great for pegging, but the repeat isn't there. Souvenier de la Malmason and Maggie are the exceptions to the rule, but these don't grow in a way that is good for pegging.

If you are ever near Texarkana, send me an email and you could come see some of these roses in person.

Joe,

This year I started my first rose garden. It has turned into an obsession! I went from 3 roses that I had in containers(at a condo) to 41 in a season. I has become something I really enjoy and I wish you luck on your rose adventure. Like you, I also wanted an organic/non spray garden, but with our rainy weather in June and most of my roses looking like sticks from losing leaves to blackspot I did decide to use just a fungicide to control blackspot (bayer advanced disease control.) I also highly recommend the earthkind roses, "Maggie" has been a great performer for me. I also like "Belindas Dream", not crazy about the color but it has bloomed non-stop for me since I planted it in early May. Perle d'Or has been a constant bloomer too, very fragrant but I am not sure it's what you are looking for, it blooms in clusters and the blooms themselves are rather small. Of the floribundas and HT's I have, "Pure perfume" is one of my favorites, a really nice pure white with a citrus fragrance and it hasn't stopped blooming since April. "Benjamin Brittan" is a great austin rose. I just got it a few weeks ago and am really liking the color and fragrance. I rescued "Janice Kellogg" from a 5.00 sale table at calloways, I am very impressed with her. When I bought her she was covered in blackspot and I almost passes her up. I brought her home sprayed, fertilized and watered and after 3 weeks she has made a complete turnaround, lot's of new growth and covered in big blooms/buds. This is a vigorous rose. Ebb Tide and Wild Blue Yonder are my absolute favorites, love the purple colors. I liked alot of cweathersby's suggestions, I am going to check into them for spring. Good luck with your new rose bed!

Some of the roses that have done particularly well in my garden have been:

Souvenir de la Malmaison - bourbon rose
Cramoisi Superieur - China rose
Spice - China rose
Gilbert Nabonnand - True tea rose
Heritage - David Austin English rose
Caldwell Pink - polyantha
Thomas Affleck - shrub rose
Belinda's Dream - shrub rose
Pink Gruss an Aachen - floribunda
Reine des Violettes - hybrid perpetual (can be pegged)

Randy

I only had tea roses, when I had my rose garden. My favorite red roses were Mr. Lincoln, and Chrysler Imperial. My favoreit yellow is the Peace Rose(very large, and I love the story behind it, but no fragrance), and my favorite pinks were Queen Elizabeth, and First Prize. If I ever do a rose garden again, I will be sure and get these again. Barbra

A few of my favorites:

Clotilde Soupert - the favorite rose in my yard. Almost non-stop clusters of blooms and to-die-for fragrance.

Caldwell Pink -Up to 50 small blooms on one stem!

Mutabilis (Butterfly Rose) - Heavy bloomer.

Cl. Cecile Brunner - Ideal for arch or trellis. Minimal thorns, heavenly fragrance.

Red Cascade - The name describes it perfectly.

Hi joetex,

I left 125 roses of all kinds in the woods in Jasper when I moved to Tyler. We averaged 57" of rain a year and you can't grow roses in Jasper without a fugicide and I mean a good one like Banner Maxx.
Just Joey is a great apricot HT with blooms you can't reach your hand across. Hot Cocoa is a Fl that is rusty brownish reddish??? Great tough bush but tall for a florabunda. My favorite of all preformers for me wa FL. Our Lady of Guadelupe. Pink,good bush. Europeana is a great red FL with a strong bush.

For disease resistance, I would go very old or very new. Our favorites, like Mr. Lincoln,Queen Elizabeth,Don Juan etc (mid century roses ) just can't compare to today's roses.
Zephrine Drouin is a great thornless climber but she needs somthing big ,like an arbor.

I will try to get some pictures up if I can work out how to do it.
Gail

I am going to try to post a picture or 2. If this just blows up,forgive me!

First prize
http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa189/jcanty_photos/?action=view&current=PDRM1306.jpg
Hybrid Teas
http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa189/jcanty_photos/?action=view&current=PDRM1581.jpg
Florabundas
http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa189/jcanty_photos/?action=view&current=PDRM1143.jpg

Well, I see that didn't work. I need a 'test site' until I learn to upload.

I am going to search and read more . Gail

Trying again
Florabundas

Hybrid Teas

I want to thank everyone for your help and wonderful suggestions. carrie - I appreciate the offer and if ever I am in the Texarkana area, I just might take you up on it! Gail - Those are beautiful pictures.

Anywho, I think we've finally decided what to do. We're going to use Earthkind roses to fill the new bed in front, where they will be on an organic program, and then we will put in another bed in back for those that need the sprays. This way, I can ensure the front stays nice and still have some of the more finicky roses that I want. And, if the front needs the occasional spray as well, then I'm not averse to that either, as long as I can keep it as organic as possible. Besides, the more roses the better, right? LOL!

Anyway, thank you guys once again. Your advice is invaluable.

--Joe