Any color preferences?

No

Have you got the book "Right Rose, Right Place" by Peter Schneider? He is in Ohio in zone 6. The book is full of recommendations for what rose does well in what location, situation, exposure. Etc. Also he is a very good writer.

Jackie

No specific recommendations, but if you are hoping for some Gallica suggestions, you might want to mention if you care much about suckering habits. My understanding is that there are some well-behaved Gallica types, but if you have the room, a huge Gallica is certainly a thing of beauty.

I would definitely want to grow Albas and Gallicas if I had the chill hours to make them happy; I do have a young 'Cardinal de Richelieu' and a mystery OGR that I'm hoping will bloom in the spring...

Good luck,

Virginia

I love the European once-blooming old roses and they're very good for me; I don't know how they'd be in your conditions. One consideration is length of flowering season and quality of blooms, which depends on when it starts to get hot: if that happens during their bloom, it might be a brief flowering. They'll be hardy enough in your conditions. I've always grown mine in dry-summer conditions (low humidity). About the suckering, it doesn't bother me, but you should take it into account. A heavy soil will slow the phenomenon down, and possibly not watering in summer may as well.

There are innumerable old roses I love, here are a few:

'Tuscany Superb', Gallica, very dark; 'De la Maitre Ecole', Gallica, heavy mauve-pink-purple; 'Centifolia', lanky thorny plant, very fragrant, double clear pink; pretty much all the Albas ('Maiden's Blush', 'Alba Maxima', 'Alba Semiplena', etc.); 'Belle Isis', Gallica, soft pink, myrrh scent; 'Mme. Zoetmans', creamy near-white, shapely, like a white Gallica, fragrant; 'Common Moss', sport of 'Centifolia', similar but with moss; 'William Lobb', moss, small dark double blooms on a semiclimbing plant; 'Celsiana', Damask, clear pink semidouble very fragrant blooms on a thorny plant; 'Belle sans Flatterie', very double pink blooms on a low-growing healthy plant.

There are a lot more than this, of course. All are fragrant, many set hips, some have fall color, most are easy thrifty plants, at least in my conditions. And they are VERY BEAUTIFUL. I think they have a wilder look to them than Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, for example, and to me they're the most sumptuous roses of all.

Those are all lovely, Marlorena, and that 'Chianti' looks especially happy and lovely... I'm not a huge fan of Austins in general, but I'm really a sucker for almost any dark red or dark purple rose. You know, the ones that aren't usually considered suitable for southerly climes... If my test-case OGR's do well for me in the spring, I may be emboldened to add a few others.

Virginia

Rose de Rescht would certainly be hardy for you. Blooms are a deep, rich color, wonderful fragrance, even, bushy, fairly compact growth, and is a fairly good repeat bloomer.

Thank you everyone! I've been looking up some beautiful roses today, because of all the great suggestions, appreciate it very much! Thank you Marlorena for posting the lovely pictures too. Jackie, I do have that book and have been studying it too, thanks!

Sara-Ann, do you have any other considerations? How much space do you have? Are you looking for fragrance? I'm nowhere near you, so I don't know which of my favorites would do well there. I'd recommend looking through the websites for the following nurseries, searching by class:

Rogue Valley Roses
Rose Petals Nursery
Angel Gardens

I'm not knocking other nurseries, but those three above have large inventories among many different classes, especially among the older types. If you find some which appeal to you, look them up on HelpMeFind for more information and pics -- and to see if they're listed in member gardens in your part of the country. Then come back here and ask about specific roses.

Going back to my roses, there are a few which I think you may enjoy, if you like fragrance.

'Botzaris' -- once-blooming Damask

'Duchesse de Montebello' -- once-blooming Gallica or Hybrid China, smells like Jonquils

"Grandmother's Hat" -- a "found" rose of Hybrid Perpetual type

'Marie Pavie' -- repeat-blooming Polyantha, and one of the most fragrant of this group which isn't otherwise known for fragrance

'Pink Soupert' -- if you like the idea of 'Clotilde Soupert' but are leery of balling, this offspring of it keeps the fragrance, has more color, and doesn't ball for me

'Yolande d'Aragon' -- a tall Hybrid Perpetual which, for me, needs a Summer haircut to rebloom

I've experimented with some Chinas and Teas, which bloom over and over through the season, but get hit hard by Winter here. If your Summers are long and hot, they'll get enough of what they need to rebound every year. Generally, Chinas are a touch more cold-hardy than Teas, but there are exceptions both ways. If you're afraid of losing a rose to Winter, start with a few Chinas before Teas. But throw in "Bermuda Spice" along with your first Chinas as your "guinea pig" for Teas. For me, "Bermuda Spice" blooms nonstop all season, though its blooms get smaller and whiter when temperatures are above 90F. I have to cut it back really hard in Spring to remove Winter damage, but it still gets back to over 4' tall and 5' wide by the end of Autumn. And the blooms smell -- to me -- like fresh cut grapefruit.

Have fun looking up some of the older beauties! And welcome to the world of OGRs.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you, Christopher for the suggestions and advice. I have lots of room to work with, however I do need to improve my soil in areas. This is going to be a process over several years, I hope to one day have a very colorful landscape. I'm not that young, but this is something I thoroughly enjoy, and I am truly loving the OGR, so my ultimate goal is to have a mixture of all types of roses and other flowers/plants that do good in my zone. I love fragrant roses, but not every rose I have has to be fragrant.