Westerland

Westerland is lovely but didn't survive the winter here, though that shouldn't be an issue for you, Molie.

I saw Oso Easy Paprika at a local nursery that was gorgeous, but when I went back to get it, it was gone. :>(

I know that T2D has some orange roses, but I don't remember the kind. Hopefully she will see this and respond, but if not you could send her a message.

Hi Molie, I really like 'For You With Love'. It blooms all season long with a couple "rests" in between. It stays a nice, strong orange and I've never had any issues with disease. I have 'Westerland' but only purchased it this year so it will remain to be seen if it will overwinter. I do plan to protect it with mulch a bit, and this one is a climber. I have never protected 'For You With Love'.

The other orange rose we have is 'Livin' Easy'. I really like this one a lot. Another one that blooms well all season long with no disease issues. However, we planted 5 last year, and I did not protect any of them. 1 did not survive. 3 of the others took a VERY long time to get going this year. I was sure two of the three would not make it, but they did survive. The 5th did well from the start and is now 3-4' tall and has been blooming profusely.

If I were to choose between the two, I would definitely opt for 'For You With Love' because it just seems more carefree. I'm not a fan of having to winter protect anything. It is almost the same color as 'Livin' Easy' and has the same scent.

I had ordered Oso Easy 'Paprika' a number of years ago to plant in a hot garden along with crimson pygmy barberry. They shipped the cherry colored rose. So they shipped me another. It was again cherry. So now I have two cherry-colored roses with my crimson pygmy shrubs and it bothers me every year knowing what it SHOULD look like with the paprika! I saw a grouping of 4 or 5 'Paprika' at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and it was knock your socks off gorgeous. Many people were stopping to take them in. They are a single rose and their flowers do tend to fade as they age.

Hope this helps a bit!

T2D

Easy Elegance 'Sweet Fragrance'

This shot is from August.

Steve

My first thought was Pat Harkness, but a search for this returns nothing. I would swear it was Pat Harness, but now wonder if maybe I was thinking of Anne Harkness - http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/harkness-roses/anne-harkness.html . I had and lost Pat/Anne, but it was a gorgeous rose! The photos at the link to Anne seem paler than I remember (making me continue to swear it was Pat, not Anne, lol) but since you mentioned Tamora and Just Joey, (both of which I had and lost) perhaps this Anne is dark enough for you.

While looking for Pat/Anne, I came across a Harkness rose called High Sheriff - http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/harkness-roses/high-sheriff.html - that really caught my eye. I have absolutely no experience or knowledge of this rose, but saw the color and thought I'd pass this on.

By the way, the fact that I had and lost the above-mentioned roses (and many others!) says nothing about the rose, but more about my attentiveness as a gardener. Don't let the fact that I lost a rose make you think it won't survive for you!

Dee

'Westerland' is quite lovely, but in only it's second year, the jury is still out - especially after last year's brutal winter! On the other hand, 'Paprika' has been a bit of a disappointment, but only because I was looking for a strong orange: at first bloom, the color works pretty well, but blossoms seem to fade out very quickly. . .of course, the fact that Japanese beetles decided it was a salad bar didn't help! My newest fixation is with a David Austin beauty named 'Lady of Shalott' that should be arriving shortly. . .if the photos are to be trusted, I'll be over-the-moon next June. . .stay tuned!

Dee: are you perhaps thinking of 'Pat Austin'?

Carl

Does it matter what type of rose you have? Hybrid Tea, grandiflora , floribunda, English etc.? There is one I saw at the Portland (OR) rose garden that was definitely orange. The name is "Vavoom", but I can't recall what type it was, although I know it was not an English rose.

Any rose with a name like "Vavoom" sounds intensely and brightly colored! Have to go look that one up!

Carl, I am the worst ever sucker for David Austin roses, but I'm sure it was a Harkness rose that I was thinking of. I could very well, however, have been mixing up my names; not sure if I ever had a Pat Austin, but considering it seems to be my life's mission to buy and kill every Austin rose ever bred, it's possible I did, and may be mixing up my names...

Not only am I a neglectful gardener, but I neglected to back up my computer and lost all my photos when it crashed last fall, so I can't even go back through the pics of my dear, departed roses. (Most of them did survive a season or two before I killed them off!)

Dee, you crack me up! Put me in the category of buying and killing lots and lots of David Austin roses. Well, they didn't altogether die, but every year would get terrible Japanese beetles, black spot, etc, etc.......I finally just gave up on them altogether. I have some other roses that are so carefree. As much as I liked the David Austin's I could tell a full rose garden of them would be too much work.

Thanks, all. I have a lot of "research" to do over the late fall and winter before selecting a rose.

I'll answer Bill's question first. No, I really don't care what type of rose it is as long as it's not too tall and is hardy here in CT.... I think that was the problem with JJ. 'Vavoom' is spectacular. I'll have to do some research on that one, Bill.

Mad_gallica, I love the look of 'Westerland' but its eventual height would overwhelm my gardens. It seems that 'Westerland' is often used as a climber... is this what you've done with it?

Dee, I absolutely love the Austin roses; I wasn't so good with 'Tamora' or maybe it just didn't like my yard. That lasted just one season for us. Yes, the photos of Pat Austin are lovely. I haven't seen it in person. Some of the photos I've seen of it show it as a pale copper/orange similar to 'Tamora'. I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences with this rose.

Btw, Dee, have you ordered from Heirloom Roses? I like the fact that all of theirs are own root. Years ago I lost a 'Tiffany' because the Dr. Huey graft grew out and overwhelmed it in one season. I see from the link you provided for 'Anne Harkness' ... also on Heirloom roses... that this has not yet been rated by any of their customers. I'll definitely check out 'High Sheriff', too.

Steve, does your Easy Elegance 'Sweet Fragrance' attract Japanese beetles, and if so how do your treat them? This one is very attractive. I love the fact that it has lighter tones within the blossoms.

Carl, we also have an O So Easy 'Paprika' which was magnificent in its first two season but not since because it's a weak performer in our yard. I agree that its color pales too quickly (for my taste. I have seen 'Lady of Shalott' online... not in person. I'll be curious to hear how she does for you.

<olie

For a rose to climb, it has to be tip hardy. Westerland isn't tip hardy here, and grows more like a large floribunda. Keeping it to 4 or 5 ft wouldn't be hard. It is a quite reliable zone 5 rose, so keeping it alive shouldn't be an issue.

I do not recommend small, own-root plants for this area. It is just too difficult to get them up to size, and unnecessary since older, larger grafted plants are fairly easy to find. You need some experience with growing rooted cuttings, which pretty much means you know how to root roses. Once you enter that rabbithole, the next question should be why are you spending money on things that are barely bigger. I've played around with rooting enough Austins to know that I much prefer them grafted, and that is true of anything that gets substantial winterkill. On the Rose forum, this is known as a 'controversial' subject. I've been around long enough to translate that as something the Northeast disagrees with the rest of the country about. It is ingrained enough that the line is 'roses come from Canada'. A lot of people will recommend buying roses from producers reasonably close to you. Then the Californians freak at the idea we are buying roses from a foreign country. It doesn't matter that a lot of us live in states that border that country.

Probably a difference in our soils and weather, but I find I am more successful with own-root roses here.

Thanks NHBabs, Mad-G and Dee for your input on the differences and benefits of own-root vs. grafted.

The reason why I was thinking to go for own-root is because I've lost 7 roses in about 10 years ... Tiffany, Just Joey, Tamora, Gold Medal, Golden Showers,Angel Face and another yellow whose name I've forgotten.

I don't known if those loses are due to conditions in our yard or to our care. I'd like to think that it's due to "conditions" (lol).

So here's what we've "done" for our gardens. The open back yard slopes down to the river and faces west; we get tremendous sun. My DH installed an in-ground sprinkler system in the front and back yards so we've always watered regularly ... except for this awful summer. Our town provides free compost, which means the gardens have been amended over the years. Plus, we're out in the gardens weeding, cutting back, etc. And as I've said, we live along a tidal river and have a lot of birds because of multiple bird feeders and a birdbath. So we've never had a Japanese beetle problem.

Most of our roses are grafted, I think. There was always that question of burying the graft or not? After a few "deaths", we switched to burying the grafts because we get tremendous winds coming upriver. We guess that's the reason for many of our rose failures. Unlike the perennials that die back, our poor roses have to stand there and take the winds. We've used burlap around them to help in the winter. My DH said that he wants to use even higher burlap this winter.

So... is it the wind which causes our problems with roses? Not sure. The first rose we planted when we moved in 12 years ago was Queen Elizabeth. She was placed along the side of a garden shed and so protected from the upriver winds. The old gal is still with us.

Mad-gallica, your comments about growing rooted cuttings opened up another "research" avenue for me. I'm going to contact a friend who lived nearby and has experience with propagation for her advice. We have lots of time to make a decision before next spring.

Molie

In the east, most HTs are hardy to zone 7. They do better in the midwest because of the longer, hotter summers and drier winters. Yellows tend to be more tender than average. So it sounds to me like you are doing fine with your zone-pushing.

Wind isn't something I've dealt with for years. Burlap doesn't do that much, and the wind may not even be an issue. Bud unions must be buried, and winter protection of the magic mound type kills. It's hard to fake hardiness. However, hardy roses tend to be big. It's a different way of thinking - roses as shrubs rather than HTs.

Here is a photo Vavoom! Loving that orange color! http://www.edmundsroses.com/dp.asp?pID=24690&c=7

Thanks, dfaustclancy, for the link. Vavoom is spectacular. I'll research it.

I second Livin' Easy. I only grow shrub roses, and this one get huge, blooms all summer, and smells heavenly. It's a unique color, pinky-orange-coral. Really gorgeous.

I grow Cinco de Mayo. Mine is bright orange with some pink running through it (hard to explain so look at it on line). The color seems to change slightly with the sun. I've had it for 3 or 4 years and it's always my most prolific bloomer. Last year I did lose 2 side branches but it does get big and bushy.

The original poster wanted an orange rose. It's nice to have suggestions, but how are these last two roses orange ones? One is reddish and the other is pink mix. I took it to mean a really orange rose, but maybe some others might do. I hope you find something you like, moliep.

My Livin' Easy roses would definitely qualify as orange.

Thyme, I certainly believe you, although most of the descriptions I've read say it has some coral/pink as well. I'm sure it's a nice rose, though. And maybe different growing conditions affect the color. I know my yellow knockout roses look different when the temperatures change. Do your Livin' Easy roses do OK as far as being resistant to disease and insects? My red knockouts seem to thrive on neglect, and I am getting more next year for a little privacy and security in the upper garden.

Molie, thought of you this morning. Opened my email and saw one from Heirloom, saying it's the last day for a sale on orange roses!

http://www.heirloomroses.com/?trk_msg=N5AS6B87EHJ43COMG5ST29CLI0&trk_contact=IINGJ0E4F06FUQJ5VBUB69A7TG&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=HEIRLOOM+ROSES&utm_campaign=Orange+Rose+Sale&utm_content=20%25+off+Orange+Roses

20% off, and free shipping..... :)

Hi Bill, I found the 'Livin' Easy' have been excellent for pest and disease resistance. However, they took a big hit the past winter. This time I'm going to mound compost on them and also stuff salt marsh hay in them and hope for better results. I'm not too thrilled about that as I'd prefer to have easier roses to overwinter, and thus far, Livin' Easy appears to be anything but! LOL!

I have one knockout rose and it has been phenomenal all around. I've been eyeing the yellow ones. I have an area that I've been vacillating about a possible rose garden, and very well may put a mix of knockout rose options in there because I know they'll be exceptionally easy and bloom like crazy.

Dee, thanks for the link to Heirloom's orange roses. However, I won't be buying a rose this fall, even with their great sale right now. I'm not confident about the growing conditions we'll have this season.

Then there's the problem of trying to please my DH! He has definite color preferences and doesn't want an orange with red or pink tones (which I happen to like). I'm starting to think that this desire for orange in roses is as impossible as the desire for blue in daylilies! But I'll keep on searching because he's gone along with so many of my garden preferences over the years.

One thing I know is that it's so difficult to select based on nursery photographs. I'd rather see rose photos taken by rose owners and read their blunt opinions ... which is why I appreciate all of your comments. Any more ideas are welcomed. I'll be doing lots of research this winter.

Thanks,

Molie

Have fun doing your research this winter! Hopefully you can make decisions more easily than I can - especially with so many beautiful roses to choose from AND with all those roses in front of you during the winter, lol. I think that's how I end up wintersowing 225 containers - everything looks good in January, lol. I find it so darn hard to choose just one..... :)

Thanks, everyone. We did plant an orange rose that we spotted at a local garden center, and here it is ... 'Easy Does It'! My photos show yellow tones, but those aren't apparent out in the garden.

We like the brightness of this rose so much that we'll look for another in this color family. I've bookmarked this thread and will do some online shopping, especially for some of the true orange roses that were suggested.

Molie