The only one I grow is Savannah, own-root, new last Spring. It is healthy, the leaves positively glow, no BS & the blooms are wonderful. Not many of them but that is typical here & I usually nip them off the first year. I was so intrigued by the colour(not my usual pink as In The Mary, Quietness, Wife of Bath, etc.) that I allowed 4 to bloom. It has grown to about 33" & I am thrilled with its' progress. You'll love it.

Jane

Here are some brief comments on each of the above roses you named that I grow or have grown. I garden in W. PA, zone 5/6, bear this fact in mind when you read my observations. Roses perform quite differently under different conditions:

BEVERLY. excellent rose, abundant bloom, quick repeat, strong fragrance, needs winter protection for me, nice HT flower form, fully open blooms go flat, not much quilling, some spraying for BS needed, not ADR.

SAVANNAH. Beautiful flower, goes flat when fully open, some quilling, fair repeat, beautiful foliage, not ADR, needs winter protection for me, just OK HT form, wonderful fragrance. some blind growth, very BS resistant but gets some.

PINK ENCHANTMENT. ADR credentialed means disease resistant and winter hardiness and I concur for this rose, no winter protection needed, fair HT form but still very beautiful, flower goes flat when fully open, very nice scent...not strong but very present, no spraying for BS, vigorous growth, fast repeat, good foliage.

SUMMER ROMANCE. ADR designated...I agree, no spray, no winterization, huge bush, mostly blind growth, very little flowering, powerful fragrance, unimpressive flowers, shovel pruned mine.

EARTH ANGEL. powerful fragrance, very good flower production, quick repeat, balls up regularly, small flowers but charming cup shape when they open properly, vigorous grower, ADR designated, no spray, no winterization, all in all a keeper for now. I like this rose, but if the flowers balling up gets worse in the years ahead it will probably get the shovel.

Moses thanks for all the info! I am in SE Tx where it is very hot and humid. Do you think Earth Angel needs more heat to prevent balling?

smithdale, thanks for info on Savannah, I am very excited about growing this rose.

Savannah does not have an ADR because it was never entered into the ADR program. Only a limited number of varieties from any breeder may be entered in any given year. Many good commercial varieties on the market went through ADR evaluation but did not receive the designation- it is a really difficult trial, but Savannah, so far, has not had a chance. Savannah has only been entered in to the Biltmore International Rose Trial and last year it was awarded Best of all the varieties, best HT and most fragrant. It had the second highest score for disease only a point behind a shrub which is quite an achievement for a HT.

For SE Texas you might want to go and look at the current trial for Earthkind which is at M D Anderson Hospital grounds in Houston. I believe it is open to the public.

As far as Earth Angel balling - it is my experience that this deep cup peony type of flower shape does tend to ball. I see it in this type of flower when it rains or when the temperatures at night are very cold.

Chris, why wasn't Savannah entered in the ADR trial?

Love Song isn't a Kordes rose, boncrow. Diane

Kordes did not enter it. As I have said there are few spots in the trial available and Kordes has a lot of roses they want in the ADR trial so it is always selecting out of a fair number of good candidates just a few to go to ADR. Savannah has never been introduced in Europe - just in N. America.

Boncrow, I believe your heat will help Earth Angel open properly, but your torrential Texas rains and humidity may cause it to ball up in spite of the heat. I would still recommend you give this rose a go. Its ADR designation regarding winter hardiness may be irrelevant to you, but its disease resistance, especially to black spot, is a significant asset. Earth Angel's fragrance is sumptuous.

Chris such a prominent rose not being ADR trialed? Please!

Nanadoll, oops my bad! Thanks for the correction, I don't know why I thought it was but oh well now I know lol.

Chris I probably won't make it to Houston to see the Earthkind trials but I was at MD Anderson last year and saw where the roses where planted and wondered what varieties they were growing.

Moses, so far I haven't had a issue with roses balling but there is alsway a first for everything lol. I am very tempted to give EA a try.

Chris, I am also curious about La Perla, how do you think it would take the SE Tx heat and humidity and does it have a strong fragrance?

i'm growing Pink Enchantment and Savannah. Since this is the first season I can't speak to bloom production or vigor. Savannah was the quickest to take off here; clearly a heat-lover. I love the clear unfading apricot color, and the wonderful fragrance.

Pink Enchantment's few blooms are packed with petals and wonderful cream edged in pink. Not sure if the subtle color will hold up in our summer heat but I sure like the first of the fall blooms. Cannot detect any fragrance to speak of, but time will tell on that.

First Crush has these wonderfully fluffy full blooms and they smell really good. A friend snatched one up from Lowe's. I wish I'd gotten me one!

Cream Veranda n my PNW garden it is one of the best. Makes a nice round shaped bush, has loads of flowers, never seems to be without many blooms. Gets no diseases and the flower don't ball in the rain.

Pink Enchantment grows in an upright shape. Blooms in flushes and the flowers don't bleach in the sun. The leaves are a very attractive shaded green with red edges. My only complaint is that it is a monster in my garden and has grown to 6 feet. I have two and the other in part shade is also 6 feet with thick canes.

Barbara, good to hear Pink Enchantment and Savannah have been good for you so far. Thank you for all the information!

Oldrosarian, thanks also for the insight in Pink Enchantment and good to know how large it can get, sounds like it will neee to be placed in the back of the bed. And I am looking forward to Cream Veranda, it has had nothing but great reviews on this forum!

Chris, Chamblees has La Perla own root but I think I will pass since you said it's now very good own root. I'll look at Polar Express instead.

Thanks everyone for responding,this has been very helpful and I can't wait to plant some roses in the spring! I think Pink Enchantment sounds like a good rose to try along with Earth Angel.

Is there any way of knowing which plants Lowe's will have this Spring? I loved getting the larger plants they had, but only bought Dark Desire. I thought I'd build my garden more slowly, but it's full speed ahead apparently. I really want EA if it stays a smaller size.

Thanks for the heads-up on Polar Express.

Second year pair of Polar Expresses here look just like Chris' stunning portraits. From Chamblee's as gallon own roots in early June 2015, haven't needed to prune them & they've naturally grown into 4x4' dynamic shrubs that arch gently past 3' in a graceful form. As Chris' photos show, studded with blooms. Rapid repeat with snap deadheading, new buds swelling as others open for near continuous display, dropping petals cleanly (always more appreciated in a light rose) & eager to bloom, early to late in the season. Impeccable foliage hot & humid no spray, satisfying perfume & vigorous. A refreshing & enticing rose!

Pairs of First Crush & Summer Romance 2-gallon own roots new this Spring as well-developed & structured plants suffering typical Lowe's neglect. All recovered quickly despite that. Both arch outward past 3' here, though other gardeners report Summer Romance as more stiffly upright. They share characteristics of rich strong fragrance (8 of 10), greater profusion of blooms more closely timed with each flush & healthy clean foliage. Both unfurl slowly, hold a good two weeks & typically drop their petals cleanly when blown unless saturated with rain at that point. Snap deadheading with these, like Polar Express, find new flower buds emerge right beneath the flowers so removed. The bush shape, flower forms & colors of these two also charming together. Both are heftier plants with thicker canes than those of Polar Express at this point, with Summer Romance being the sturdier structured of the two. They've both doubled in size this season to about 4x4'.

First Savannah from Chamblee's, early June of 2015, grew well but made no attempt to bloom that year. Going for structure & root development, found this unremarkable for a first year own root hybrid tea here. When she began to bloom this Spring, immediately ordered another from Roses Unlimited - she's that fetching to me. Blooms unfurl slowly in hybrid tea form, then reflex as they expand & carry a powerful complex perfume. Four week bloom cycles with snap deadheading, well above average for her class, luscious apricot pink with light salmon tints, totally healthy no spray. Very reminiscent of older hybrid tea forms prior to the 1960's in both bush & bloom, closer to a reproduction/Austin feel than many thick & stiff-limbed modern examples of the class. Very charming rose in all respects. Younger Savannah's matured more quickly in the extended heat we've experienced this year & they've synchronized their bloom cycles. Another winner here.

Wholeheartedly recommend these outstanding four to any in a similar climate! Sue

A point about the ADR designation- it should be highlighted that the trials for this are done in Germany. What everyone always says on this forum, your experience may vary based on your climate and conditions. If your climate is very different than Germany (Texas, California, Florida, Midwest, Australia, etc), the ADR designation might not tell you a lot about how the rose will do where you are. Take Chris's advice, who trials these roses in the US under different conditions around America. Just because it doesn't have an ADR doesn't mean it is a bad rose, and just because it has an ADR designation doesn't necessarily mean it will be a good rose for you if your conditions are different.

Vasue thanks for all the great info on Polar Express, First Crush, Summer Romance, and Savannah. They all sound like great roses and I am for sure adding Polar Express to my list.

Ninkasi, good point about the difference between climates and different countries.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, it has been so helpful in my decision making.