Tried to edit but it won't let me? So maybe this post isn't working. . Anyway, wanted to add that I also need it to flower continuously ..

And .. these are the ones available locally, and all they have left/will get in! Vanessa Bell, Mary Rose, Olivia Rose Austin, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Young Lycidas, Heathcliff, Princess Anne, Desdemona.

Welcome Jenn! I hear you on the 'one of these, one of these, here and there' gardening style. Hey, this way we get to trial several rose breeders side by side! Roughly where in 6a are you? There's a few of us from northern MO (me included), a few from Ohio/Michigan/Indiana area, and a few from Pennsylvania/NY/NJ areas that are all 6a and we'll all tell you different things, ha! Different strains of blackspot, different snow cover in winter, different spring freeze cycles, even different soils can have an effect.

Grafted vs own root - you can create more rose plants by either grafting budwood from the desired variety onto a rootstock (multiflora or Dr. Huey are the most available) or take cuttings of the desired rose and root them. Grafted roses are more vigorous from the get-go, but us cold zoners have to be careful to protect the graft union (either by winter protection, deep planting so the rose eventually goes own-root anyway, or getting varieties that are CANE HARDY) or we'll end up with a shrub of the rootstock rose.

HelpMeFind is a great resource for rose growers (also for peonies and clematis!) if you don't already know about it - https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/plants.php

I don't personally grow any of those on your list, although I'm eyeing VB to replace any that under-perform this year, but what I've read here about PAoK is she tends to get big, and YL tends to be floppy.

Do you cut them for the house or just want to enjoy them in the garden? I know there's several Austins that drop their petals really fast. Roses that do this tend to have a faster rebloom so it isn't necessarily a bad trait, just one you want to be aware of when making choices for your own garden.

Mary Rose is a beautiful under appreciated rose . The blooms are gorgeous, frequent and smell so nice! I love desdemona but I haven’t had one long enough to give a review . I just got young lycidas too and again can’t say much other than I’m in love . Ac91 has lots of great advice !!

Welcome to the forum, Jenn. I'll cut to the chase: if you want a small, compact Austin that has a nice scent, please consider Tamora, which I believe is still being sold by David Austin roses. I've grown a number of the roses on your list, and they are not small and compact at all: Princess Alexandra of Kent, Olivia Rose Austin, and Young Lycidas to be specific. I use Apricot Drift to fill in between larger roses. But it doesn't have a scent for me. I prefer grafted roses, but have a few own root. I'm not going to argue one over the other. My long experience with Austin roses is that they're not continuous bloomers, though some definitely bloom better than others. Tamora is near continous for me, as well as Boscobel and Olivia Rose, among others. Diane

Tamora

I am in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. So far, my best roses have been Campfire, Oscar Peterson, and Martin Frobisher BUT, not all the Canadian series are so great/worked for me--Felix LeClerk and that yellow one (forget name) did terribly. I'm busy pruning today (something I don't normally do and I hope I'm doing it right) and seem to be taking everyone down to almost just nubs :(. I dont' know what happened this year. Or maybe it happens every year but they recover on their own and I just never notice. . I don't know, lol. I think I have 2 dead Violet's Pride for sure, and some others are a bit iffy. I feel like yanking the Felix out of the ground as it's never done well and looks horrid again--plus I found a couple of holes in the canes, arrgghh! I might have room for a few Austins at this rate!

Hmmm, I'm assuming you're removing dead stuff if you're pruning down to numbs. I'm sorry to read that. This area was a zone 6 for decades before we were moved to zone 7A, so I have some experience with cold weather, but not losses like you have. I don't protect roses, except for a few that get extra compost in late fall. Morden Sunrise has been a great Canadian rose for me--I hope it wasn't the yellow rose you mentioned above. I would definitely recommend it. In general, Austins are very cold hardy here, so I do hope you try a few (Tamora, Boscobel) to fill in those spaces. In late fall, pile on some mulch or compost around the roses, and see if your survival rate is better. Good luck. Diane

Holes in the canes sounds like cane borers; that could explain some of your losses. Our 'spring' here kept yo-yoing from 70s to freezing, and that kind of freeze-thaw can damage canes in such a way that doesn't show up until after everything has started to leaf out. I'm still finding tips I need to trim back here.

Depending on how you feel about thorns, 'Munstead Wood' would be a good option! 'Boscobel' might work too, but I think this is one that can grow big for some people. Admittedly I think that's mostly for the southern/west coast of the US, but one of our posters grows it in a northern state and it stays mannerly (New York? Michigan? I can't remember now).

We've got some Canadian posters on here, hopefully they'll chime in with some mail-order nurseries if you want to try something you can't find locally.

Diane, I may have to prioritize getting my YL out of his pot and into the ground! It was only supposed to temporary, but I got behind and he spent another year in the ground. Is your YL grafted? Mine's on multiflora so now I'm a little worried he'll be too big for my yard! HelpMeFind has ORA as 'up to 3 feet' - Diane, what are you feeding your roses?! I wonder if their stats are from what DA is seeing in England - which might be closer to what a Canadian would get (due to latitude and sunlight). Oh jeez, I'm farther south than Diane, so that would mean...

Well, I guess I know not to try ORA in my yard unless I need a big pink who isn't 'Quietness'. Darn.

I live in the Greater Toronto area of Ontario and I can attest that Austins do well in my garden. My zone is slightly colder than yours so you will have the opportunity to grow more of them. The only thing is new varieties of Austins are not readily available in Canada with the exception of florissa retailers. I have found some of the older varieties in sheridan nurseries and once only in loblaws and home depot garden centers. The ones I have grown so far is Golden Celebration, L.D. Braitwaite, Heritage, Mary rose, Jude the Obscure and Graham Thomas. I did lose Crown Princess Margherite and my first Graham Thomas once. These two don't seem to do well in my garden.

I forgot Evelyn and Teasing Georgia too. Love these two roses.

Jude, Golden Cel, Evelyn--yes, these are good ones. My roses grow huge, though, AC91, especially Jude, GC, Brother Cadfael, and others. Boscobel is very big (not quite huge yet, but getting there), and Olivia is very big, as is YL. Tamora stays little like she's supposed to do. I feed my roses compost that has some chicken manure in it, Plant Tone, and Lilly Miller organic granular fertilizer for acid loving plants to help counteract our desert alkaline soil. Diane

Mine don't eat nearly that well, ha! They got some mushroom compost this year, alfalfa tea when I remember to make it, and shredded leaf mulch. I really should get something for a bloom booster on them starting this year.

I haven’t ordered from Hortico, but I like to keep lists of all the mail order rose catalogs. My only Canadian company.
https://www.hortico.com/roses/sections.asp

Oh wait I see another Canadian company on my list. I completely forgot they were in Canada. I think they graft onto Multiflora roots, which is supposed to do really well in your area.

https://palatineroses.com

Your Vanessa is beautiful! I stay away from yellows as I hear they are less hardy and my only yellow (Bill Reid) turned into whatever the root stock was. I have a rainbow knockout that does poorly, too. I may have to go for this one, though!

Oh, no. I never even thought about ordering roses---does this actually work well? Oh, boy. So many choices. I mean, most are sold out, but . . .waaaay more selection than my nursery!

Geez. . .so many! I'm overwhelmed now, lol. Looking at Palantine. ANyone have any suggestions to narrow it down a bit? haha! Wow. This will take me forever to choose. I definitely have one dead one to replace so I can stick a smallish shrub rose there (it's in amongst an Alexander Mackenzie and 2 Martin Frobishers, so . .they will get quite large.) And I have a small spot at the front that I was thinking maybe just a tea rose .. And another one I think is dead . .again probably small shrub there. Need to go out this morning and check a few others that I think are being taken over by rootstock. What on earth happened in my garden this year???!!! Geez.

To my knowledge, online ordering for bare roots from palatine has already passed. If you are going towards that direction, you probably can order ahead and pick up on site.

Heathcliff stays compact for me. It's Health regarding black spot is so so. I have many that are much worse. It at least retains its leaves through the first flush and actually probably through late summer. While not an Austin I might suggest bolero that's a nice small blush White.

Hi i’ve just found this discussion whilse searching for roses that thrive in Indiana. i am in the lower/eastern section of Indiana, still 6a, so thnx for all of the tips. Cant wait to start building my rose garden. As a Brit, expat, I miss my roses 😊

HU - in England, did you prefer Austin or Harkness roses (or something else)? I'm excited for you...starting a brand new rose garden!

To be honest i dont know what my favourite is as ive never grown them before. My dad did back in England. I love old English tea roses but have to find what will grow in 6a.

HU - oh, I see. :) :) This will be a grand adventure for you!!! :) :)