The heat here is dry, not humid, but can stay in the high 90s and low 100s for days on end. 'Jacques Cartier' and "Portland from Glendora" handle it well, and also "Rose de Rescht".

Benny Lopez.

Comte de Chambord, Portland from Glendora, Marchesa Boccella, Rose de Rescht - dry heat

Thanks! I have glendora, and she does seem to be doing well in the week of upper 90s that we are experiencing. i cut her back from 6 ft to 3 fr a momth ago after her first flush and she put on a foot of new growth with several new buds. I look forward to trying some of your suggestions as well. I am thinking of arthur de sansal. Anyone know how arthur does in blazing heat?

Lois, I think Arthur de S might be a bit more prone to blackspot, if that's a problem in your area. Not sure about the heat....

I know from experience that Rose de Rescht and Jacques Cartier/Marchesa Boccella can take the heat. They grow in North TX. I'd definitely grow them in any climate or place that I could, including my current garden in the PNW. :-) I love the history of ancient RdR. I have a friend whose family is from Persia, and I shared a rooted start from my plant to bring the delicious scent of Damask into her garden.

Both are VERY fragrant and produce beautiful, full, ruffly blooms. In May, my RdR is COVERED in raspberry fuchsia buttons about 2.5 inches in diameter. My JC/MB produces large handfuls of delicious, almost silvery, candy pink fluff.

Both cultivars have been quite disease resistant in Portland--save last year's weird rust fest where RdR suddenly went bananas--but we may have different strains of fungi lurking in this part of the country, so others in NC would be able to provide more accurate info. Oddly, we had a warmish, dry spring last year, and that's when rust attacked roses in my garden that had never even seen the color orange.

Once mature, both cultivars repeat well for me with big late spring flushes, always some flowers in the summer and smaller bursts of bloom in autumn. RdR may need a bit more pruning as it ages in order to produce its flushes. I sheer mine modestly in late winter and then give it another, more modest, sheer after the spring flowering.

With pruning, both are tidy, moderately-sized garden plants. Neither has ever run rampant across my beds like notorious Charles de Mills, although RdR is producing a number of passalongs every year now that he is mature.

Another Portland that you might consider is Indigo. I'm not 100% sure about the heat, but I hope others can reply about its tolerance in your area. I do know mine is planted in the hottest part of my garden--smack in a summer baked, west facing bed and wedged between my house (with its aluminum siding) and a tall, solid wood fence. A virtual oven! I can't even enter it between 2:00 and 5:00 without becoming light-headed. Indigo is STUNNINGLY beautiful, a kaleidoscope of pinks, plum and violet. It is also VERY fragrant and pretty much disease free here. It will spread a bit (not viciously), so I try to stay on top of suckers/stolons.

I applaud your adding another Portland/Damask Perpetual. It's such a wonderful, useful, enchanting OGR class. I hope I didn't TMI you! I get a little carried away with my passion for OGRs. Carol

I am interested in this topic as well. I have bbeen trying to add roses with the damask fragrance in my hot and humid 9a. Comte de Chambord is intensely fragrant, not sure how it will handle the heat yet.

I have Rose de Rescht . It handles heat really well but not the humid . That is one of the roses I spray but then I got lazy so I removed the disease leaves. It is not that bad Bec it grows very quickly new leaves then I am back to spray . It's been 4 months I have not spray but the leaves not look that bad and I am okay with it. It has a beautiful scent that I can die for so it is definitely a keeper.
I wish I can get more Damask or Portland roses.
jin

@ Rekha, how is your rose with BS ?

jin

Jin, Comte is new to my garden, no BS yet. Most of my roses will have BS and I don't really mind unless they completely defoliate...

Here is a pic I just took. It is 97 degrees now and feels like 99 but to me it feels higher Bec of radiant heat bouncing off the walls and concrete. I almost got fried honestly speaking.

It is not bad actually but there are days it just gets BS. I have not sorry but when hurricanes season comes....yes, I will.

I got to say something here. I got this rose Bec of Carol. I love the scent so much and I have no regrets. It is a beautiful rose and I absolutely love it.
Carol thank you for introducing this rose to me. It came with my first batch from ARE. I just saw a thread for you thanking you for this rose but I hope you do see this. It is about 2.5-3 ft tall. It did went through a spring flush long time ago.

Rekha I'm going to put your rose on my list too I'm just crazy over scents.

jin

Edit :. When hurricanes seasons comes...I will spray for sure.
jin

Carol, I grew indigo years ago in PA and was not impressed by the color, which was not nearly as purple as advertised. Arthur seems like a deeper purple than indigo in pictures. How do they compare in reality?

Also, there is no such thing as TMI when it comes to old roses, as far as I am concerned! :-)

Ha, ha, Lois. Glad I didn't flood you with OGR opinions! Once I get started, I can go on...and on.

That's interesting about your Indigo's coloring. One reason I like this forum is that we can gather observations from many locations across the country and planet. My Indigo was pinker when it was a young thing. However, even then, it was always somewhat mauve-leaning as the individual blooms aged. Its blooms did become significantly deeper and more colorful with the plant's development. The blooms on mine, now that it has matured, begin as a deep pink with fuchsia-raspberry-violet tones which then mellow to shades of deeper violet and blue-grey toward the edges. Maybe the combo of your climate plus the age of the plant...? Your late springs and your summers are surely hotter than mine, and nothing persuades red and purple roses to go pink like heat and intense sunlight. I'll see if I can dig up some Indigo shots from the last year or so. I can't go out in that part of the garden right now since the sun is already creating an oven on the west side.

I don't grow Arthur de S, but I wonder if he might be lighter in your climate, too. In my experience, RdR holds its color well, but it's more of a raspberry-fuchsia to begin with. Carol

I spoke too soon, just got home today from a trip and Comte de Chambord has spots on the lower leaves. Regardless, it is one ugly plant, the leaves, the thorns and the habit is very unattractive. I have it for the fragrance only. For me, with similar fragrance, mme Ernst calvat looks much better, she gets a toutouch of blackspot, but the foliage and the plants is very attractive. Not sure if she will repeat, she is putting on lot of growth. Beautiful blooms and fragrance is great. The comte wafts and is more intensely fragrant, flowers are not as attractive.

Lois, here is better pic of RdR. I think you have a really good climate and have tons of selections.
Sorry, I took in in the afternoon but it is really nice rose.
Rekha , I am sorry about Comte. I would removed all BS and you know what to do. It is still young .

jin

Rekha, in my experience, Marchesa Boccella/Jacques Cartier is healthier and performs much better in TX than Comte de Chambord, especially in humid parts of TX. Marchesa B is VERY fragrant, not particularly thorny and the blooms are absolutely to-die-for gorgeous. If you decide to purchase one, give it a few years (3-4) to come into its own, and make sure you plant it in afternoon shade so the the color and the flowers themselves last. Morning sun is perfect. Conveniently, ARE carries Marchesa B. :-) I'll attach some photos in case you're interested. The first one is of my legit Marchesa B from ARE. The last two are of a rose that may or may not be the same one. I am wondering if my mystery isn't an odd clone. MB/JC has always developed a different habit than this rose, and MB/JC has always been remontant for me. This, whatever it is, never repeats and is a skyrocket. But I love it! The blooms are pretty much (or completely) identical to Marchesa B, and I happen to have handy photos.

If your Comte de Chambord is young, you might give it a couple of years to start shaking off some of the blackspot. Many of my later healthy-healthyish OGRs contracted various diseases plus blackspot in their early days. Young roses remind me children entering preschool. They are prone to all kinds of ills as they build resistance. At least roses can't spread hand, foot and mouth disease or lice! Carol

Marchesa B (ARE)

What Marchesa B's full blooms look like.

Jin, thank you for posting photos of your lovely RdR bloom! I am honored to have persuaded you to try this deliciously scented and very old cultivar. Now, you and I are officially kindred spirits in the Ancient Persian Rose Growing Club along with Lin and others on the forum! I hope RdR grows and blooms well for you in Florida. I will be very interested to hear how it performs in your climate. As I mentioned to Lin on her thread, RdR does take a few years to really come into its full glory. Mine noticeably matured after I'd grown it for around 4. It really began to show its remontancy capabilities. You mentioned hurricane season. I hope that annual stretch of meteorological uncertainty goes easy on your roses and the whole state of Florida this year, Jin. Blackspot is a trifle compared to a whirling mass of wind and water slamming the coastline, but I admire the pluck and determination of all you Florida gardeners. When someone mentions a hurricane, you respond with recommendations for preventing trellised roses from flying away and salvaging flooded perennials! Carol

Lois, I'm still looking for my Indigo photos.... Carol

Carol, I bought Jacques Cartier from RU earlier this year. No blooms yet, came in as a very small plant, so maybe later when it cools down. Your flowers look amazing!

Ugh, I remember the time my younger son got hand foot & mouth...i'd rather not think about it!! Blackspot doesnt stress me out unless its really bad...I have the damask crud on my Baronne Prévost. Need to take some of the leaves off and cut it back.

Hurricane season starts now...DH was stressing out about the number of planters!

Thanks, Rekha! Congrats on your RU purchase! I hope you and JC develop a long, beautiful and deliciously fragrant friendship. I look forward to hearing how he performs for you.

Ah, shared parenting woes. It's good to move on and not look back. Hand, foot and mouth. Shudder!

Blackspot: Same here. It is what it is. I'd probably stress if I didn't see any blackspot because I'd know that some place under my feet had frozen over!

Gads! Is it officially hurricane season already? "DH was stressing out about the number of planters!" You hurricane-country gardeners are survivors to the core! Portlanders see big, swirling vortices of the apocalypse on the weather radar, and hurricane-country gardeners see that it's time to bring in the planters. :-). Carol

This discussion is so timely, I need to add a few more roses to my RU order! Hoping to get a few ideas from this forum. I have been prioritizing fragrance, especially the damask fragrance as that is the one that thrills me.

I do find some HT's have the intense fragrance, Mr. Lincoln blew me away. Not sure if any have the OGR look and habit.

Rekha, Francis Dubreuil/Barcelona is a deliciously decadent dark red Tea/HT and a smaller plant than Mr. Lincoln. I definitely smell heady old European rose when I stick my nose in his petals. Not sure about blackspot resistance in your area, but he's tolerable in my garden. Mr. Lincoln is very good in my garden too. My mother grew Mr. Lincoln for decades in Dallas and always cut blooms for the house. But still, a Portland/Damask Perpetual is so.... You know? Carol

That’s beautiful... the color looks like reign des violettes

Oh wow...need both Barcelona and indigo...and RdV..sigh, I might have to put planters in the balcony.

Rekha, I have not prune my baronne Prevost , yet. I just wanted it to grow bigger away from rainfall to ground esp when I water. I had it like a year and 6 mo but the scent is wonderful. I absolutely love this hybrid Perpetual and I don't know why it is not Damask but categorize as HP.
This rose scared me a few times with bad BS and it went naked a few times. Now, it is aging up and behaving way better . I hope it is following Rdr footsteps. They are not far from each other hoping one is teaching the other...hahaha
It bloom couple of months ago and the last two was just taken a few mins ago. It is forming buds and I am looking forward to smelling them again.
Mine is about 4 and a half ft tall. You are right, hurricane season is on which means it will be raining mostly but I am ready for it and this time I am watching both this roses to see how they perform.

jin

I forgot to add it had 4 canes and I am hoping for new basal shoots. The 5 th one is very short. and its taking it's sweet time to grow meanwhile it has BS but I am not worried. Just want to see it more bushier . I have not feed alfalfa yet but planning to for the first time this week. I need to get more stakes to separate the canes so it has more air circulation but I always ran out.

jin