Both Wasagaming and Polaris thrive in Z3. Wasagaming is a gigantic monster.

Nice list!

We had a brutal winter for plants and most of my roses are just coming up from the ground.

I only have one that is on your list, Morden Sunrise, and I highly suggest you plant the graft of this rose much deeper than you would the others or prepare to protect it. I absolutely adore this rose and it still holds the #1 spot in my yard BUT it better step it up. The past few winters it has died back to the ground and been the only rose to get black spot. It has an amazing fruity scent that wafts in my yard coupled with beautifully coloured blooms and glossy deep green foilage. It is quite unfortunate that the blooms shatter so fast.

I know people in your zone that have those two and both do really well.

Happy planting and lets see some pictures.

SCG

I have Wasagaming. I planted it 2 years ago. It is completely tip hardy, with no protection, in my zone 2b garden. It is definitely a vigorous grower, but I don't know how big it will get, because the deer keep trimming it!

That is great to know of Wasagaming's vigor this far north! It's just a little stick right now. I came across the photo linked below, and thought I should check here first before planting.

Monster Wasagaming

Good thing I asked, I was about to plant it beside Therese Bugnet. We planted a bushy Therese with good roots a few weeks ago, and she already has buds!

Morden Sunrise is taking off in it's pot, I'm looking forward to comparing it to Bill Reid. SCG, I am surprised shes dies back to ground even in your zone! My neighbor has Morden Sunrise as well, I'll have to ask if they get any die back.

All roses I planted in the ground last year are coming back nicely. I did lose a potted Winnipeg Parks and Prairie Princess, I was too eager and tried to get them going early in the sun room, and they shriveled up in the dryness.

I am finding it more work to remove the sod than it is to plant the roses!

The one thing I would add, is that if you get chinooks, you may not have as much luck with Wasagaming. Mine gets plenty of snow cover. I know some people that are a zone warmer than me but can't overwinter the plants that I can! Hopefully you have good growing conditions though.

Chinooks do nothing to Wasagaming. The only thing that can kill Wasagaming is a direct hit from a nuclear warhead.

I can't wait! Shazam, may I ask how old is your wasagaming and how many feet tall/wide does she get for you?

I have limited space and am planning my future rose garden layout. I would like to keep the more fragrant in the backyard where I frequent, but may consider wasagaming in the front if she is too wide.

MIL has the Wasagaming. It's 6-7 years old now, it's 6X6. It's still getting bigger, however it stays in a nice clump.

Thank you Shazam, the info is much appreciated. It's great to know that the size of Wasagaming is not much affected in colder zones.

SCG, will planting lower reduce the amount of die back? This year I had the most die back on Rugelda, which looks like your Morden Sunrise at this point. I'm happy at least Rugelda is alive.

Weeper, good point about reliable snow cover. Lol, I think I would still rather have chinooks and challenging gardening rather than snow all winter. I went all out on "snow farming" this year, and had shoveled everything on top of the roses. Unfortunately it was not enough, the snow melted early on, and although the canes were alive when the snow first melted, much dried up in the following months.

Yesterday I also picked up Sir Thomas Lipton, Morden Belle, Cuthbert Grant. Now to find a spot for everything...

No, planting deeper will not lessen die back. What it does is protect the graft (if, and most roses are grafted) and canes below ground level to come back from. I know several people in Z3 growing 'Double Delight' which is not rated for the zone but they have the graft down about 10" and it appears and performs every year, for example.

You always have room for more roses.....

Keep the graft a minimum of 6" below ground level.

Buy more roses.

Buy more roses.

As I have stated in the past my advice is gluten free so you may want to add salt.

SCG

(Comments may include MSG)

With bare roots at Home Depot for 6 bucks and full bushes like this lovely Morden Belle that showed up at Walmart for 13 bucks, it's hard not to resist (I made sure to tug at the plant this time see see if was established, and was glad to see it was):

SCG, I was not aware that most roses are grafted. I am having a hard time determining if a rose is grafted or not: sometimes the stem is bulbous where the stems meet, sometimes the stem is bulbous where the roots meet, sometimes it's a little bit of both.

Is it best to assume that a rose a grafted unless otherwise stated?

I purchased Cuthbert Grant, where the bulbous stem is more extreme than the others, does this look like a grafted rose?:


Tag says product of USA, potted in Canada by Pan American Nurseries in Surrey BC.

If you go to Pan Am's web site they tell you which roses are budded, If I remember correctly none of the explorer, parkland or shrub roses are budded from them or anyone else. It will be the fancy stuff that's budded. Persian yellow is budded, some roses are very hard to propagate or have other issues on there own roots.

As wayne pointed out, properly, it depends on where your roses come from. Some exclusively bud, some own root, some both and Pan Am does both. The explorer series I have are all grafted, some from Pan Am. Maybe they changed business models, I dunno, as interestingly I contacted them two years ago about a bulk order and they told me all Morden (and like) was on Multiflora, salesperson error, maybe.

It is often hard to tell if roses are grafted or not and I can't be certain from your pictures. Prune it back below the knob and if it comes back proper it is own root, if not grafted or possibly dead.

Heck I been wrong once, but it was due to improper information on topic......LOL!!

I will sit back and watch..

A rare occasion as I passed on all the roses and bought seed potatoes instead

SCG

I thought I was all done rose shopping for the year, then I came across Turbo (aka Turbo Meidiland, Turbo Rugostar), who was on my wish list. It's hard to even find pictures of her online, so here she is:

I was also greatly inspired by shillanorth's stunning photo of geranium Rozanne. Found it at Blue Grass nursery today and am looking forward to seeing how it works out. Tag said zone 5, so it's in now planted in the most sheltered spot in the garden.

First blooms

What a tempting thread! Yes, I want more roses.... but I don't know where to put them! And they die on me too!!! Oh well, I just have to watch you guys and enjoy the roses through the computer screen! THANK YOU for the eye candies!!!

Ostrich, I am also struggling with placement. I need to dig up more lawn. Many of my roses are currently planted close together, I figure I'll move them later on when there are some proper beds. Are there some varieties that have done better for you?

Also added this year are John Cabot, another two Winnipeg Parks (that make 6 WP in total!), Blanc de Double Coubert and Scarlet Pavement. I'm up to 20 varieties, with 15 or so left on the ever growing wishlist.

Morden Sunrise did not have the same hardiness testing before it was put out (due to closure of the program)...so it is not nearly as hardy as some of the other Morden roses. I have finally stopped trying to grow it (after 7-8 attempts!), same with Winnipeg Parks...The one I love and is wonderfully hardy is a red shrub rose called Hope for Humanity.

As for the grafted root question...sometimes the container label states whether it's grafted or on its own rootstock. I find, unless you can get it in bloom, Walmart's roses can be mislabeled. Bought a number over the years that have not been correct, but it might be worth the risk since they are cheaper than anywhere else.

Thank you Donna! Hope for Humanity is lovely, I saw it again at the garden center the other day, it is such an incredible deep, dark velvety red. I'm glad to hear it is hardy for you.

I find the labeling of the Walmart roses have been pretty good this year, perhaps having something to do with the label saying they have been potted up by Pan-Am roses. And now I always familiarize myself with the form and foliage of the roses before I buy them. But I still do see a handful that are mislabeled.

There's also no doubt in my mind these Walmart roses have been potted up this year. I've learned a few tricks to avoid disappointment - look for active growth, tug at the stem to see if's been recently potted, and check the bottom for roots. Their $13 roses are in much better condition and have more roots than their $10 or $8 ones.

I see Pan Am roses at the local nurseries, but they have very full root systems, it appears often at least a years growth in that pot. I still like the specialty nurseries for hard-to-find varieties, LOL I am already planning my purchases for next year!

I spritzed a few roses with sulphur the other day as I noticed some powdery mildew. It looks like it helped. Although I now have white blotches from the sulphur...

Morden Sunrise opened up yesterday, planted this year. It does have a nice fragrance, smells like "Fruit Loops" cereal:

Lovely indeed! Thanks so much for the eye candies :-)

A few more from planting this year, so they are a little ahead:

Cuthbert Grant. I am particularily smitten by this rose and its large cupped flowers with deep red color with purple tones. The petals have that velvet sheen. And this one does have a nice light fragrance! Foliage is a lighter matte green:

Marie Bugnet. I was surprised to see this little plant flowering earlier than many others:


Planted last year, Quadra:


Moved last year, mystery miniature rose:

And I'm really looking forward to Rugela, who died back to the ground, and is almost 18" high now. The shiniest foliage of all my roses so far:

Cuthbert Grant is a real beauty. I do have Hope for Humanity and Emily Carr, and those colors are somewhat similar...but I should really just get CG because I love that velvety color so much.

Thank you weeper! I have two Emily Carrs as well, lovely long lasting cupped flowers, very vigorous growth, but zero scent.

The blooms of CG are larger than EC, I've also seen some CGs with ruffled petal edges like peonies.

The colour of my CG is more red compared to those I have seen in the nurseries. The ones at the nurseries have a cooler purple undertone. My two geranium rozannes are also more on the purple side rather than a cool blue.

Does anyone know what may cause this colour variance? Is it my soil or water?

With the heat as of late, Cuthbert Grant has become more wine-purple in colour, as the blooms fade, they also become more purple. This photo was taken while it was overcast, but I think the colour of the blooms is fairly close:

My all time favourite, Winnipeg Parks is in full bloom this week. This colour is the hardest to capture, it is much more fluorescent in person:

Frontenac:

Morden Belle:

Champlain:

Lovely photos, prairie_northrose! Thx!

My Morden Belle has been rather floppy. The branches droop with the multiple flowers. I really do not like that all all. Do you have the same issue? Mine is also not that hardy as there is much dieback.... not quite what I had expected!!! Thinking of shovel pruning it....

Thanks ostrich! Yes Morden Belle is floppy if there is more than one flower open per stem. This is the first year I've had it so I cannot say how much die back it has. Just by looking at it's tender stems, it would not surprise me if it died back completely. The growth has been very vigorous though, and it has doubled in size in the last month. I do like the shiny smooth foliage and refined look. I did get a couple of leaves with black spot last week during the wet spell. The buds look nice. Zero fragrance. Usually takes a day to blow open. Here is a shot from today:

Here is a full bush shot of Morden Belle from today, you can see it's thin tender stems and furthest left flower stem starting to flop:

A rose that has impressed me more is Turbo, which opened today. The bush appears rugged, and flowers are less refined, but buds are abundant. Faint scent. If it is tip hardy as it has been for some in zone 3, I think this may become a star in my garden:

It's rainy and cold today, so here are some photos from the last few weeks.

My favourite, Winnipeg Parks is in it's prime. I added several this year and now have 6 all together, I hope to create the look of a hedge:

Quadra has been continuously blooming, here is a good sized bloom:

Morden Sunrise is looking good, ruffled petals on this bloom, even though the same plant had unruffled petals a few weeks ago:

Morden blush bloom's fade to lovely shades of dusty pink and mauve:

Hrm, I seem to be struggling either with upload caps or a intermittent connection...

My Morden Belle is not at all floppy. I don't really fertilize it though. It does bloom nicely. About 50% dieback over winter in a very exposed location. Absolutely no scent.

Thanks, prairie_northrose, for your gorgeous pictures! They are very inspiring indeed :-) I wished I had more space so I could have more roses!

Well, I do have a little plan though.... my Morden Belle has been removed from its current location - my neighbour now has it. It's just somehow way too floppy for me, and not very vigorous at all. In its place now is Alexander McKenzie. Hopefully, this will do better in this sheltered, southern location that my Morden Belle was previously occupying.

Since I am not really enjoying my Dart's Gold Ninebark (it looks a bit too green/chartreuse for me during summer, and it also has that "faded" colour that I don't quite enjoy) so it may get that shovel prune treatment next spring. Perhaps I can then plant a rose in that location instead! It will provide much more summer interest and colours.

Now I'd better think about what rose to get for that location.... I need something about 4-5' tall and wide... hmm... hopefully fragrant too.... hmm....

That's a good point Shazam, my Morden Belle was recently given some alfalfa tea, and put on plenty of new green growth. Only 50% dieback is really good.

Ostrich, I don't like my ninebarks very much either, I prefer roses and other perennials over them. Although they seem to make a decent landscape bush. I'm considering moving them to the front yard to make more room for plants in the backyard where I frequent more. I also have plans for a Bartzella peony next year or the year after - which I find much more interesting than a ninebark. There are a few Alexander McKenzies around here that seem to do very well.

My scent observations of my roses that have bloomed so far:

Strongly scented: Blanc de Double Coubert, Therese Bugnet, rosa woodsii (morning only)

Moderately to faintly scented (in order): The Hunter, Morden Sunrise (fruity scent), John Cabot, Cuthbert Grant, Bill Reid (moderate citrus scent), Winnipeg Parks (out of 6, one is almost strongly scented, 4 are moderate, and one has no scent), Turbo (faint strawberry scent in the morning)

Almost no scent: Frontenac, Morden Belle, Hansaland, Quadra, Emily Carr

Lovely rose pictures Prairie. Now I really regret I didn't plant a winnipeg park this year. Anyone knows where can I get a winnipeg park for less 20 bucks in Calgary now? I can't find them in the big box store near anymore. And I found it is pretty hard for me to pay over 30 bucks for a rose from Garden centre.

I planted a Morden Blush this year and I found the color is so pale that I am thinking shovel prune it already. Is there anything I can do? Move it to a shady location? Change the soil PH value?

Brandon, try Canadian Tire on Southland. They had a very nice shipment recently and that included some big and healthy Winnipeg Parks. Not sure if they still have any left but it's worth a trip. Good luck!

Thanks ostrich. I am not very familiar with south part of the city. Is this the CT in this address? 9940 McLeod Trail SE, Calgary, AB T2J 3K9

Brandon, it is the one close to McCleod Trail and Southport, next to the Delta Hotel and close to Walmart on McCleod Trail. Let me see if this is the correct address...

Brandon, it is indeed the correct address. This is one of the best CT garden centres in Calgary! Worth paying a visit.

Thanks Brandon! I do find nursery roses usually much stronger and better established than my cheapo Walmart roses. I was fortunate to find Winnipeg Parks at Walmart for $12.97, however it was apparent they were dug out from the ground, roots hacked (some worse than others), and planted in pots this year, I'll probably give them some extra protection over the winter. Calgaryplants.com has WP for $24.95, but there's a $9.95 shipping cost for the Calgary area (I was thinking of trying them out as they also have some things on sale right now). A few garden centers will have things on sale later on, but limited selection. Last year, I got 3 roses on sale for $20 each at Golden Acre at the end of the season. Blue Grass has roses for $28.99. If you're a member of the Calgary Horticultural Society, you can get 10% off regular priced plants at many nurseries.

Ostrich, that Canadian Tire sounds great, I'll have to check it out one day. I find CT roses are pretty good, I noticed mostly sourced from Bylands, which is the same as many nurseries.

I've always known Morden Blush to be a pale rose. Yes I do find heat fades blooms. Plus most photos online (mine included) are of blooms in their prime, which for me is only 10-20% of it's bloom life. You might like Morden Belle or Morden Centennial more. Even John Davis. I do like how Morden Belle looks good in all stages. Depends on what you are looking for. There are a few Morden Centennials around here that look lovely.

My understanding (from hydrangeas) is acidic soil creates blue tones in blooms, and alkaline soil creates red tones: http://apps.caes.uga.edu/gafaces/?public=viewStory&pk_id=4542

Check last week of August/first week of Sept, Sunnyside, Golden Acre et al will put their shrubs and perennials on sale usually 50% off.

Ostrich,

Thanks for the info. I didn't find a decent Winnipeg Parks but I did found a healthy Pink Pavement, so it is worth the trip.

Prairie,

I am definitely going to try some of the red roses next year.