Software
Houzz Logo Print
mary_rockland

favorite roses zone 4B and under

8 years ago

It seems a while since there has been discussion on hardy roses so I thought I'd start one. I'm interested in ones that keep their canes as much as possible, or if they don't, grow so quickly and flower so much you don't care. My favorites for hardiness right now are Therese Bugnet (nice clear almost mauvish pink easy to 5 feet early bloomer with rebloom), Morden Centennial (good pink about 4 feet high rebloom) and William Baffin for a tough bright pink climber.
I'm starting to get fond of my Knockouts (the basic one and the double pink) and my Carefree Wonder. Although they do die down nearly to the ground in my 4B zone even with snow cover, they throw up new shoots very quickly and bloom a long time Of course these will never reach the 5 feet of my Therese Bugnet and be an anchor at the back of a border, but I appreciate the rebloom on the shorter stems. Does anyone have any suggestions of their favorites? Are there others that are a tall shrub (at least 4 1/2 to 5 feet) in pink or hot pink/light red that anyone would recommend for a back of the border situation? Are there any hardy ones that you are thrilled with for any particular reason?

Comments (15)

  • 8 years ago

    My favourites right now are Snow Pavement, Winnipeg Parks and Thérèse Bugnet. They all rebloom, have fragrance, and are healthy for me.

    For a tall hot pink, you might like John Cabot. I’ve seen one in Calgary in a protected microclimate with no die back, it over 10 feet tall, trained against a fence, and absolutely stunning. Unfortunately for me it dies back.

    mary_rockland thanked prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
  • 8 years ago

    I'm glad that Snow Pavement is one of your favourites. I bought one last year on the reduced rack. Does yours send out a lot of suckers or stay to itself? You might consider William Baffin if you're looking for a solid climber. I'm trying Felix Leclerc as a large shrub. I found it at a good price locally and although it is a climber it's not supposed to grow as tall as William Baffin so I'm hoping it will fill my gap at the back of my border as a shrub.

  • 8 years ago

    Tell me Prairie Rose - Do you consider Winnipeg parks to be red or pink and can you explain?

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Hi Mary_rockland, I’d consider Winnipeg Parks right in between pink and red, but more on the pink side, however the colour can vary depending on the temperatures. What are your thoughts? I find the flowers are so bright that it’s hard to photograph with accurate colour, and can vary depending on computer screens.

    I have some photos of my Winnipeg Parks near to the colour in person in the comments section of this thread in the Far North Gardening forum: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4704892/roses-2017?n=23

  • 8 years ago

    I've never grown Winnipeg Parks, so just wanted an opinion thanks for your link. Oh my what beauties you have. I was looking to buy Wasagaming but couldn't find it. She sure looks lovely, as well as Prairie Joy.

  • 8 years ago
    I just saw this post. I spend a lot of time on the rose forum. But to add to this thread, you may want to look at the new canadian shield rose. It survived my winter very well. I can't say a lot about it since I only planted it last year. But it is big for a second year plant. And it has a ton of buds forming. Oscar Peterson is another great one. Going into it's 3rd year. Really hardy here & clean. My winnipeg parks has been in my garden for a few years and is wimpy, Bill Reid suffers black spot & so does Morden Sunrise. Hopefully with another season they will beef up a bit.
    But my favourite roses are David Austin's. There are a few that are rated to zone 4 and have done far better than some of my previous mentioned canadian bred roses. Winchester Cathedral, Crocus Rose & L.D. Braithwaite have done well surviving winter and the blooms are gorgeous. I have added in other ones that are zone 4 rated. I think almost all of them are rated to zone 5 anyways. But a few more off the top of my head rated to zone 4 are Abraham Darby, Gertrude Jekyll, Sceptre'd Isle & Gentle Hermione. Definitely worth looking into.
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    HalloBlondie, I’ve heard great things about Crocus rose for colder zones, I’ll have to keep my eye out for it. LD Braithwaite is doing well for me here too, second year in a protected location with minimal dieback. Walmart (of all places) is where I found LD Braithwaite.

    Canadian Shield is doing great for me as well. Planted last year and very little dieback this year - in a spot with reliable snow cover. It had bright clear red blooms all last season, however no fragrance I could notice. I almost bought more, Costco online has 6 plants for $64.99, no membership needed & free shipping, https://m.costco.ca/bulbs-plants-seeds.html

    Costco online had a David Austin rose collection before but it looks like it’s not longer available, I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next year.

    Oscar Peterson had lots of powdery mildew for me last year but perhaps this year it will be better. I did have one wet year where Winnipeg Parks had lots of black spot, but not for the last two years.

    Mary_rockland, Priarie Joy is another excellent rose, I can’t believe I forgot about it, it’s also up there as a favourite. The only drawback is it lacks fragrance. However it flowers all season long, the blooms have a neat cup shape, and the plant has interesting matte blue-green leaves and a fantastic dense bush form.

    I got Wasagaming mail order through Cornhill Nursery, they have a lot of specialty roses, http://www.cornhillnursery.com/Roses.html . It was very small and twig-like when I got it and now it’s become a monster! One of my hardiest and biggest roses now, incredible fragrance and dripping in blooms during its flush. Unfortunately it has only one flush of blooms, but the flush lasts for a while, I think for almost a month.

    Most roses are just starting to form buds at the end of their tips right now here, it’ll be a while yet before I see blooms.

    mary_rockland thanked prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
  • 8 years ago
    I also forgot to mention two other Canadian roses that do well here too. They are the Never Alone rose & Campfire rose. Very clean & hardy here. Nice blooms. I will post pictures of some roses once they bloom.
  • 7 years ago

    Flowersaremusic, your photos and roses are absolutely stunning! Your garden must be lovely. The tall trees in the background look serene.

    mary_rockland thanked prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
  • 7 years ago

    Prairie_northrose, you are kind. Three years ago we had 40+ tall pines felled and hauled off. It didn't make a dent. It should have been triple that amount. Pine needles hang like Christmas tinsel on every stem, cane, leaf and bloom and have to be picked off by hand. Pine needle removal is almost a full time job.

    Are you still happy with Wasagaming? I'd love to find it locally and can ask Northland if they can get it. Your growing season must be even shorter than mine. It's hard waiting through long winters for spring to come.

    mary_rockland thanked flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Flowersaremusic - Your John Davis seems to be a lovely color. I've avoided it because I was a bit dissappointed that Martin Froebisher was so pale and thought John Davis would be equally as pale. Have to ask a few questions - - 1. What do you do about Japanese Beetles? and 2. Do you have any problems growing "climbers" as shrubs and do you do anything special to keep them growing full instead of long and skinny. I've just started a Felix Leclerc last year and trying it as a shrub form for the back of the border and am curious if you do anything special to keep your climber bushy and in shrub form.

  • 7 years ago

    Mary, I also think of John Davis as pale, but his first spring blooms remind me that he is a good, solid medium pink. Japanese Beetles have not found us up here in the northwoods - yet. So, I don't have a clue how to handle that problem, but there are many on the forums here that can advise you. I don't have problems growing climbers as shrubs. The problem is usually getting climbers to climb. Just keep them pruned to the shape you want and if a long cane escapes, just prune it down to size. Or, if you have one that wants to shoot out a bunch of long canes, you can peg them. If they start getting too lanky, a good pruning encourages bushier growth.

  • 7 years ago

    Blessed are those who do not have Japanese Beetles. We were fine until about 2 years ago, then they caught up to us, and of course they overwinter in the soil, so you can't really get rid of them.

  • 7 years ago

    They really sound unstoppable. Keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm sure they'll find us, too, soon enough.

Sponsored